Archive for the ‘Identity Fraud’ Category

Cornwall the sea and making money

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Been a bit slack on updating our blog of late. There are reasons:

  1. We had four days in St Agnes Cornwall staying with Kirsty’s (my wife) sister and what a week for weather. We love Cornwall, we have been going there four or five times a year for 20 years and we particularly love the north coast winter or summer the walking and beaches are spectacular and if you like surfing the place to be. I find the rhythm of the sea spiritually healing and we although it was only a short break it’s good to switch off. http://www.porthvean.com/
  2. We are undergoing a strategic review of our business and the need to up the security to meet the scrutiny of compliance departments of major financial institutions.
  3. Last year was terrible for so many SMEs financial services mailings dropped by 80% and then we had the mail strikes.
  4. Keeping pace with the shear volume of information and social media is onerous but it’s here and it’s a part of the future embrace it or die. Check out check out http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-is-social-media-one-year-later. the numbers confound.
  5. Reviewing our web site we are always looking to improve ways of engaging with customers present and new your feedback is important. As a service company we want to give you the best service we can and we are here to tailor our service to meet your needs. Direct Mail will be around for a few years yet and we can:
    • make yours more efficient
    • targeted
    • save you money, (we know we can)
    • help enhance your brand image
    • mitigate opportunities for identity fraud
    • and cut your carbon footprint

You I am sure would like to make more money/cut costs we are in business to make a profit we can both benefit from talking.

PS Ask us about the huge savings and efficiencies to be made from using CodEffect 2d Bar Code

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Banking, Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Hotels where to stay put up your customers, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, SMEs | No Comments »

Millions wasted on inaccurate mailings

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Did you know that on average business data decays at 27% annually and that businesses waste £220 million each year on inaccurate mailings?

By using our Returned and Undelivered mail (and catalogues) service you can can help cut that cost, save your company money, protect your brand and send out positive green mess age to all your customers.

I hate waste and I see it all the time, piles of ‘junk’  direct mail,  duplicate letters to myself and then again to my wife it’s poorly  badly targetted mail.

I have nothing against Direct Mail I have been prompted to buy goods from Direct Mail but there is an iniquitous amount of waste through sloppy targeting and duplication and it does piss people off.

It’s not rocket science and we have been doing it for fourteen years so we know our service can reduce this waste and we can prove how we do it (and  by using CodEffect we can reduce that even further), and we recycle all the waste paper.

Few businesses monitor the amount of mail they send out, or the cost of returned mail or the potential damage to their company or brand and for every piece of poorly targeted business mail returned to sender, a staggering 20 are thrown away.

People throw away 59 percent of the mail they receive for previous employees.

Direct Mail Landfill costs £40 a ton.

Facts like these are are everywhere but when I read,

‘We’re the last billionth of a second in the evolution of matter’. DeLillio

I think I really should get a life.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

Identity fraud and recruitment agencies

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Insider Fraud and Employment Agencies

This subject applies to all companies/businesses/organisation operating in the UK and I raise it wearing my fraud prevention hat, for further information about protecting yourself against fraud please see www.northwestfraudforum.co.uk or your own regional fraud forum

On the subject of Insider Fraud there is always a possibility when recruiting either permanent or temporary staff through an agency that the correct procedure/checks have not been carried out by the agency.

The recruitment industry has its fair share of cowboy agencies who to cut costs and do not even carry out even the most basic checks. Where this happens how can you be sure the person who turns up on you premises is even eligible to work in the UK, or is the person the agency said they have sent?

My wife’s company had a recent case in Liverpool where a large national agency were supplying temps for a major call centre. It transpired that five of the people that had been put forward to the client and who were accepted on face value, were part of a criminal ring who were expropriating customer bank details etc and selling them off. It subsequently transpired that these people had not even had their eligibility to work in the UK checked.

Preventing insider fraud starts by ensuring you know who is working on your premises and I would urge all companies/organisations that use agencies to do a thorough check on the agency, make a visit to their premises and demand to see their processes. These checks must include:

  1. Identity check either a) Passport; or b) Drivers licence AND birth Certificate
  2. NI Number
  3. Proof of address with recent utility bill/bank statement
  4. References
  5. Eligibility to work in the UK where in necessary must be checked

Victims of Fraud

SMEs who have been victims of e-crime should contact Action Fraud

(www.actionfraud.org.uk). Action Fraud is at the heart of National Fraud Authority’s

strategy to make the UK a more hostile environment for fraud and encourages

small businesses and individuals who have been defrauded to come forward, call

Action Fraud and report the crime 0300 123 2040

TEAM http://www.jobsatteam.com/ is the largest network of independent recruiters in the UK and offers a unique range of services: Over 350 membership locations across the UK providing a Total Recruitment Service to clients and candidates both locally and nationally across a wide range of disciplines

The views/opinions expressed on this website are entirely my own

Posted in Home workers, Identity Fraud, Local information, Recruitment Agencies, SMEs | No Comments »