Charities Services are raising awareness for this week’s ‘Charity Fraud Awareness Week’ in a bid to tackle fraud and financial crime.

For tackling fraud online, international charity regulators have published a document titled Eight Guiding Principles.

Principles include reporting every individual fraud identified, and noting that trust and goodwill which charities rely on is exploited upon by fraudsters.

Charities Services have previously published recommendations to protect charities from fraud, these are:

1. Having clear written financial procedures and delegations
2. Implement robust HR procedures
3. Establish a code of conduct
4. Define financial responsibilities
5. Develop a fraud prevention policy
6. Be secure when banking online
7. Limit cash handling
8. Regularly check your accounts and grant funding
9. Encourage board members to question charities’ finances
10. Understand the importance of reporting fraud

If you are a victim of fraud, there are several places you may need to report to, including the Department of Internal Affairs, NZ Police, Netsafe (if online) and your bank.