Businesses Must Put Cash Into Fighting Fraudsters

16th March 2018.

Nearly £1 billion was conned out of UK consumers and businesses by financial fraudsters in 2017, according to data from UK Finance.

As our technology advances- as well as our reliance on it- our criminals, are forced to adapt to new platforms. According to new research conducted by UK Finance, there has been sharp increases in fraud involving mobile and online banking in the last couple of years. While banks crackdown on traditional methods, swindlers are taking advantage of new technologies to raise the game. Financial institutions are slowly catching on, with credit card fraud falling by 5 percent compared with 2016, but a multitude of other tricks and tactics continue to inflict consumers and businesses alike.

As borrowing figures continue to push down personal finances, fraudulent behaviour further diminishes the consumer market. Businesses should not only prepare their finances for more empty storefronts but also ensure their business is protected from the fraudsters themselves. At the Credit Protection Association, our debt recovery services free up cash flow for business owners, which can either go on decorating your office or on new anti-malware software to stop these swindlers entering through the front door.

A total of £236 million has been lost to “authorised push payment” scams, where people are tricked into sending money to criminals often posing as trusted figures, such as solicitors or police.

These kinds of fraud can be particularly damaging for victims, since existing rules mean they have no legal protection covering their losses if they personally authorise a payment. UK Finance’s members reported 43,875 APP cases in 2017, 88 percent of which affected retail customers, who each lost an average of £2,784.

The latest data also showed that traditional forms of financial fraud were in decline, with total losses falling from every form of unauthorised fraud except mobile and online banking.

“The finance industry is committed to playing its part — investing in advanced security systems to protect customers, introducing new standards on how banks respond to scam victims, and working with the Joint Fraud Taskforce to deter and disrupt criminals and better trace, freeze and return stolen funds.”

When you own a business, it becomes your responsibility to protect it. As business rates and interest rates eat away at revenue, this new vulnerability piques the interests of criminals. It’s no use investing in your company if a quick trick by a quick-thinking individual transfers all your earnings into somebody else’s account. It is hard work owning a business in this climate and you do not want all that work to amount to nothing.

The Credit Protection Association can ensure you get the extra cash needed to invest in security, as well as credit management products to ensure your worst payers aren’t also your most fraudulent. Our debt recovery services will chase down bad payers, while our credit checks and company directories will keep an eye on your customers on your behalf, and will alert you to any suspicious activity that could harm your enterprise.