Every year, U.S. companies lose millions of dollars to vendor fraud. These schemes can be complex and usually involve collusion of multiple suppliers or suppliers and employees of the defrauded business. Small businesses that don’t use sophisticated vendor software or don’t have other anti-fraud resources are particularly vulnerable. But knowledge is power. Learn what vendor fraud is and the simple steps you can take to prevent it. Predetermined outcomes Vendor fraud can take one of several forms. Price fixing, for example, is a common scheme in which competitors agree to set the same price for goods or services or jointly establish a price range or minimum price. Bid rigging is similar. It involves two or more suppliers agreeing to steer a company’s purchase of goods or services. Potential...
