Insider Fraud

What counts as insider fraud?

Insider fraud is committed by someone the business already trusts: an employee, contractor, or supplier with legitimate access to systems, approvals, or payment data. Rather than breaking in, they misuse the access they were given. Common forms include creating a ghost vendor, redirecting a supplier or salary payment to a personal account, or waving through invoices for goods never delivered. A common Australian example is an accounts payable clerk who adds a new “supplier” to the master file, using their own bank account, then approves a handful of modest invoices that never draw attention.

Why it matters for Australian finance teams

Insiders know your controls, your approval thresholds, and the times of month when reviews are lightest. That makes their schemes harder to detect and often longer running than external attacks. Weak separation of duties, where one person can both create a payee and release a payment, is the single biggest enabler. For finance leaders, insider fraud carries reputational and cultural damage on top of the direct loss, and it frequently surfaces only during an audit or a staff change.

How ezyshield helps

ezyshield confirms the person or business behind a payee is real and owns the nominated bank account before money moves, and re-verifies when details change, so an insider cannot quietly attach their own account to a supplier or employee record without leaving a trace. It does not replace internal controls such as segregation of duties, but it adds an independent verification step and records every check in an append-only audit trail. See how it works and our guide to accounts payable fraud prevention.