What Makes Your Organization Vulnerable

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Your organization has many strengths, but your weaknesses could be costing you money. Are you vulnerable to fraud? Take a look at the following list.

• You believe that this doesn’t affect you. In truth, businesses, charities and not-for-profit organizations are losing millions each year to scams that are specifically designed to con them. Many organizations aren’t even aware that they have fallen victim to fraud.



• You are busy and don’t have much time to get more information about fraud.



• You don’t have set procedures in place to authorize purchases, pay invoices and review expenditures.



• You are distracted when you pay invoices or agree to purchases over the phone. Phoney invoices and bogus phone pitches escape your notice and cost you money. Many of these schemes are designed to fly under the radar.



• You don’t have time to take repeated calls from phoney "collections agents" looking for payment for a product you never ordered in the first place. To resolve the matter, you pay the bill just to be done with the matter.



• You experience regular staffing changes. If your organization has high turnover, part-time or volunteer staff members, you may be at a higher risk of being scammed. Referring to other colleagues is a popular tactic to gain your trust. For example, a fraudulent telemarketer might tell you that she needs to confirm a shipping address because your colleague purchased some supplies from her company, when in reality that conversation never took place. Your colleague might not be at work that day or maybe he left the organization months ago, which makes it difficult for you to confirm if the order is legitimate. You provide the address to be helpful but end up receiving a shipment of office supplies that could cost 10 times the going market rate.



• You recognize the name of the company because you have paid money for this directory, this subscription or this delivery before. If your organization has purchased something from a fraudster, you might not properly review additional transactions if the fraudulent company name now appears on your vendor list.



• You don’t report it because you’re embarrassed or ashamed, you don’t know who to call or what to do and don’t believe that any good will come of it. In fact, it is estimated that 95% of those who fall victim to scams do not report it. Law enforcement agencies, including the Competition Bureau, depend on you coming forward to report scams to help take fraudsters off the streets.