Company fraudsters target small audit firms
Small audit firms are more likely to have their details stolen by identity thieves than their larger counterparts, according to the latest statistics
Martin Williams, managing director of credit rating agency Graydon, warned
that the fraudsters were employing clever tactics to avoid being spotted.
‘It appears the IDs that have been stolen are partnerships with no more than
two or three partners,’ Williams said. ‘Putting on small firms is less likely to
raise suspicion.’
Fraudsters create false accounts, often containing stolen details to give the
company an air of respectability, which they then use to gain credit.
While the company law reform bill, currently going through parliament, is
looking to give Companies House the power to provide greater protection to
individuals’ details, there are no plans to extend this to auditors.
‘It will be a gap in the security,’ said Williams. ‘I don’t know how they can
extend that until they accept all the information digitally.’
A Companies House spokeswoman said it was discussing monitoring auditors’
details with company law group and bill team, but there were no plans to do so
at present.