The pandemic has significantly changed the world we live in, and the risks we face in our organizations have also changed. Cybercrime, in all its forms, continues to make headlines and organizations of all sizes are being impacted – even in Newfoundland and Labrador. Raising the level of fraud awareness within your organization can help you identify potential risky behavior down the road and safeguard your profits.
In this blog, we outline what you need to know about both external and internal fraud and offer practical takeaways to help protect your business.

What you need to know about external fraud
There are various types of fraud you may or may not have heard about, including cyber fraud, ransomware, data theft, banking malware and business email compromise. To read more details about each type of external fraud click here.
 
Three ways to protect your company from external/cyber fraud

1. Install and maintain a robust, commercially available anti-virus, anti-malware software program. While it won’t cover everything, it should catch at least a reasonable number of threats.
2.  Password protect everything. Your servers, VPN’s, email accounts, routers – virtually everything connected to the internet – should be protected with a secure password, not the default password which came with the product when purchased.
3. Boost staff and management awareness. All your staff should learn how to identify common forms of cyber fraud and protect the personal information they share on social media. 

What you need to know about internal fraud
Internal or occupational fraud is fraud committed from within an organization’s walls and can be divided into three primary categories: asset misappropriations, corruption and financial statement fraud. To learn more about these three categories click here.
 
Three ways to protect your business against internal fraud

1. Conduct a fraud assessment. Conduct a fraud risk assessment. A phased approach with a few initial steps can strongly support and increase the level of fraud awareness for yourself and your employees.
2. Develop a fraud awareness training program. Fraud awareness training is about empowering your workforce so they can be your eyes and ears in all areas of operations. To do this effectively, they must understand what fraud is, how it can happen and the red flags to look for.
3. Implement a whistleblower hotline. A properly-managed – and well-communicated – whistleblower hotline is an effective and inexpensive way to encourage fraud reporting within your organization and reduce the amount of time it takes to identify incidences of occupational fraud. 

Know how to respond – and recover
Should the unthinkable happen, you can’t afford to be caught off-guard. Having a response and recovery plan in place can not only shorten the duration of a fraudulent act and save money in the process, but it can help your company get back on its feet faster. Knowing how to preserve the evidence of fraud can also give investigators a decent opportunity to catch the perpetrator and help you strengthen your defenses to prevent history from repeating itself. We know from years of experience that raising the level of fraud awareness within your business can really have a huge impact – we are here to help you get started.
 
To learn more about how Grant Thornton can help protect your organization against fraud, visit grantthronton.ca or contact our local Business Risk Advisor, Adam Lippa.
 
Adam Lippa
Business Risk Advisor
T +1 709 778 8842
Adam.Lippa@ca.gt.com