Preventing and dealing with online fraud

The figures suggest that the cost of fraud to charities in 2012 was in the region of £1.1 billion.

Get Safe Online, with the assistance of the Charity Commission, has published a guidance page for charities to prevent and detect online fraud and deal with it when it happens.

The guidance deals with both internal fraud (e.g. misuse of a charity’s credit cards) and external fraud (e.g. identity fraud, scam emails etc).

The guidance reminds trustees to:

• ensure appropriate internal financial controls are in place and train staff appropriately;
• keep proper and adequate financial records;
• act responsibly if fraud occurs;
• protect their website; and
• be aware of and take measures to prevent identity fraud.

IBB’s specialist charity lawyers have a wealth of experience in delivering practical commercial advice to charities and not for profit organisations and those who work with them. Contact our charity law team here, call 01895 207809 or email charities@ibblaw.co.uk.