Business fraud has increased in recent years as the global economy continues to struggle to get back on its feet.  The world´s largest economies like the U.S. and the European Union have had a long run in the recovery process but according to the International Monetary Fund the global economic activity is getting stronger now. Regardless of the global projections and economic status, there is one “business” that continues growing despite the global crisis and other local conflicts like the Ukrainian-Russian current situation: online crime. Criminals are having one of the best times ever.

Both small firms and corporations find themselves targeted by online hackers, false offers, and all kinds of criminals seeking a quick financial gain.  Everything from fictitious companies and investments, to complex stock offers, suspicious deals in virtual currencies and other fraud types are a growing problem, especially in countries like Russia and the Ukraine where they are hackers.

Due to the above mentioned, risk management is now more important than ever. Every company doing business in Russia should perform due diligence, but they are not the only ones. Russian criminals attack remotely. This means that anyone can be a prey. In practical terms, the high risk of being attacked by cybercriminals puts every business and organization in a place where investing in security and investigation is mandatory. Knowing the risks and taking action to reduce or avoid them  from becoming a real incident is part of the process. But it is also important to be cautious on every new step: verifying new employees backgrounds, making sure all new deals come from legitimate sources, etc.

A security firm reported recently that Russian hackers have launched unprecedented, highly-sophisticated attacks on Western oil and gas companies. This situation puts several concerns on the table: How far could a cyber attack like this go? Could this affect the energy supplies of the rest of the world? Who is behind all this? Are we confronting the new war? Can it be stopped?

And although all these concerns are in far higher level than we can control, if you translate it into an inside the business matter, many other questions arise: Are the information systems incapable of resisting the Russian cyber-attacks? Did malware sneak in the company system because inside users have terrible practices with the computers that put the whole company at risk?

Managers and corporate executives sometimes tie themselves into knots worrying about the risk or threat rather than analyzing the causes and looking for solutions. Many times mitigating risk is as simple as getting a reliable background check for a new Russian employee and verifying if this person has any crooked past. Nobody wants a terrorist or a hacker inside their company. Plus, the impact of interrupting a business process due to fraud could be devastating. For example, losing control of energy companies’ systems could end in a whole country being put at risk of war.

Private investigators in Russia recommend that everyone should focus on their role. Finding out if a certain company or individual with whom you consider business is a fraud or not is not a manager´s duty, it is a private investigator´s duty. Hiring professional help is in fact a manager´s job.  Corporate executives, chief officers, and area managers should know when hiring a private investigation in Russia or anywhere else in the world is crucial, and they should go ahead and do it.

The consequences of skipping due diligence could be greater than you think, no matter if you’re a tiny business or a global corporation. It is never wise to take the risk, unless you know well what the risk is, you have calculated the impact and you are 100% sure that assuming the loss is cheaper than taking action before it happens.   Verification is a far better practice than damage control.

C. Wright
© 2014 Russia PI™

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