You’re Not Too Small to be a Victim of Cyber Fraud

We’re all aware that cybercrime exists and it’s a big problem. It’s so big, in fact, that the UK Office for National Statistics reports that cybercrime and fraud account for almost half of all national incidents of crimes. Here in England and Wales, more than half of all fraud offenses are thought to be cyber-related.

Despite these numbers, it’s easy to bury your head in the sand and imagine you’re not at risk. Don’t be fooled. The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2017 carried out by the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport revealed that 46% of businesses experienced a cyber breach or attack between 2016 and 2017. Think about that for a moment. That’s nearly one in two businesses.

As someone involved in the finances of your organization, and whose daily work involves handling data invaluable to cyber fraudsters, it’s especially important to make sure you’ve done everything you can to protect your business against attacks.

So, what can you do?

Be aware of the risks

The first step is to face up to the risks and monitor how the landscape is changing.

Here are some of the concerns experts are currently highlighting:

• Improvements to the process of opening a new bank account to make it easier and quicker may result in greater vulnerabilities while glitches are ironed out.
• The Open Banking initiative has been designed to boost innovation in banking and make it easier for us to carry out financial transaction but it’s likely to increase the risk of data leaks too unless proper securities are in place.
• Chatboxes used by financial institutions to make life easier for customers are being seen by cyber criminals as particularly open to attack.
• Devices such as printers that harness the power of the Internet of Things are interesting targets, especially if those devices don’t have the proper protections and are used to store personal or payment data.

But while the fraudsters get more and more sophisticated, that doesn’t mean you only need to watch out for the cutting edge.

Invoice phishing is still a frequent occurrence. Some reports estimate every SMB loses £1,658 to invoice fraud each year. (Take a look at some types of invoice fraud here.)

You don’t just face external threats either. You could be vulnerable from staff inside your organization, and offences such as expense fraud are depressingly common. 

Put steps in place to control risk

The modern world may present a wealth of opportunities for cyber criminals, but there are some sensible precautions you can take to mitigate against the risks they pose.

The UK National Cyber Security Centre has put together a guide for small businesses that will help you improve cyber security in your organization – and get back up and running quickly if you are a victim.

When it comes to spotting incidences of fraud, harness what technology has to offer. Concur Expense automates the expense process, making it easier to enforce your spending policies and giving you transparency and visibility. Concur Invoice helps you protect against invoice fraud. To see how these solutions work for companies like yours, take a look at this case study that explains how Devon Air Ambulance is protecting against fraud with automated checks in place. 

The takeaways

When it comes to cybercrime and fraud, perhaps the most important thing to remember is that no business is too small to be a victim. And if no business is too small to be a victim, no business is too small to take steps to protect itself.

To combat fraud that originates inside your company, read our tipsheet to learn best practices for fending off employee fraud.