Of cases reported in 2020, 41% of occupational fraud cases were committed by employees rather than managers or executives.

When you think about employee theft or fraud, you might imagine employees stealing office supplies or using the printer for personal use. While these might be against the company rules, there are actually many other types of fraud that happen on a regular basis across the country.

Are you trying to figure out how to stop employee fraud? Do you know how to manage employee fraud if you see it? These are important aspects of not just being in charge of a team but also ensuring that your company is safe from potential legal concerns.

Keep reading to find out more about how you can notice fraud in your workplace. Alongside this, it would be super beneficial to research more into specific fraud prevention for your industry. For instance, if you’re someone who is dealing with large amounts of money and checks, it would be worth looking into check fraud prevention best practices.

Learn About the Types of Fraud

You and your employees need to know about the different kinds of employee fraud and what this actually looks like. Otherwise, you won’t know if anyone is breaking any rules (or laws).

Some of the types of fraud that you may want to research include:

• Skimming cash
• Misuse of company assets
• Payroll fraud
• Data theft
• Bribery
• Vendor fraud

Consider Behaviors That Seem Abnormal

Are you noticing an employee that seems like they are living above their means? Is someone experiencing extreme stress or irritability? Do you have an employee that always wants to work long hours?

These can all be explained by other factors, but if you’re noticing more than one of these signs (as well as others) that might indicate something suspicious is going on, it’s worth looking into it.

Pay Attention to Those With Access

Some of your employees may be in a better position to get away with fraud than others. For instance, your payroll department may be in a better place to commit payroll fraud than someone that works in customer service.

Luckily, there are services out there that can help take this risk down a notch, so you should click here to learn more about what that looks like.

Basically, it’s important to take into account what sorts of fraud your business is most concerned with and which departments might be more capable of actually committing fraud. This will tell you where you need to put your employee fraud management efforts into play.

Don’t Trust Your Employees Blindly

While it’s difficult to imagine any of the people you hire committing fraud, you need to consider the bigger picture.

You need to pay attention to what’s going on and remember that while your workplace may feel like a family to you, professionalism and boundaries are still necessary. Don’t let something go if you’re noticing an employee doing something that you know is against the company policy.

Noticing Employee Fraud Takes a Keen Eye

You have to pay attention if you stand any shot at noticing when employee fraud is happening, but it is possible to catch these cases before they create a bigger problem for the company.

Remember that any type of fraud is unacceptable, and educating employees (as well as other leaders in your company) on what fraud looks like is essential.

If you found this article useful, take a look at some of our other business and management blogs for even more tips.