Getting Ahead of Corporate Fraud Risks

Fraud risk is something that every company must manage. In the latest episode of Markets Plus, I sat down with Larry Zelvin, Head of BMO’s Financial Crimes Unit, to discuss practical actions and unique insights that can help employees prevent fraud events from occurring in their own companies and tips when one does happen. 

"Showing the maturity of an organization is understanding that these risks can actually impact you - that there's no such thing as perfect security. It just doesn't exist, and it can happen to anyone," said Zelvin. "But when it does happen or when there's a suspicion of it, it's important to report it to the right experts in your organization. That could be your security team, your legal team, your risk team." 

Some forms of corporate fraud are becoming complex, such as using artificial intelligence to create deep fake versions of senior leadership. However, some of the most effective actions that employees can take to reduce the risk of fraud are relatively straightforward.  

For example, whenever in doubt, stop. Don't be rushed into a mistake. Unfortunately, I've seen it happen time and time again that an employee at a client company may think that they're doing a favor to another senior leader, and it turns out that the request didn't actually come from within that company. It's been business email compromise, and it's come from a fraudster.  

"Do know that when you are moving money, speed should not be your friend. It's okay to trust, and you should trust, but you don't necessarily have to do things in seconds or minutes," Zelvin said. "Can it take an hour? Can it take a couple hours? Can you do some research and validate that what you're about to do?" 

Listen to the ~26-minute podcast for more insights on fraud prevention.