1、02/03/2023INDEPENDEN T P U B L I C AT I O N BY#0855R AC O N T EU R.NE TFRAUD&FINANCIAL CRIMETAKING AML BEYOND FINANCIAL SERVICESTHE SANCTIONS CHALLENGE FOR SMES0804HOW FRAUDSTERS ARE USING TIKTOK18R A C O N T E U R.N E TF R A U D&F I N A N C I A L C R I M E0302Reports editorIan Deeringusinesses are
2、attractive targets for fraudsters at the best of times,but theyre even more at risk during an eco-nomic downturn.There are already signs that 2023 will be a damaging period in this respect in the UK.In November 2022,Cifas,a not-for-profit provider of fraud prevention services,report-ed that the numb
3、er of cases of fraud committed by employees against their firms had risen by 25%year on year.It suggested that the ongoing cost-of-living crisis was a factor pushing more“staff members into committing dishonest conduct”.As trading conditions toughen,businesses tend to become more vulnerable to fraud
4、,both internal and external.With their budgets shrinking,they may have fewer funds to devote to keeping their security processes up to date,for instance,while job cuts may leave them understaffed in key areas.“Business owners who are under financial pressure may also become more susceptible to fraud
5、sters promising monetary gain,”notes Tina McKenzie,chair of UK policy and advocacy at the Federation of Small Businesses.To protect themselves properly,companies must first understand the most prevalent forms of fraud so that they can train their staff to spot them,McKenzie ad vises.One of the most
6、common is invoice fraud,where a criminal posing as a genuine supplier approaches a firm and asks it to change the details of the account it uses to pay them.In a similar vein,impersonation scams,where a fraudster contacts a com-pany pretending to be a trusted organisation such as a bank or HMRC or e