Identity and financial fraud continue to claim victims!
Fraud: still an everyday strain?
An existing retailer informs you by e-mail that they want to become a customer. Several checks are performed and everything seems fine. The first order is placed and delivered, but no payment follows… What now? This has happened to several of our members.
The company tries to get in touch with the contact person who placed the order, but there is no response. Through another channel the company tries to approach the retailer. It turns out that they never placed an order, but their identity has been abused by a third party. The goods have disappeared and are most likely to have ended up in a parallel circuit. They will never be paid for: not by the retailer, who is the victim of ID-fraud, neither by most of the insurance companies. A serious blow to quite a few companies. This isn’t the first warning we’ve issued, but the frauds are getting smarter and smarter and the number of attempts is rising significantly. Result, fraud is still claiming victims.
3 tips!
Draw up a good procedure and create awareness
Make sure you have a good procedure with various control mechanisms. It’s crucial to get the sales force involved with this story so they remain suspicious.
Follow the “ID and financial fraud” session (27/04)
During this workshop we'll discuss ID and financial fraud based on real cases in collaboration with an expert (i-Force). We'll provide you with tips & tricks to protect yourself even more against this form of fraud.
Use the available means
The details that are being used are ‘almost real’, but is there a real customer behind it? Consulting open sources (on the internet, for instance) is a good start, but frauds do the same thing. So, you must do more than that! There are databanks such as WIPO and i-Force* that collect information on frauds and their methods.
*In 2018, members of Food Security get access to this databank. More information during the session on the 27th of April.
Food Security helps her members by:
- Organizing Workshops on various themes to increase companies’ knowledge in multiple fields (fraud, social media policy, media training,…).
- Providing courses aimed at increasing awareness of first line employees (reception, bookkeeping, sales…).
- Being available for advice and having a pool of experts in a variety of disciplines at hand who can offer rapid assistance.
Learning points
Change communication: without strategy, no support
A major restructuring at an international food company caused turmoil in the workplace. Hundreds of jobs were at risk, which deeply affected the employees. Barely a month later,...
How a missed incident report led to a major recall
A consumer finds a piece of plastic in one of your products. What at first presented as an isolated case, turned out to be a tell-tale sign for a bigger issue. Several people re...
Food Fraud: What if your product unintentionally contains banned substances?
A banned substance ends up in your product through a raw material. The consequences are widespread: various products must be recalled, consumers are worried, and the reputation ...