A new employee is learning a lot at once: new systems, new coworkers, new responsibilities, and all the little ways your business gets things done. What they don’t know yet can create an opening for fraud. They may not realize that you never request payments by text, that vendor banking changes always require a phone call, or that no one should ever ask for a verification code.
That’s why fraud prevention belongs in onboarding. You don’t need hours of cybersecurity training or a complicated program. You need to give new employees a few clear rules that help them recognize when to stop and what to do next.
Rule #1: Explain How Your Business Handles Money
Make sure new employees understand your payment procedures from day one. Explain who is authorized to request and approve payments, what steps employees are expected to follow, and when additional verification is required. Pay particular attention to changes or requests that fall outside your normal process. For example, a change to a vendor’s payment information should always be independently verified before money is sent.
When employees know the process and understand that they shouldn’t bypass it, even for an urgent request, they’re much less likely to be fooled by a scammer.
Rule #2: Create a Short “Never” List
Tell new employees exactly what legitimate requests should never look like at your business. Keep the list short enough to remember. For example:
- We never ask employees to share passwords or verification codes.
- We never change payment information based solely on an email.
- We never bypass our approval process because something is “urgent.”
- We never ask employees to purchase gift cards or send the card numbers secretly.
- We never send sensitive customer or employee information without confirming the request.
This gives employees something much more useful than “watch for suspicious emails.” They know your rules, so they can recognize when someone is trying to break them.
Rule #3: Show Employees What a Scam Might Actually Look Like
Use five minutes of onboarding to walk through two or three situations an employee could realistically encounter. For example, what should they do if an email from a familiar vendor suddenly includes new payment instructions? Or what if the owner appears to text asking for an urgent purchase, or someone claiming to be from your bank asks for a security code?
Don’t just ask employees to identify the scam. Have them explain what they would do next. That’s the behavior you want them to remember when a real request arrives.
Rule #4: Give Employees a Clear Verification Plan
Give new employees a clear process for handling anything that seems unusual. Tell them who to contact, how to verify a request independently, and when they should stop a transaction until they receive confirmation.
Most importantly, make it clear that checking is expected, not discouraged. New employees may hesitate to question a request from someone with more authority or experience. Give them permission from day one to slow down, ask questions, and verify before taking action.
Rule #5: Set Up Employee Access With Fraud Prevention in Mind
Onboarding is the ideal time to establish strong security habits and make sure new employees have the right level of access from the start. Give employees access only to the accounts, systems, and information they need to do their jobs. Then put a few basic safeguards in place:
- Require strong, unique passwords and turn on multifactor authentication whenever available.
- Set transaction alerts and appropriate approval limits for employees who handle business finances.
- Review system and account access regularly, especially when an employee changes roles or responsibilities.
- Remove access immediately when an employee leaves the business.
A few minutes spent setting up access correctly can prevent bigger security problems later.
Make “Check First” Part of Your Culture
For new employees, fraud prevention starts with giving them the knowledge and confidence to make good decisions from day one. They don’t need to recognize every scam. Instead, they need to understand your procedures, recognize when something seems unusual, and feel confident verifying a request before taking action.
A few minutes of fraud prevention during onboarding can make a meaningful difference. When new employees know that it’s always okay to stop, ask, and verify, they can quickly become another important layer of protection for your business.
