Hitachi Capital’s fraud prevention campaign supports broker community
In a further step to support its broker market, Hitachi Capital Business Finance recently ran a series of Fraud Awareness Seminars, aimed at providing the information and intelligence needed to combat the increasing threat of fraud and minimise the impact of fraud on their business.
The seminars covered in some detail, the following:
– An introduction to fraud – including a look at recent high profile fraud cases and the financial impact on the companies involved;
– The ‘tools’ that a broker would need to identify fraud, including recognising specific ‘Asset Finance’ fraud and the issues facing brokers in their battle against it;
– What constitutes a fraudulent act – including a focus on crimes such as Counterfeiting, Asset Striping, Missing Trader and Organised Crime;
– The current issues –resources available to assist in identifying a potential fraudster;
– Case studies and fraudster profiling exercises;
– Internal Security – How good is your business at identifying what is fraud?
– Anti –Money Laundering and Internal Whistleblowing.
Five seminars have been held to date with over 40 Introducers attending. Martin Welland, managing director, Visionary Vehicle Company was among five colleagues who attended the seminars in Leeds and Staines, said: “The sessions were invaluable and as far as I know, Hitachi is the only financial provider who is proactively offering help and guidance on how to deal with fraud. It is an incredibly difficult issue to get to grips with and it is often a total minefield. The session was a real ‘eye opener’ and brought home the very real impact that fraud can have on the business and clients. The course has encouraged us to look at every new deal from a very different perspective.”
The seminars are part of the significant investment that Hitachi is making to support the broker community and compliment the successful FCA compliancy services offering launched by Hitachi last year. Over 200 brokers signed up for the FCA seminars, providing them with the information they need to guide their businesses through how to implement FCA compliant policies, how to complete the authorisation process successfully and how to maintain compliance with FCA’s rules for the future.
Andy Taylor, head of broker sales, Hitachi Capital Business Finance, said: “We are continually looking at ways we can help make our brokers’ lives easier, and with fraud on the increase it is essential that all businesses are aware of what they can do to protect themselves and their clients to stamp out this elusive crime. It is often very difficult to identify what is a fraudulent act and to halt its progress before it gets too far. Through the seminars, we have explored all the different types of fraud and have offered practical advice through case studies and different potential ‘fraudulent’ scenarios in an attempt to help brokers experience and signpost the things to look for when speaking or dealing with individuals. We are committed to helping our broker community strengthen their business, and arming them with information such as this can only add value and support.”
