Introduction
As businesses understand the benefits of fuel cards UK companies have grown increasingly attracted to using this cashless transaction method. Unfortunately, fuel card fraud risk has also risen sharply. While fleet cards help fleet managers to track their fuel expenses better, the introduction of this method of payment has created a serious problem of fuel card fraud.
Worse, this crime can be perpetrated for a long time before being detected, something that might have serious ramifications on the company budget. To prevent undesired costs such as these, make sure you understand all the forms fuel card fraud manifest itself in. later on, learn the strategies of curbing fuel card fraud. Here are quick tips to keep your fuel card safe from fraudsters.
What is a Fuel Card?
A fuel card works pretty much the same way as a credit card. With it, a driver fills up at a petrol station as usual but presents a fuel card instead of cash. Fuel cards typically charge lower rates than the pump price, allowing businesses to save money. Fuel cards UK are an incredibly convenient way to pay for fuel as they are accepted at most fuel stations.
What are the Strategies to Keep your PIN secure?
A PIN ensures that your card is protected from unauthorized use even if it gets in the wrong hands. But for this to happen, avoid writing your PIN somewhere other people might see, for example, on the back of your card. Also, refrain from choosing easy-to-remember PINs like your vehicle registration.
Keeping the card and the PIN together is highly discouraged. If you part company with one driver or more, make sure you change the PIN. Make sure the PIN is kept somewhere secure and safe.
Another tip is to ensure that each driver is provided with their fuel card. This avoids a situation where drivers share PINs. Multiple uses of one PIN increases fraud risk and makes it harder to track misuse or fraud.
Get insurance
Some fuel cards UK providers offer clients Card Protect, zero-liability insurance that is available for all fuel card products. With Card Protect, your business is covered for losses amounting to a maximum of 25,000 litres beginning immediately you alert your provider of a stolen card. This protects you from paying for the fraudulent activities of other people.
Act quickly
It is advisable to report a stolen or lost card and have it cancelled immediately. Most card providers also allow you to access all invoices and transaction reports online to remain in charge of what you are spending on your cards.
Apart from this, card providers have an open communication channel that makes it incredibly easy to contact them. Should you need to report a stolen or lost card, call their staff and they will cancel it and issue you with a new one at a moment’s notice.
Track your cards and driver
Whether it is a thief or your driver, pinpointing fraudulent card use can be challenging. But thanks to telematics tracking services, you can not only track your drivers but also integrate the fuel card into the system. Fleet managers can set up drivers on a platform and link specific cards. This way, it becomes easy to spot when a driver misuses your card immediately.
We believe this is a critical step for reducing fuel card fraud and increasing control.
Be on High Alert
You can easily let some administrative tasks slip. By being aware of the whereabouts of your fuel cards and checking your invoices frequently, you have a great chance of stopping fuel card fraud.
In case you see suspicious behaviour or spot discrepancies in the statements, our best advice is to have the card cancelled immediately and contact your account manager so you can be issued with a new card.
Educate drivers
Your drivers are probably the most important cog in your engine as far as fighting fuel card fraud is concerned. That is why you should ensure that they thoroughly understand the reasons for having a fleet card in the first place. Additionally, make sure you explain the consequences of being caught in fuel card fraud. Fuel card fraud not only costs your company several thousand pounds every year, but it is also a criminal activity punishable by law.
Safeguards You Can Implement
Other than the tips above, there are some safeguards you can put in place to prevent fuel card fraud. After that, you will be able to protect your business from these undesired costs.
Set limits
The one thing that makes fuel cards fundamentally different from debit and credit cards is that they allow you to set controls to better track their usage. For example, you can set limits on the maximum number of litres of fuel a driver can fill up per day or transaction. Fleet businesses also significantly reduce the risks of crime when they set a cap on how much money can be paid for fuel per day or transaction.
By knowing that they have only enough limit on the fuel to fill their vehicle only, drivers are unlikely to misuse fleet cards to purchase fuel for someone else’s. daily limits or prepaid cards help to avoid and control abuse.
Collaborate with employees
Sometimes, all it takes to minimize fraud is to ask drivers to write down odometer readings and also remind them never to leave the fuel card in a place where its information can be stolen. Although drivers are culpable in some frauds, some external threats can be avoided if you enlist the help of your employees.
Refuel when necessary
Another way to prevent fuel card fraud is to ask your drivers to fill their tanks to the fullest and only refuel after covering the maximum distance.
Conclusion
The popularity of fuel cards has come with another risk that of fuel card fraud. Companies are losing millions every year because of these fraudulent activities. As a result of this, you must know the ways criminals and rogue drives use to commit fraud, and how to prevent them.
