Although digitalization has brought numerous advantages to our lives, it has also opened new opportunities for fraudsters, who are constantly developing more advanced forms of fraud.

Therefore, it is crucial to be aware of these changing methods and understand how to protect yourself on both a personal and business level.

What are the types of existing frauds?

Fraud is any illegal act characterized by deception, violation of privacy or identity theft. These types of actions do not require physical force, since they use tricks to achieve their objective, which is usually obtaining money, personal information, goods or services.

Over time, new forms of fraudulent activities have emerged with a variety of methods applicable to a wide variety of sectors. Some of the types of fraud that exist are:

• Financial Fraud: are all those illegal activities that generate direct economic damage and alteration to the financial statements of individuals or financial institutions.

Among the most common cases of financial fraud are embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, money laundering, mortgage and credit card fraud, among others.

• Fraude Fiscal: consists of the practice of evading the payment of taxes by taxpayers, through fraudulent methods. Some tactics used to carry out tax fraud are non-declaration of income, the use of tax havens, falsification of expenses, among others.

• Electoral fraud: It is understood as any possible interference in the electoral process with the purpose of modifying its results. Among the dishonest activities applied to carry out this type of fraud are the manipulation of the ballot boxes and the counting process, the buying of votes, coercion, etc.

• Law Fraud: includes actions of deception aimed at avoiding the application of a law, relying on another rule or legal provision. Although these practices appear to be within legal limits, in reality they generate consequences contrary to the law.

Some examples of legal fraud are tax evasion, manipulation of public tenders and improper use of legal and social regulations.

• Electronic fraud: covers all criminal practices that make use of telecommunications such as the Internet, telephone calls, text messages, email or social networks, to carry out a crime of fraud or type of scam.

• Business fraud: refers to any deceptive and malicious practice within a company or organization for the purpose of profit. Among the most common business frauds are corruption, contract falsification, inventory manipulation, deviations, among others.

What is the most common type of fraud today?

Nowadays, thanks to accelerated globalization and the constant digitalization of almost all aspects of our lives, the Internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. Also meaning new ways for online scammers to act.

In this context, theelectronic fraud stands out as thetype of fraud most frequent today, representing the main threat to people and companies, due to the capacity it has to impact different areas of our lives, from the economic to the social.

What are the risks of electronic fraud for people?

Electronic fraud mainly involvesthreats to individual privacy. Bringing closer the possibility of Identity Theft, leading to the appropriation and improper use of confidential information, incurring significant losses.

Theeconomic damages due to the theft of personal information can be very high. According to the University of Portsmouth, in 2021 fraud losses were almost $5.5 trillion worldwide.

Furthermore, the growing dependence on online financial services increases vulnerability to scam situations. by requiring more and more sensitive information on the web. According to CONDUSEF data, around 25% of people who use the Internet make e-commerce purchases.

In this sense, if the implementation of protocols to protect confidential data is not achieved, it could lead tofinancial and legal problems. This is why it is essential to have services such asZenpli that helps you increase the protection of your personal information by helping to avoid electronic fraud.

What fraudulent activities affect companies?

There are a series of fraudulent activities associated with electronic fraud that can harm companies in their normal development. Among the most well-known and riskiest types of fraud for companies are:

Phishing

This type of fraudulent activity can lead to consequences such as the exposure and loss of sensitive company data, compromising security by violating privacy regulations and directly affecting its reputation, resources and therefore profits.

In addition, solving an attack ofphishing (which can start by simply entering a fake website by mistake or following certain steps after winning a supposed raffle), possibly entail significant financial efforts, leading to losses in productivity and work time.

Emails to update social network passwords

This method of electronic fraud can be very damaging to institutions. If employees use their social networks for work, fraudsters could access those accounts, risking the company's security.

This has consequences such as the disclosure of sensitive information, the disappearance of confidential data, the dissemination of false information, or others. Such actions could significantly affect the company's prestige and undermine customer confidence.

Embezzlement of funds

The embezzlement of funds causes direct economic damage to companies, negatively impacting their profitability by reducing profit margins and hindering economic growth. Furthermore, it implies legal responsibilities for both the people involved and the company itself.

Skimming

Businesses can be affected by this fraudulent activity involving the use of stolen card information (such as credit card numbers) to make deceptive transactions.

This deteriorates the image of the company and the trust of users, also incurring costs associated with the replacement of affected cards and the implementation of more secure technologies.

10 tips to prevent fraud in your company

Although threats and fraud tend to increase their progression every year, there are a series of infallible tips to ensure the well-being of your projects, your users and your assets.

Here we leave you a list with 10 tips on how to prevent fraud in your company:

• HireZenpli as Identity Department.
• Avoid sharing personal information.
• Access secure websites.
• Use a good antivirus.
• Check the email sender.
• Protect your devices with antimalware.
• Develop an appropriate anti-fraud and digital security policy.
• Performs evaluations of internal controls.
• Educate workers about safety.
• Get advice from experts.

Do you still have questions about how to apply these tips? Then defend your company from different types of fraud withZenpli! 

Discover the reliability of our identification andschedule a consultation today. Protect your business with the security it deserves.