Protecting Yourself From Corporate Fraud
Identity theft has been a hot topic for some time, but as news about the economy continues to make people anxious, corporate fraud has also become a real issue.
The Federal Trade Commission’s website has an extensive list of tips and tricks to protect yourself from identity theft. However, the same tips that you use to keep your personal finances protected should also apply to your company’s finances.
Below is a list of some of the most helpful tips from the FTC site:
DO:
- Sign your credit cards as soon as they arrive
- Keep a record of your account numbers, their expiration dates, and the phone number and address of each company in a secure, preferrably locked, place
- Keep an eye on your card during the transaction, and get it back as quickly as possible
- Void incorrect receipts
- Destroy carbons
- Save receipts to compare with billing statements
- Open bills promptly and reconcile accounts monthly, just as you would your checking account
- Report any questionable charges promptly and in writing to the card issuer
- Notify card companies in advance of a change in address
DO NOT:
- Leave cards or receipts lying around
- Sign a blank receipt. When you sign a receipt, draw a line through any blank spaces above the total
- Write your account number on a postcard or the outside of an envelope
- Give out your account number over the phone unless you’re making the call to a company you know is reputable. If you have questions about a company, check it out with your local consumer protection office or Better Business Bureau
These are just a few — but important — tips on fraud prevention from the FTC web site.
What would you add to the list?
Tags: Better Business Bureau, corporate fraud, Federal Trade Commission, fraud prevention
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 7:15 am and is filed under Small Business Help Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
