(via: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/phishing-fraud-cyber-security-3390518/)

A big part of running a successful business is keeping it safe. While there are many potential risks that can threaten your business in one way or another, one of the most dangerous are financial crimes. There are many types of financial crime, and they can cost your business not only a lot of money, but also your good reputation in some cases. But thankfully, there are some things that you can do to protect your company and lower your chances of having to deal with one at all. Without any further ado, let’s go over a few tips on how to protect your business from financial crimes.

Use the Right Tools and Technology

First and foremost, you need to have the right tools and technology in place to protect your business. You need to have anti-virus software, firewalls, and other similar measures in place. You should also have password protection and access control to limit who has access to certain types of data, especially the data concerning your customers or clients. There are also tools put out by a reputable anti-money laundering company that can reduce risk, and various types of solutions that use AI and machine learning to keep you safe. Doing your due diligence on customers using some kind of KYC (know your customer) solution is also a good idea, as it ensures your customers are really who they say they are, and can help to protect you from fraud, terrorism, and money-laundering. This is an ever-evolving space, and there will always be new tools coming out that are aimed at protecting businesses from fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes that can often run rampant in the business world.

Ensure Everyone Practices Good Web Awareness

Oftentimes, it comes down to the quality of your team and how well-trained they are. If you have team members who get complacent, or simply don’t have great web awareness, it can cost you everything. You need to ensure your team browses the internet safely, is careful what they click on or download, and is able to recognize and avoid phishing scams. All it takes is for one fraudster or scammer to fool one of your employees for your whole business to come crashing down. In the past, identifying and avoiding these scams could be easy, but they are becoming much more complex and believable by the day. Because of this, you need to continuously train and update your staff on how to be safe online, and the sorts of things to look out for in your particular industry.

Run Random Audits

(via: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/audit-tax-inspection-auditor-3929140/)

While a lot of financial crime can come from outside sources, it can also come from your own employees. Some employees will steal from their place of work, deliberately fudge numbers, or attempt to defraud the company in another way. A good way to protect against this problem and/or limit how prevalent it becomes is to run random audits. You should perform reviews of your company’s finances often, check all documents, make sure payments match invoices, and simply make sure everything is in order. The more serious your business is about having checks and balances in place, the less likely that someone will attempt to steal from you or be fraudulent in another manner, due to the high chances of being caught. In conclusion, these are some of the most important things you can do to keep your business safe from financial crimes. Financial crime isn’t going anywhere, so you need to make sure you and your team are prepared to deal with and/or avoid it.