We all like to think that we can trust the colleagues we work with, it therefore comes as a shock when it transpires that staff from the most junior level to senior executives are potentially involved in fraud
It has been estimated that about 60% of fraud involves someone from within the organisation, possibly working in collusion with other external or internal parties.
Many firms are unaware of the extent of the fraud that their company suffers and actual losses are sometimes misclassified as operational error.
Whether it is theft of cash, rerouting of cheques or credits, or it transpires that sensitive data is leaked, (be it customer details or a salesman leaving with customer and price lists), these are all examples of fraud.
The average fraud scheme exists for 18 months before discovery, and even then it is often a tip-off that encourages a company to look in more detail at suspicious transactions and events.