By Tom Cleary
It seems like one of the unfortunate realities of our time is that we always have to be on-guard against criminal behavior. Because of this truth, we have to take precautions to protect our personal finances and the finances of our businesses as well. As a small business owner, you already have so much to do, but this is something that you don’t want to let slide since the consequences of inaction can be disastrous. Here are a few simple, common-sense ways that you can avoid the occurrence of fraud in your business.
Protect Your Accounts and Credit Cards. Access to your bank accounts or credit card accounts must be kept out of the wrong hands. Protecting the actual cards and anything with the account information on it is a good start. It is also helpful to use online banking and limit the amount of paper records with sensitive data.
Don’t Concentrate Too Much Authority in One Person. You hate to think of fraud originating within your company, but the reality is that it could. For this reason, it is good to make sure that no one person has too much unchecked authority, especially with the finances. Just adding a simple system of oversight or shared responsibility can lessen the risk of one person doing damage before it can be discovered.
Secure Your IT Systems. Weak security of your computer and email systems can easily be exploited. It is important that your internet connection is secure and that you have adequate, frequently updated virus protection. Sensitive data should be encrypted and employees should use strong passwords which are changed often.
Enlist Employees to Help. It is hard for any one person to be responsible for spotting any suspicious activity. But if everyone is paying attention, the chances increase that someone will detect a potential problem before it grows out of control. In order to expect employees to look for suspicious activity, you need to make sure that you are educating them about what common warning signs might be. Employees also must be trained on the best proactive practices for preventing fraud so that they don’t inadvertently make it easier for criminals.
Partner With Federated Bank to Keep Yourself Protected. While you may not think that often about protecting yourself from account fraud, it is actually a major concern for the professionals at Federated Bank. We would love to talk with you about the safeguards we are able to put into place to help keep your finances secure. Come in and speak with a branch manager about the options, such as alerts, limits, or approval processes, that are available to small businesses.
With these easy-to-implement precautions, you can make your small business less vulnerable to account fraud.
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