Charity Fraud Awareness week takes place between 19 - 23 October 2020, it is an opportunity to empower not-for-profit sectors and charities to raise awareness and share good practice for tackling fraud.

This Charity Fraud Awareness week our Fiduciary Risk team at MannionDaniels have put together some top tips for effective risk management, internal controls and cyber security focusing on this year’s three core messages.

Be fraud aware

• Ensure employees are trained in fraud prevention techniques so that all staff are aware of how to report and handle a suspected case
• Routinely share successful cases of proven fraud with your team so that they are confident in the types of fraud to look out for. However, ensure any confidential information remains confidential
• Be vigilant - do not reply to emails which ask for bank details or personal information directly, use the contact information on your system to follow up in a new email trail

Take time to check

• Ensure you check the background of all staff prior to employment – references, education, and credit history
• Ensure all allegations of fraud are taken seriously, assessed, and reported as per your organisations anti-fraud and whistleblowing policies
• Check procedures and processes to ensure they still apply during the current working environment with more people working from home. If there are any changes or amendments make sure to document them.

Keep your charity safe

• Communicate regularly with staff about anti-fraud policies, ways to report suspicions of misconduct and the potential consequences of fraudulent behaviour
• Tighten IT security on all devices, especially now more employees are working from home
• If you are not sure – report it. This allows for new and emerging fraud to be identified and monitored.

Learn more about Fraud Awareness Week by following #CharityFraudAwarenessWeek and #CharityFraudOut on Twitter, or by visiting the fraud advisory panel.