How Frauds Are Costing Agencies Millions

You know how disheartening a fraudulent payment can be if you have experienced it in your agency. A recent study showed that a typical agency loses close to six percent of its yearly income to fraudsters. Times have changed, so all agencies need to acknowledge the risks of fraud and take necessary action.

Agencies can use fraud deterrence to know the cause of fraud and eliminate it. Fraud deterrence lies in the belief that the fraud occurred in the right condition, not by accident.

Financial loss is the main effect of fraud in any agency. It is hard to track where every penny goes in a business because businesses have become more complex. Investors avoid brands that deal with frauds because they do not trust them.

The tiniest slip downwards can lead to a reduced client number, even though you offer high-quality services. Below is everything you need to know about fraud in a business. If you ever ask yourself what is billing fraud? or What is bot fraud? This guide is for you.

How Frauds Cost Agencies Millions

Frauds cost companies millions yearly, but its effect goes beyond. Fraud fallout ruins an agency’s reputation and breaks clients’ trust in the agency. Fraud is becoming more popular because fraudsters have become more innovative.

Your brand is at risk of many frauds, such as professional fraud and client fraud. The total amount lost to these frauds varies from one agency to another, but it still has the same result – financial loss.

Many duties come with owning and managing a successful agency, but fraud detection does not appear at the top of the list. The agency owners might fail to acknowledge the fraud threat mainly if they have long-term employees. Some known frauds to an agency include:

  • Skimming – this is when employees take money from a client but do not record it.
  • Billing fraud – creating another brand and sending invoices for non-existing items.
  • Check to alter – this is using an agency’s checks to steal outgoing items.
  • Corruption – this is taking part in extortion or bribery in exchange for services.

Most frauds are undetected, and they have negative effects on an agency like:

  • Ruining the agency’s reputation – news of fraud in your agency will reach many people, and this will tarnish the organization’s name. Remember that a tarnished name means no client dealings, meaning you will lose a lot of money in the process.
  • It prevents the agency from attracting sponsors and employees – very few sponsors would want to work with an agency with fraud scandals. You might lose millions in endorsements if you do not prevent a fraudulent attack.

Workers also want a trustworthy work environment, meaning you might fail to attract them.

  • Frauds might also make the agency compromise banking covenants. They can also make the company fail to retain its competitive advantage.

How to Prevent Fraudulent Attacks

Private agencies are the main targets for fraud, according to recent research. These agencies can use the following tips to prevent a fraudulent attack:

  • Make permanent “footprints” in the financial system
  • Question things that look strange to the agency
  • Use two unrelated parties whenever there is a money flow in the agency

How Can You Detect and Prevent Fraud?

To prevent fraud in your agency, you first need to have a strong management team that lives by honesty and integrity. Workers should have easy access to resources, and they should blow the whistle whenever they detect any suspicious activity.

A good management team will also prevent fraud by creating a positive working environment. In addition, they will staff the important departments with the right employees. Even though fraud is not the main priority in an agency’s development, it is impossible to ignore it, or else you will face dire consequences.

How to Keep Your Agency Free From Frauds

First, it would be best to ensure you manage your funds well, starting with the bank accounts. It would help if you also made sure an individual who is not entangled with disbursements does the bank reconciliation process.

It is also advisable to make sure the bank statement is handled by a person who has not taken part in the agency’s functions.

Frauds make agencies lose millions every year. It would be best if these agencies took the necessary steps to fight fraudulent activities.

Web Security: How to Keep Your Kids Safe

The internet can be very resourceful for children, whether they are doing their homework using Wikipedia, playing online games, listening to online music, and more. However, the internet also has some sites that you wouldn’t want your children to visit. Parents are always worried about how to let their kids use the internet but safely. Since it may be a little difficult to keep tabs on what your children are watching or meeting on the internet, here are a few ways you could keep them safe.

Set Rules

Most kids nowadays have internet access. They know almost everything there is to know about applications, music sites, social sites, etc. Technology is their other home. Technology is useful when you want your kids to learn, as they can use a trackpad or touchscreen for navigating some life skills. No matter how old they are, it is essential to know how to protect your child from online predators as they browse social networks such as Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok.

You can set rules by not allowing your children to use devices such as laptops and phones in their rooms. Instead, it would help if you asked them to use the device in communal areas such as the living room, as they will be discouraged from engaging in inappropriate activities while you are only a glance away. As you set the rules, be sure to know about the dangers of misusing the internet and why you are against them using the devices in their rooms. Also, encourage them to talk to you if they encounter uncomfortable things on the web that upsets them. This way, you will know the inappropriate sites to delete and add them to your parental control filter list.

Using a Virtual Private Network

A Virtual Private Network prevents your location from being tracked and protects your family on the networks. The VPN will connect your devices to a secure server that will use an encrypted connection to keep your data safe while browsing. Virtual Private Networks masks the users’ IP addresses so any person online cannot track the location of your children. The secure connection will also protect your children on risky public networks; therefore, information can never be intercepted. Installing a VPN on your children’s smartphones and computers is essential to keep them protected.

Control the Router

Suppose you would like to control the type of websites and internet services your children can access at home, change your router settings. For example, you can block specific sites, prevent the adult content sites and sometimes schedule the time your young ones spend on the internet to avoid too much screen time.

Know your Kids’ Passwords

If your kids are young, create an account using your name rather than exposing theirs. This way, you will have the password. However, it would be best if you respected the accounts’ age limitations. If you visit a site that requires you to be over 18 years, then you should probably wait if your kid hasn’t reached that age. Whatever you choose, let your children know that you have their passwords and warn them you will see what they post or watch from time to time to ensure everything is okay. It is not advisable to spy on your children’s accounts without letting them know because their trust in you could weaken.

Always check the Browsing History

You must check your kid’s web browser history to see which sites they have been visiting. You can also check the recycle bin as they may have deleted some items. You never know what they are doing and deleting.

Know your Children’s Friends

Many dangerous people online don’t say who they are, and therefore if you are naïve, you could fall into their traps. Such people befriend children and take advantage of them, pretending that they can be trusted. Your children should be cyber wise and learn not to talk or meet strangers from an early age. You can become your child’s friend to see who they are friends with and monitor what they post and what the friends post. Although your kids may not like the idea, let them know you are doing this to protect them.

Final Thought

The internet has made parenting a little more complicated. Since we cannot ignore the fact that your children will use the internet at some point, you must keep them safe always by monitoring their activity online. Although it may be completely impossible to keep them safe totally, the tips we have discussed above will help you to some extent.