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Keep identity fraudsters out of your business

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by Sarah Orrill

30/12/10 in Identity Fraud/Theft |

Identity fraudsters are increasingly turning their attention to businesses and their directors to tap into the substantial credit often available in their name.
For businesses large and small, the damage caused by identity fraud isn’t just limited to their finances. Commercial identity theft can ruin a company's reputation with its lenders, suppliers and its customers.

Understand the risks of commercial identity fraud
There are many ways in which criminals can target the finances, resources and reputation of a business. Here are some examples:

  • In large businesses, fraudsters may work from within the company. For example, employees may order goods for their personal use or over-order goods in return for payments from suppliers.
  • If a criminal gets hold of private company information, they could set up a business account in your company’s name and take orders and payments for goods or services that they don’t supply, leaving you to deal with the angry customers.
  • Identity fraudsters could hack into your website and redirect orders and payments to their own site.
  • Using just a few personal details, fraudsters could impersonate company directors and then change the registered company address and directors’ details.
  • Fraudsters may go through your rubbish bins to obtain company details, such as employee names, bank account details and other confidential information.
  • Criminals could also use stolen credit card or bank account details to order goods and services from your company.
  • In the same way that email scams and phishing attempts are used to target individuals, they can be used to obtain sensitive information about your company.
  • Criminals can set up websites with very similar addresses to yours, perhaps with one letter different, in an attempt to capture some of your website traffic.
  • Devious criminals may also infiltrate your workforce to obtain security passes, passwords and confidential information.

Protect your business from fraudsters
It's important that you protect your company against the threat of commercial identity theft by ensuring that all your staff know the risks and the ways in which criminals might try to target them. Make sure that people know how to identify a scam email. You should also regularly check your registered company details with Companies House to make sure they have not been changed.

Many of the same rules that apply to individuals apply to businesses too. You should shred all paperwork showing your company name and address or any other sensitive information. Make sure that you or another responsible employee checks and reconciles your bank and company credit card statements meticulously every month.

Make sure that you vet any new employees and validate new customers with reputable credit-checking agencies. If you are selling products or services online, use trusted verification systems for all payments, such as Address Verification Service/Card Security Code or Verified by Visa® or MasterCard® SecureCode™.

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