An important aspect of running a business is ensuring you’re well protected. An area often overlooked can be financial fraud. Here our Finance Crime team share what you need to look out for.
These days, fraud is an increasingly common type of crime and financial fraud is becoming more prevalent every year. We have a dedicated Financial Crime team who work closely with government anti-fraud agencies. We do this because, as a responsible lender, we want to help protect our clients from financial crime.
Today, many fraudsters targeting both businesses and people, will try and make themselves seem more legitimate by impersonating more recognisable, respectable brands such as lenders and banks. When this happens, it’s called “Advance Fee” fraud. Here’s some examples of how it’s committed:
- Postcode lottery scams – Even though you’ve never entered the postcode lottery, you’ve probably still seen their adverts on the TV, you’ll receive a message or a letter saying you’ve won and here’s how to claim your prize – often a cash reward. If you respond you may be asked for an “advance fee” payment to cover “legal fees” and then “admin fees”.
- Pre-approved loan frauds – This is when you are contacted and “pre-approved” for a loan you’ve never enquired about, let alone applied for often by post or email using a recognised name and logo. Again, you’ll be contacted with a promise of payment – but only once you’ve paid an “advance fee”, “legal fees”, “insurance” or “admin fees”.
- There are many different versions of the above scams, but they all boil down to the same thing i.e. duping victims into paying “advance fees” up front, hence the name, “advance fee” fraud.
Most legitimate companies including Ultimate Finance, will never contact clients or prospective clients and ask for “advance fees” concerning any of our products.
If someone does contact you in this vein, here are a few golden rules:
- Do not disclose any personal information about yourself or your business.
- Do not pay any funds or “advance fees” up front
- If you suspect a scam, contact Action Fraud, the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre
You can read more about how you can protect yourself or your business from these scams in the useful links below:
If you want any more advice on the subject, you can get it from the anti-fraud agencies listed below:
Here at Ultimate Finance, we continue to fight financial crime so our clients can rest assured they are with a funding partner who’s got their back.
