What worries you most in running your business?
For many small business owners, the threat of fraud is something to keep them up at night.
That said you do not have to left the fear of fraud ruin your daily business activities.
By implementing a tough anti-fraud program at your business, you can likely steer clear of it.
So, are you ready to get to work on keeping fraud out of your company’s life?
Where Do You Start?
To do all you can to keep fraud from impacting your company’s bottom line, keep in mind the following:
1. Your customers
Always remember that your customers are on the front line when it comes to fraud.
As an example, have chargebacks hurt your business over time? If so, what have you done to combat them?
For those not aware, chargebacks run up into the billions of dollars on a regular basis. As such, they have quite the negative impact on the business owner.
So that you can do everything possible to avoid them, make it a point to let customers know you won’t stand for this.
While some customers may have an honest reason for not paying for something, others do not.
Those in the latter group are looking to make life better for them and more difficult for you.
Be aware of the signs of potential chargeback issues.
They include:
· Shipping goods to many addresses under many identities
· Large purchases
· High level of international orders and shipping
· Various orders and various credit cards, yet all originating from the same IP address
2. Your employees
Do you feel as if you have the best employees in the world?
While most employees can answer yes to that question, others know it is not the case. As such, those employers have a problem on their hands.
Make it a point to remind your employees that fraud will not be tolerated at any level.
When an employee commits fraud against his or her employer, they do two things.
One, they risk damaging the company’s reputation and its financial well-being.
Second, they break the bonds of trust between them and the employer. In this case, that employer of course is you.
By knowing and looking for the signs of potential office fraud, you are less likely to suffer from it.
As great as your team is, remember that your business survival revolves around a clean ship. If you don’t, your customers will go elsewhere for their needs.
3. Your infrastructure
Last but not least, be sure to review your infrastructure on a regular basis.
This involves many things, with the main focus on the technology you are using.
With many businesses getting hacked, do all you can to have security software in place.
In the event you do suffer a cyber-attack, work to fix it.
Customers tend to be more forgiving when they see you are immediately dealing with a problem
Also, remind staff not to share customer information outside of the office.
Employees’ discussing a customer’s personal information doesn’t benefit anyone. Unless it is for business means, make sure it does not occur.
When you do your best to steer clear of fraud, you increase the likelihood of being around for a long time to come.
As a small business owner, how do you steer clear of fraud?