Uphando Forensics

Types of Business Fraud to Look out For

Fraud is a very serious matter, but a well-structured and organised fraud risk management policy diminishes your chances of losing an enormous amount of money due to erroneous number-crunching or an inside job. Below is a list of the most common types of Business Fraud that you should be looking out for.

  1. Payroll fraud can manifest in a variety of ways. An employee could lie about their productivity, sales or hours worked to get a higher pay. Some may request for a pay advance without any intention of paying it back.

2. Asset misappropriation is one of the most common types of business fraud, but it is also one of the easiest to spot. Watching out for forged checks, missing inventory and accounts that simply don’t add up is key to identifying asset misappropriation. You could also fall victim to skimming, which is the act of taking money from either a customer or the company without recording the transaction.

3. Multiple Payment Fraud when your accounting becomes complex there is a risk of multiple payment fraud. This is usually when your bookkeeper or the person taking charge of your financial resources issues more than one payment when there is just a single payment required. The second payment will usually go to their account.

4. Expense Reimbursement another common scheme involves fraud on an expense reimbursement. Many businesses, reimburse employees for certain costs incurred while the employee conducts work for the company, as when an employee travels for meetings etc. Receipts or invoices are given support these costs that the employee says they incurred while on the trip. However, some employees can exaggerate and submit false receipts or invoices, which the business subsequently pays.

5. Money fraud is a type of fraud where a customer uses fake bills to make a real purchase. If you don’t check regularly, you won’t notice the notes are counterfeit until it’s too late.

Should you need assistance with implementing or putting together a fraud-risk management policy get in touch with Uphando Forensics & HR Services