Coping With Inside And Outsider Fraud

While fraud has existed for as long as there have been companies, when changes occur in how an organization operates, new doors open for people inside and outside an organization to steal.

Recent macroeconomic events involving supply chain slowdowns, flexible work arrangements and rising inflation have paved the way for a possible uptick in such crimes.

Changes in the supervision of an employee coping with financial pressures, for instance, may encourage the person to commit fraud or invite a con artist to deceive the employee in a sophisticated social engineering scam.

Both types of criminal deceptions are widespread and expensive. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, occupational fraud causes an average 5% revenue loss annually, with the average loss per incident estimated to exceed $1.5 million.

Social engineering scams have tripled since 2020, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, which tallied 316,747 phishing attacks in December, the highest monthly total since the organization began reporting on the subject in 2004.