As if a small business owner doesn’t have enough to worry about during the coronavirus pandemic, the reality is that hard times have fallen on many, and white-collar crime is increasing. As businesses are dealing with financial disruption and fluctuating economic impact, the opportunity for some to take advantage of the fragile situation can be all too tempting. Even worse, while law enforcement and community governments deal with the crisis of increasing coronavirus cases, the time spent dedicated to cracking down on white-collar crimes has slowed, meaning you’re up a river without a paddle if something like this were to happen to your business. But take a deep breath and know there’s an option for your business that can help wade through something as complicated as a white-collar crime situation.
Obviously, white-collar crime is not as simple as someone walking out of your office with physical property or bags of money from the safe. Some criminals have mastered the art of stealing discreetly, via forgery of financial documents, money laundering, cybercrime, fraud, and even identity theft of key business partners. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, “These are not victimless crimes. A single scam can destroy a company, devastate families by wiping out their life savings, or cost investors billions of dollars (or even all three).”
So what exactly can you do to protect your business from this type of criminal activity? It’s time to beef up on preventative measures. Every business owner hopes its employees or partners would never commit such crimes, but with the current state of changes in strategy, it’s definitely an easier time to be scammed while you’re paying attention to other important aspects of your business, like work-from-home policies, response to virus needs, and financial changes. If you haven’t implemented these changes already, it’s time you consider the following:
- Hire a third-party accounting company to audit your company’s financials. Any kind of strange activity will be flagged and you’ll have the opportunity to step in and fix a problem before it becomes a nightmare.
- Refresh older, out-dated policies, especially in your accounting department, to reflect a modern-day reality, including requiring several signatures on company checks, and frequent communication and breakdown of financial statements.
- Consider purchasing financial software that requires all employees to be held accountable for corporate expenses, from paper clips to company computers.
- Validate any vendors your company is using for everyday corporate expenses, including the office cleaning service, coffee vendor, paper supplier, etc. before submitting any deposits.
- Protect your business by securing a crime insurance policy from SOGO Insurance.
Did you know that SOGO agents are able to sit down with you (even virtually!) and give you even more helpful advice on how to protect your business from white-collar crime? Part of securing a policy with us means you’ve got a team of knowledgable agents right behind you, supporting you on what types of insurance would work best for your company. The depths and coverage of different policies can vary extensively, so you will not be left alone to analyze and decide exactly which pieces you need. Call your SOGO agent to discuss options for crime insurance, and take one more worry off your plate.
In case you missed it: “Back to School Checklist for Fun Online Learning” shares easy and fresh ideas for the upcoming school year. With changes due to coronavirus, we’re all adapting to a new type of curriculum and learning style for the 2020-2021 school year, but we’ve got your back with support, whether it’s ideas for your kiddos, or protecting your family with the insurance policies you need, SOGO is here. Visit our website to check out the latest, or just let us know how you’re holding up during this time.
