Friday 28 October 2016 1:00 am

Financial fraud still neglected by most business leaders, despite over a quarter falling victim to or being the target of a scam in the last two years

Over two-thirds (69 per cent) of business leaders have done nothing to protect their business from financial fraud, research out today has found.

Although Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK) also discovered that more than a quarter (28 per cent) of businesses had either fallen victim to or been the target of a scam over the past two years, almost half (48 per cent) said they had little or no concern of falling foul of a fraudster.

The research also discovered over a third (37 per cent) of businesses leaders have never discussed fraud with their staff, despite 26 per cent of scams involve an employee being approached directly.

"Fraudsters are regularly targeting businesses and both business leaders and employees need to be more vigilant and aware of their tactics," said Katy Worobec, director of FFA UK. "For example, fraudsters will often use spoof emails to impersonate a senior member of staff to deceive employees into transferring money. They also pose as a regular supplier to the company and make a formal request for bank account details to be changed."

Ronan Quiqley, executive director of corporate services at the British Chambers of Commerce, added: "This survey shows the importance for businesses in remaining vigilant in the face of financial fraud."

In light of the findings, FFA UK is urging employers to share simple tips for preventing fraud with their company, such as listening to gut feeling and not automatically assuming callers are who they claim to be.

Last month, FFA UK revealed an incident of financial fraud occurs in the UK once every 15 seconds, while there had been more than one million separate accounts of people handing over personal details between January and June, an increase of 53 per cent compared with the year before.