Fraudulent business behaviours costs the United Kingdom more than 15 billion pounds every year.
The cost of fraud is not only borne by the country, but by the citizens as well.
Many of us think of fraud as something that may affect others, or be only touching us on a very minimal basis, when the reality is something else entirely.
When you invest in a company on any level, there is always the chance that the business will fail, but fraudulent activity makes this far more likely.
Fraudulent business activities are not always the same kind of behaviour that we think of as fraud.
Things like a Ponzi scheme or other types of activity are of course fraud in business, but that's not the only variety that you may encounter.
One kind of fraud is seemingly very harmless but can cost you a lot of money if you get involved in it, which is simply being dishonest about your products.
Scenarios in which a company has not told the truth about their products and years later were found out have made them bankrupt, are in fact fraudulent, and can have ramifications on every other company who deals with them on any level.
It may make other companies and consumers question your own ethics and leave you open to legal issues as well as loss of business.
Consider this type of scenario; a company that you advertise and sell for makes products that are free of animal proteins.
You offer those products in your vegan store and carry them since they are guaranteed to not use animal testing.
Years later, it turns out that the company not only uses animal fat in their hair care products, but also tests those products on animals, in direct opposition to the advertising that you have had in place.
Your company has been selling animal-based products to a community that had no desire to use them.
You have inadvertently been misrepresenting yourself as well as your products.
While the fault for this may not be wholly yours, you are going to see ramifications from that issue.
It is clearly fraud, it is clearly going to cost you business and personal embarrassment, but how do you recoup that loss? There will be perhaps lawsuits against you and a loss of business on many levels.
You're going to need advice to cope with the aftermath of the problems.
In an instance such as this one, you will need to recover the loss that you have incurred by carrying these products, rebuild your business and in many cases, deal with public issues.
Having someone on your side who can advocate for you and help you to deal with the fall-out is going to be imperative.
In a case such as this one, even though the fault may not be your own, seeking out a good business fraud solicitor is going to be your best way to get over the issue and to move on with your business.
Business fraud can be so much more than a blatant scheme but can take a wide number of forms, all of which may injure you in many different ways.
If you have been injured by doing business with another company, get good representation and seek your own damages and awards.