Stop Your Employees Fiddling the Paper Work

The Greater London Police were called in to investigate fraud committed by staff working for Serco in August 2013. It was discovered that employees had fiddled the paper work to claim prisoners were being made ready to be transported to court, when in fact they were not. They were working for Serco who had been awarded a contract worth £285million to transport the prisoners across London.

Serco had been aware that there were some internal problems when persistent delays were reported in the transportation of the visitors from courts to jails in the summer of 2012. As a result of the delays they created an official improvement notice but that wasn't enough to solve the problems. Instead of improving their work the employees simply fiddled the paperwork. In addition to this problem Serco has also been accused of overcharging for their contracts and as a result they must allow an outside forensic audit to find out if they have been acting and performing dishonestly.

Protecting Your Business

Fraud happens, it’s something that costs businesses in the UK millions of pounds and it can leave companies closed and individuals behind bars. As a business owner it’s very important that you try to protect your company from those who are always looking to make money off the back of others.

The Greater London police have provided a lot of advice regarding fraud for business owners. Fraudsters find all sorts of ways to target businesses, whether they are attacking you from the outside or internally. You may be targeted by a lone fraudster or a gang, either way you must be aware of some of the methods that could be used.

Transferring Money

Criminals will use telegraphic transfer requests to take money from your account. The criminals get hold of your bank details and most commonly send a transfer request from another country. A letter is produced and sent to your bank requesting the money and the bank will send the amount that’s been asked for.

An Inside Job

Employees are increasingly being involved in cases of business fraud. The individuals often work on their own to try and gain personal details in order to commit fraud through identity theft. The criminals will come to work for you with the intention of stealing from you but often they will target other employees within your company. The employees may be questioned in a relaxed or social setting and unwittingly give away some information that the criminal can use to their advantage. Alternatively they may be threatened or blackmailed into delivering financial data of the company.

Suspecting Fraud Within Your Company

If you think your company may have been targeted by fraudsters you will need to discover what’s been going on. You can use your internal audit systems and enroll the assistance of forensic accountants in London so you’re fully aware of the extent of the damage to the assets of your company. You must also make a report to the police who will be able to investigate the incident.