How secure are your small business assets from fraud, identity theft and cyber crime?
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), companies with less than 100 employees can lose approximately $155,000 as a result of fraud each year. Small businesses also have a higher fraud rate than larger companies and non-business owners.
One of the most frequent sources of fraud is credit card abuse, due to the fact that few business owners make the time to go through every line item on their bill. They also are careless in mixing their business and mingle business and personal accounts.
Other sources of fraud stem from an overall lack of security across the business – such as inadequate network and computer security and a lack of background checks when hiring employees.
Don’t be a victim! Here are some tips you can take to better protect your business from some common forms of fraud and cyber crime.
Protect Your Credit Cards and Bank Accounts:
1, Since this is a common area of fraud, this one goes at the top of the list. Start by separating your personal banking and credit cards from your business accounts – this will ensure fraudsters don’t get their hands on ALL your money. Separating your accounts will also make it easier to track your business expenses and report deductions on your tax return.
2. Use your cards wisely. Don’t hand over your plastic or your card number to employees or
companies with which you don’t have a familiar relationship.
3. Switch to online bill pay or make sure you store paper bills securely.
4. Use a secure mailbox for receiving and sending bills. If you don’t have one, deposit your mail directly at the post office
5.Lastly, be sure to check your online banking every day for suspicious activity.
Secure Your IT Infrastructure
6. Every business owner should invest in a firewall as well as anti-virus, malware and spyware detection software. Backing-up is also a must and will make it a lot easier for you to continue working in the event of a cyber attack.
7. Use a Dedicated Computer for Banking
This is a great idea from Forbes magazine’s 5 Ways Small Businesses Can Protect Against Cybercrime. Use a dedicated computer for all your online financial transactions and, ideally, make sure it’s one that isn’t used for other online activity such as social media, email and web-surfing which can open up the machine to vulnerabilities. Avoid mobile banking if you can.
8. Have a Password Policy
Another easy step you can take to protect your IT systems is to institute a password policy.
- Make sure you and your employees change them regularly (every 60 to 90 days is good rule)
- Set rules that ensure passwords are complex (i.e. contain one upper case letter, one number and must be a minimum of eight characters)
- Use different passwords for different online and system accounts
- Use different banks for your accounts for personal and business accounts.
9. Educate Your Staff
Employees are perhaps your biggest point of vulnerability when it comes to fraud, but they are also your first line of defense. Hold regular training sessions on basic security threats (online and off) and prevention measures – both for new hires and seasoned staff. Enforce the training by instituting policies that guide employees on the proper use and handling of company confidential information, including financial data, personnel and customer information.
9. Consider Employee Background Checks
One of the first steps to preventing fraudulent employee behavior is to make the right hiring decision. Basic pre-employment background checks is necessary business practice for any employer, especially for those who will be handling cash, high-value merchandise, or have access to sensitive customer or financial data.
10. Insure Your Business
Fraud and cyber crime does happen; however, you can still seek to cover your damages by purchasing an insurance policy that protects you against any losses that you may incur from crime or fraud.
Make sure you know what your bank is willing to do to help you out if your credit card or business account is compromised.
Information from www.sba.gov and recommendations of clients of S. I. Busienss Associates.
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