Watch on your employees! New ways to curb fraud

Friday, 30 April 2010, 15:19 IST   |    51 Comments
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Watch on your employees! New ways to curb fraud
Bangalore: Have you ever committed a fraud? Have you ever received more money than you should and have kept quiet about it? Have you asked for more compensation than you have spent, just to get a bit of more cash? The recent survey by KPMG on Corporate India has brought to light that almost 75 percent of all fraudulent activities in the corporate sector, except Intellectual Property frauds, were perpetrated by employees. The Satyam Computer scam has managed to taint the reputation of Indian IT industry and it took some time and persuasion to bring things back on track. This is a serious problem creeping up in corporate world and must be solved as quickly as possible, to be considered as a global player in IT industry. An entrepreneur or CEO of the company knows an internal fraud can damage the foundations of the company. But the problem in India is, do the owners of company even realize that frauds are taking place in their company. Most of them have no clue about it and don't have necessary tools to find out about it. Here are a few set of things that CEO's should do to ensure that their company does not have a leak-hole somewhere, as reported by Patrick Stafford of Smart Company. Video Surveillance: Many BPOs who are working for banking processes have learned it the hard way after being hit by frauds done by employees. 24x7 video surveillance of the employees will ensure the record of each and every activity done by employees. Spyware: Yes, Spyware is a threat to the system but not for those who know how to use it to their advantage. There are a variety of programs that can be installed on computers designed to monitor exactly what people are doing, even in real-time. Other programs such as key-loggers record every keystroke, while firewalls can even inspect emails for any sign of suspicious activity. "The USB stick is small, you can just put it into a computer, and within 60 seconds it downloads a program onto your desktop and then I can remotely view your desktop at a different computer without you knowing," said Josh Pennycott from surveillance equipment retailer Eye Spy. Internet banking safeguards: Giving one person the authority to manage the salaries of all employees is a risky move. Different software should be used to figure out who is accessing the banking programs and what is being done. Internet usage: Every single website your employees visit can be monitored and logged, along with every download they make. Browsing software usually tags this information as default, but employers can add to that by making regularly inspections and records of sites being visited. Data logs: Many CEO's don't know that they check out what websites users are visiting and many other records can be made available. Emails, chat transcripts, logs showing access to certain data systems and detailed call lists is all available for scrutiny if they decide to look for it. Keycards: Keycards are an easy way to keep a tab on what time an employee comes and goes and which areas he has accessed and should be the first priority of CEO's. Automatic alerts: Most electronic systems on computers, and other systems such as electronically-monitored doors, cars and GPS systems, can be set up with notification systems. If someone gains access, a report is logged and you can see who was tampering with what, and at what time. Bag searches: Random bag searches are very crucial as well. When CEO's are spending so much on infrastructure, the last thing they want is to find that things are missing from office. More than that, few people might write down crucial information on paper which might be of monetary value for others. Many companies have successfully implemented such programs by putting up signs saying "you may be subject to a random bag search". Whistle Blower System: Not everyone is a fraudster in your company, but almost everyone will be scared to blow the whistle when they see the fraud. As a CEO, it is your responsibility to ensure that whistle blowers can expose fraudsters without anyone knowing about it. The idea behind these measures is to ensure that your employees must get used to working in an environment where everything they touch can be logged and most importantly, they are aware about it.