New York, NY (PRWEB) September 15, 2008
The average company loss to fraud has increased by 22% largely driven by the credit crunch and tough economic climate, according to the latest Kroll Global Fraud Report. Companies lost an average of $ 8.2 million to fraud in the past three years, compared to last year’s figure which stood at $ 7.6 million. The figures are a result of a survey Kroll commissioned from the Economist Intelligence Unit of 890 senior executives worldwide.
The fastest growing types of fraud were information theft (27%: up from 22%) and regulatory and compliance breaches (25%: up from 19%), both up by more than five percentage points from last year’s survey.
The construction and natural resources sectors suffered the most incidents of fraud, due in part to the continuing rise in oil prices and an industry shift to higher-risk areas. Healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology saw an increase in problems with corruption and theft of stocks or assets, while travel, leisure and transportation reported increases in regulatory and compliance breaches and information theft or loss.