Thank You

In this final post of the year 2012, I would like to say a very big thanks to my regular readers,clients and others who have contacted me through this blog. I hope my thoughts and ideas have contributed positively to you and your organization.

Happy holidays to you all

Online Christmas shoppers Be alert!

It is that time of the year again when Christmas is celebrated. Millions of people would be shopping to find the perfect gifts for loved ones, family and friends. Majority of us would be shopping online, maybe due to other commitments or the worry of going out, and then I thought it would be helpful to remind ourselves of some valuable tips to remain vigilant against the danger of online fraud.

Unfortunately online fraud is a massive problem. Reports from the Card Protection Plan (CPP) suggest that there is a victim of online fraud every seven seconds. So it is very important to keep safe and vigilant against these threats.

One of the most important tips I would give is to always shop on secure websites, this means websites that has a small padlock symbol in the right hand side of the address bar that encrypt any sensitive financial information that you input. Websites that start their web addresses with: https//www means the website should be trusted and is secure. If we do shop on unsecure sites, we could be putting ourselves at risk of card-not-present fraud, where card details could potentially be used by fraudsters to take out goods or services in your name.

Another important tip is to always log out of sites once you’ve finished shopping. If you use a shared computer, this means other people cannot go on and use your log-on details to buy their Christmas gifts. And as an extra security measure, if a website offers you the chance to use Verified by Visa or MasterCard Secure Code, then use it. It’s easy-to-use and adds another level of verification, which means you’re better protected against anyone gaining access to your personal card details.

Online fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated and unfortunately Christmas shoppers are a prime target, particularly due to the various sites we visit in the search for that perfect gift.

Here are the CPP’s top tips for shopping safely online:

• Install anti-virus protection, which scans for malicious files that give the PC or notebook a virus
• Install anti-phishing tools, which identify phishing e-mails and links that trick users into giving away private information
• Install an active firewall, which updates and upgrades automatically, preventing hackers from gaining access to a PC or laptop
• Keep your personal information safe. If someone asks for your personal details ask yourself why they would need them – particularly for online enquiries
• Don’t write down PIN numbers, passwords, user names unless you absolutely have to do so, and if you do, keep them to yourself
• If you store personal information on your PC, install up-to-date security software
• Remember the golden rule: identity thieves are experts at spotting an opportunity to steal your identity and all they need are a few personal details so look after them.

 

 

 

Corruption in the Procurement Process

Procurement is a very lucrative area for corruption in every country as a large percentage of expenditure is spent through procurement or contract annually. “The procurement systems are those processes, procedures and entities involved in the purchases of goods and services by public or private entities”. This could involve construction of an expressway, consumption or investment of goods and services, from pencils, bed sheets, drugs for hospitals, gasoline of government cars, equipments for schools and hospitals, hiring of consultants for engineering, financial, legal or other advisory functions.

Public Procurement is particularly vulnerable to corruption due to the high level of funds involved. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), expenses related to procurement amount to 15% of the gross domestic product and can be substantially higher in most developing countries. A large part of health and education expenditure is used for procurement of goods and services; one general estimate is that between 20 to 50 % of government health expenditure is spent on drugs.

Procurement corruption can take many forms, from bribery and kickbacks, facilitation payments, collusion, conflicts of interest, bid rigging, vendor fraud, defective pricing and many more.

 

Mitigating Corruption in Procurement

The first step is recognising there is a risk of corruption in the procurement cycle and to be proactive rather than waiting till there is a problem. Mitigating strategies such as competitive bidding must be applied at all stages of the procurement, restricting contact between bidders and procurement staff, setting up a conflicts of interest register to manage possible conflicts of interest cycle. Red flags such as, expensive lifestyle unexplained by known income, unapproved external jobs, frequent social contacts with suppliers, contractors and other clients and many others must be developed for staff of every organisation.
 

In addition to this, the leadership in a country must fight corruption aggressively.  If grand corruption exist at the highest level, it is almost impossible to end smaller forms of corruption. The legislative framework in a country should cover all aspects of the procurement cycle and all actors involved.

If you would like to know more about this subject matter, I invite you to contact me via email (contact@emgfraudconsulting.co.uk).