The improvements come after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that fraud and cybercrime has increased by nearly a third in the last year.

SmartSearch’s international reports allow firms to complete their Know Your Business (KYB) checks and mitigate the risk of fraud.

They dig out company information which is difficult to track down and provide extensive details on corporate ownership structures, using a variety of data sources.

The reports provide full shareholder and ultimate beneficial ownership details, alongside business identification data, consolidated financial information and also screens the business to ensure it is not on a sanction list.

The checks can also be conducted retrospectively on existing clients to ensure a business is fully compliant in the case of an audit.

SmartSearch also provides ongoing monitoring and sanction checks to ensure the client is alerted to any status changes, whilst providing continued regulatory compliance.

SmartSearch chief executive John Dobson says: “The national lockdowns in response to the outbreak of the pandemic, caused a spike in attempted fraud, with organised criminals using the lack of face-to-face interactions as the perfect opportunity to set up a fake company. 

“And sadly, this increase is unlikely to slow-down any-time soon.  

“As so many businesses now operate internationally, ensuring a business is legitimate has never been more crucial. 

“It takes a lot of time and effort to try to manually verify whether not only the person you’re speaking to is legitimate, but whether they are actually connected to the business they claim to be.

“Regulatory differences between countries can be challenging, but our solution is continually updated in line with laws and regulations, ensuring businesses always meets their legal requirements.

“Our new enhancement will help prevent businesses from falling foul to fraud and help protect clients from the rising number of fake companies.”