Half of the UK’s businesses have been the victim of fraud, but a third admit to having no measures in place to protect them, according to a shocking survey conducted by the Credit Show.

Nearly one in 5 firms admits it is losing £1,000 to £100,000 a year, while one in 20 has lost more than £1 million. If representative, this is a staggering level of losses.

The Credit Show has also come up with some practical anti-fraud measures:

• identify the vulnerable parts of your business, whether it is stock or your finances, and develop a strategy to protect them;
• carry out regular and random audits to insure the books balance or that stock has not gone missing;
• always double check credentials of customers, suppliers and third parties with credit checking agency before extending them credit;
• implement good security procedures, both in terms of physical protection, but also administrative measures. For example, make sure your IT systems are password protected and restrict physical access by non-employees to sensitive or valuable areas of your premises;
• contact your accountant or a specialist to find out more about spotting fraud;
• visit the Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert Website for news, information and advice for tackling business fraud www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/index.htm.

Tags: fraud, credit