Payroll fraud, explained
Before you shop for software, it helps to know exactly what you're defending against. These guides cover the schemes themselves — how they work, what they cost, and how to catch them — with pointers to the right tool category when software is the answer.
What Is Payroll Fraud? A Plain-English Guide for Small Businesses
The main payroll fraud schemes — ghost employees, padded hours, diverted deposits — plus how common each one is and who tends to commit them.
8 min read
Ghost Employees: Red Flags and How to Find Them on Your Payroll
What a ghost employee actually is, the red flags that give one away, and a step-by-step audit you can run this week without special software.
9 min read
Time Theft and Buddy Punching: What They Cost and How to Stop Them
Buddy punching quietly costs about 2% of gross payroll. What counts as time theft, what the law says, and which fixes actually work.
8 min read
How to Detect Payroll Fraud: Red Flags and Controls That Work
Most payroll fraud is caught by a tip, not an audit. The data red flags, behavioral warning signs, and five controls that close the gaps.
10 min read
Payroll Fraud Statistics: What the 2026 Data Actually Says
Current payroll fraud numbers from the ACFE's 2026 Report to the Nations and the FBI's 2025 cybercrime data — median losses, durations, small-business risk, and honest notes on what each figure measures.
9 min read
Payroll Audit Checklist: The Checks That Actually Catch Fraud
A practical payroll audit you can run in an afternoon with reports you already have — roster reconciliation, duplicate bank accounts, overtime outliers, and the money trail.
9 min read
Segregation of Duties in Payroll: The Control Auditors Ask About First
Why one person controlling hiring, payroll, and the bank account is behind most payroll fraud — and how to split the duties even at a five-person company.
7 min read
How to Report Payroll Fraud: Who to Call, in What Order
The reporting paths for both directions — an employee suspecting their employer, or an owner who just caught someone — including the 72-hour window that decides whether stolen money comes back.
8 min read
Payroll Fraud Insurance vs. Prevention: What Actually Protects You
What employee dishonesty coverage really pays for, the social engineering sublimits that surprise people, why an ERISA bond doesn't protect your business — and where prevention fits.
8 min read
Is Middesk Worth It for a Business Under 50 Employees?
Middesk pulls straight from state registries and the IRS, not a scraped database, but it's API-first with no self-serve signup. Whether that's worth a sales cycle depends on how often you're actually onboarding new vendors.
6 min read
Is GoodHire Worth It for a Trades Business?
Electricians, plumbers, and HVAC techs go alone into other people's homes — a specific liability most office SMBs don't carry. Which GoodHire tier actually covers that risk, and which one doesn't.
6 min read
Is Truework Worth It for a Business Under 50 Employees?
No subscription, no minimum, the same per-check price whether you verify one hire or fifty. What that pricing shape actually means for a small business that only needs this occasionally.
6 min read
Is Ramp Worth It for a Services Business?
An agency or consultancy's fraud exposure lives in the card and the AP inbox, not a factory floor. Why that makes Ramp's free AI review close to a no-brainer, and the two caveats worth knowing first.
6 min read
Is Sublime Security Worth It for a Business Under 50 Employees?
The 'update my direct deposit' email doesn't care how big you are, and Sublime is free until 100 mailboxes — which covers most of the businesses reading this. What you're actually getting for free.
6 min read
Is Homebase Worth It for a Services Business?
Homebase's free tier doesn't actually include the GPS check that stops buddy punching — that's a paid upgrade. The real math on whether it's worth paying for.
6 min read
Is Gusto Worth It for a Business Under 50 Employees?
Gusto's baseline fraud controls come free with the payroll you're already paying for. What's actually in that baseline, what it doesn't cover, and when to layer in something dedicated.
6 min read