Financial crime can cost a packet – both at work and in our personal lives
But what is it?
Financial Crime is defined as any kind of criminal conduct relating to money, financial services or markets. In short, it’s stealing your money.
The problem is that the thieves target people both at work and in their personal lives.
At work, knowing what to look out for and what action to take can help you to better protect your business from these risks both professionally and personally.
Payment Diversion Fraud is the most recognised type of financial crime, otherwise known as authorised push payment (APP), and is a when criminals deceive a victim into transferring money to a scammer instead of the intended recipient.
Fraudsters used the pandemic to help target more people using email such as ‘vaccine queue jumping’ to attempt to entice people to click on phishing emails.
There have also been reports of scammers using phone calls, text and email claiming to be from HMRC and asking unpaid tax to be settled. The idea is to get the recipient to click a link to gain access to a device.
So what can people do to protect themselves?
Look out for threatening or coercive emails, reputable or genuine requests rarely use language ordering you to do something. The tone will often give the game away.
Look out for unrecognised emails or even spelling mistakes in subject lines. People should always check the validity of a sender before doing anything. Simple checks only take a few minutes but can save thousands of pounds.
Remember, these attacks don’t just happen in people’s personal lives. Scammers attack businesses too so employees will do well to remain vigilant when checking company emails.
And of course, businesses should always remember insurance – that all important safety net to make sure that your business is protected. Our expert advisers can talk you through the right cover to ensure your business can continue in the event of an incident of financial crime.
Get in touch to find out more.
