Insights for business owners & their teams from Sharon Lewis, Oklahoma Bankers Association
Business industries are facing an unprecedented increase in financial crimes and fraud-related losses, according to Sharon Lewis from the Oklahoma Bankers Association. She recently shared some insights into how businesses can mitigate loss by viewing fraud prevention as asset protection, not just loss prevention.
Here are key takeaways you and your team can implement today.
Think of Fraud Prevention as Asset Protection
We often think of fraud as a loss we try to recover from after it happens. Instead, think of fraud prevention as protecting your assets before anything goes wrong. Being proactive isn’t optional — it’s essential.
“Most industries consider loss prevention a cost center, not a profit center,” Sharon says. “We need to start looking at fraud prevention as protecting of assets.”
Set Up Internal Controls
No employee should act alone when conducting financial transactions or handling sensitive information.
- Require dual controls: Two sets of eyes on every transaction and a backup in place when key staff are out.
- Always verify: A quick call to the customer for verbal confirmation to verify transactions, especially those received via email or phone.
Try this today: Review who currently has access to your financial systems and how approvals are handled. Add a second layer of review where it’s missing.
Build a Fraud Prevention and Response Plan
Don’t wait for something to go wrong. Establish clear policies and procedures to reduce risk —and develop a plan so your team can act quickly if fraud happens.
Your fraud plan should include:
- Reviewing current policies for weaknesses
- Incorporating internal controls
- Keeping your technology updated
- Educating your employees and customers
- Mapping out a clear action plan for fraud events
Try this today: Schedule a team meeting to talk through your current fraud response plan — or create one from scratch.
Audit Yourself
Here is an exercise Sharon suggests to help you identify and strenghten weaknesses in your company policies, procedures and fraud prevention.
Ask yourself, “If I were going to steal from my own company, how would I do it?”
Then, build safeguards to protect the weak spots you uncover.
Try this today: Pick one business process — like vendor payments — and walk through how it could be exploited. What could you do to tighten it up?
Plan for AI Threats
AI threats are becoming more common in email compromises and deepfake videos or phone calls. If an employee received an urgent email — or even a convincing video call — claiming to be you, asking them to buy gift cards or wire money, would they know how to respond?
Try this today: Create a “safe phrase” with your leadership team — something only you would know to verify each other in suspicious situations.
Monitor Accounts Daily
Speed matters when it comes to catching fraud. The faster you spot it, the better your chances of minimizing loss.
Try this today: Assign one (or two) team members to review account activity daily. Add it to their calendar — it’s that important.
The Bottom Line: Awareness Is the Advantage
Fraudsters look for easy targets. If your team is alert and proactive, your business becomes much more complicated to exploit. As Sharon put it: “When it comes to fraud, the weakest link becomes the target.” Don’t be that link.
Stay Informed: Fraud tactics are constantly evolving. Make education part of your company culture, stay on top of current trends and share current scams and trends with your team. Check our our Safety & Security page for additional recommendations on how you can help protect yourself from fraud, scams and ID theft.
Additional Resources:
How to Report Fraud:
The information provided in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, or financial advice. Please consult with your personal banker, tax advisor, attorney, or other qualified professional regarding your individual situation.