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Fuel card fraud: 5 tips to protect your business
Fraud prevention isn’t just about having the right technologies in place. It’s really important that your staff know your fraud prevention game plan and why they should buy into it. You can begin to educate employees by providing them with annual fraud prevention training. Your staff members need to know the consequences of fraud both to themselves and to the business, and helping employees understand how fraud puts your business at risk of reputational damage and lost revenue is a great first step to reducing fraud. Additionally, you want employees to hear it from you that willingly participating in fraudulent activity themselves can mean the termination of their employment.
Read on for five fraud prevention tips to help strengthen your safety protocols and reduce fraud across your operations.
Download our fraud prevention training report
Train your staff on how to prevent fuel card fraud with this comprehensive report.
5 tips and fraud prevention strategies to implement today
Fraud prevention is about getting and staying ahead of fraudulent activity. The goal is to avoid larger, more costly activity from happening and keep fraudsters at bay.
These five tips highlight strategies and tactics to bolster your fraud detection and prevention efforts—and your risk management strategy as a whole—through fraud awareness, education, and clear policies.
Tip # 1: Develop a comprehensive fraud training course
If you don’t have a fraud prevention training program in place, developing one will be a great first step toward beating fraudsters at their game. Your training program should be detailed, covering all types of fraud including fuel card fraud, maintenance fraud, and timesheet fraud.
If you can, pull real-world examples of past incidents from your own business to drive messages home and illustrate the potential consequences.
Fuel card fraud prevention checklist
Download our checklist to help your team mitigate fraud.
Tip # 2. Outline crystal-clear fraud policies and procedures
Ensure that your documented fraud policies and procedures align with your business’s stance on and tolerance for fraud. Highlight your expectations for fuel purchases, vehicle maintenance, and work hour reporting. Once you’ve established and shared your policies, ensure that all drivers can access them. You can do this by incorporating them into your training materials and distributing printed copies to all employees.
Tip # 3. Train drivers to use your fraud prevention technology
Implementing telematics and GPS tracking systems will help you monitor vehicle usage and driver behavior—and your employees should be familiar with how they work. For example, drivers should know how to properly and ethically use their fuel cards, where approved fueling locations are, and what kinds of purchases are off-limits.
While driver-level card controls can manage much of this automatically, educating drivers on the do’s and don’ts of company purchases is a great additional safeguard.
On the business side, fleet managers should:
- Regularly review telematics data, fuel management systems data, and any other sources of data to identify patterns that may indicate fraud.
- Use analytics to spot anomalies such as excessive fuel consumption, unusual route deviations, or inconsistent maintenance records.
- Use a fuel card program that alerts you when fraud is occurring
Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to circumnavigate even the most sophisticated security measures, which is why it’s important to stay one step ahead of their tactics.
Tip # 4. Promote a culture of trust and transparency
Once training programs and policies are in place, don’t stop there. Make sure your business’s core values are reflected in your workplace culture. Encourage open communication and create an environment where drivers feel comfortable reporting fraud and other suspicious activities. To do this, consider establishing a confidential reporting system for drivers to report suspected fraud without fear of retaliation.
Tip # 5. Reward honest behavior
Finally, a job well done should be recognized and applauded. As even the most effective fraud prevention training programs can only reach so far, fleet managers should find ways to recognize and reward employee honesty and hard work. A recent OnePoll survey found that nearly half of respondents left a job recently due to feeling under-appreciated. And an additional 65% said they’d work harder if they felt their contributions were noticed by management. Recognition is meaningful to employees and it’s not hard to do. You can use an established incentive program or create a new one that rewards drivers who consistently adhere to policies and demonstrate integrity.
Perks and bonuses add an element of fun that can further encourage honesty; however, if you’re on a budget, simple recognition truly does go a long way. If you go the recognition route, consider publicly acknowledging drivers who report fraud or those who suggest improvements to prevent fraud.
Combine the right tools with reliable training
Equip your drivers and fleet managers with the right tools to fight fraud effectively. With WEX, you’ll get innovative telematics, GPS tracking, in-real-time alerts, and highly controllable fuel cards that encourage ethical behavior and help fleet managers stop fraudsters in their tracks.
Build a better fortress against fleet fraud—get started today.
All fleet cards are not the same, and different types of fuel cards suit the needs of different kinds and sizes of businesses. View WEX’s fleet card comparison chart to see which fleet fuel card is right for you.
WEX speaks the language of small business operators. Whether you’re looking to modernize your insight and reporting efforts, save on fuel costs or take advantage of the latest GPS tracking technologies, WEX offers solutions to simplify the business of running a business. To learn more about WEX, a dynamic and nimble global organization, please visit our About WEX page.
Learn more on how to better manage your small business:
Resources:
Forbes Magazine
Editorial note: This article was originally published on October 31, 2019, and has been updated for this publication.