Organisations face a heightened threat of employee fraud during the recession and should be on their guard, according to a new forum launched to deal with the issue.
Employer vetting and screening strategies are vital in the fight against organised crime and fraud, said the newly formed Protecting Employers from Insider Threats forum (Prefit).
The Association of Chief Police Officers estimates that fraud costs the UK about £20 billion a year and that most of this is committed by employees inside an organisation. This figure is set to rise as unemployment grows and criminals continue to view fraud as an easy option.
But employers can deter criminals by stopping them getting past the interview stage with screening and by using ongoing security to spot employees that start stealing.
The forum has been set up to bring together HR and security professionals from all sectors to share information on the best ways to vet potential and existing employees.
Prefit chairman and KPMG forensic team member David Chernick said he hoped HR practitioners would welcome the forum and its networking opportunities. He said HR had sometimes struggled with vetting candidates “because the responsibility has been delegated to them from security”. He added: “Screening and vetting clash with recruiting people, as you are trying to get people into the business. HR and security are not natural bedfellows.
“But the bad guys already work together in these networks. So employers need to do it, freely and lawfully, as well.”
But Chernick said the forum will not be encouraging “blacklists” of employees to avoid. He said: “Blacklisting is reprehensible and ineffective. It points to unscrupulous employers and desperation. So we want to show there are lawful and effective ways of dealing with recruitment. Sharing information is a good thing when it’s done lawfully and effectively.”
Andrew Waugh-Bacchus, HR manager at employment agency TAC Europe, welcomed the forum and said: “We have a number of clients across aerospace and engineering and when we’re sending people into airlines and crews they need to be who they say they are. We will be using Prefit’s information to assist with recruitment. This ability to be more forthcoming with information through the network will help us keep learning all the time. There’s definitely more discussion to be had.”