As the world is engulfed and shaken by the Corona virus and its attendant effects. One would wonder how most countries of the world on lock down would manage the trauma post covid 19 as the sick are increasing, people are bogged down with fear of catching or not catching the infection and trying to stay safe by observing social distancing.
Most nations of the world are resulting to telecommuting so that citizens can stay safe and observe social distancing in order to reduce the spread of the disease. With this, we can see there is an increase in frauds, scams, false promos and schemes to rip people off. Fraud will always increase when the opportunities for fraud are available because individuals believe there are reasons to justify committing fraud.
There is an increase in the risks factors companies and individuals are exposed to due to a number of factors, which include the following:
For Companies whose staff now have to work from home will create opportunities for increased fraud due to security risks, as remote access to systems for some companies has to be given out to all staff.
Therefore, companies need to ensure that security cannot be compromised.
In addition to the tightening security, Companies can do the following:
- Job enrichment of certain roles and assessing how well staff have performed their roles
- Documentation of key processes and procedures where these are absent to ensure that companies are prepared in the future for disruptions like these.
- Job audits to determine if some roles are really required.
- Ensure that Business continuity and contingency plans exist (are up-dated and adequate).
- Educate staff on post-covid realities where you may need to lay-off staff
- Ensure continuous engagement of staff even where tasks are not assigned.
- Ensure counselling for members of staff who have suffered loss or have been associated with corona victims
On the other hand, individuals are equally vulnerable and should beware of the following:
- A lot of activities are being done on-line, however beware of buying from fraudulent websites especially face masks, test kits etc as some of these products may not exist.
- Beware of bogus charities asking people to donate to help the needy, ensure these are verified.
- Beware of buying products that claim they can treat corona virus; these are unsubstantiated as there is currently no known cure.
- Beware of fake email messages from Government schemes and banks on loans asking you to disclose information, always confirm these from the right sources.
- Phone calls or text messages from Banks requesting for information
- Bogus promos with information that is too good to be true.
- Malicious domains can be used to spread misinformation, host phishing pages, fake legitimate brands, and sell fraudulent or counterfeit items.
As fraudsters are on rampage the world over, individuals and companies are responsible to ensure that available resources are properly channeled and maximized to face the challenges of post covid era.
For more information about how to deal with these realities, call us at Global Fraud Forensics today on +234 8098027322/[email protected]. We will be happy to help in any way we can.
You can also share COVID–19 fraud or other fraud related issues on our fraud online platform at www.globalfraudforensics.com/fraudxpose