The fraud prevention trade body Cifas sees a broader shift in workplace behaviours when workers are faced with the opportunity to commit fraud, arising from a survey posing scenarios of wrong-doing and fraud.
Commissioned by Cifas and carried out by the agency Opinion Matters, the survey had responses from 2,000 UK employees working in companies with 1,000-plus staff. Those surveyed reacted to five fictional scenarios involving workplace fraud:
– Employee A fakes a reference to cover gaps and gets hired;
– Employee B sells log-in details, believing itโs harmless one-time access;
– Employee C secretly freelances for a competitor, hiding dual employment;
– Employee D claims personal lunches as business expenses to avoid approval hassle; and
– Employee E gambles company funds, intending to repay after winning.
All five showed minorities admitting to, or saying it was acceptable to do, such things as use a fraudulent ‘reference house’ to pad out a CV in the name of getting a job.
Some 24 per cent stated that they believe itโs acceptable to secretly work for a competitor โ a practice known as โpolygamous workingโ. Some 13pc of employees said they have either sold their company login details to a former colleague, or know someone who has, in the past 12 months. Some 32pc of senior managers and 36pc of directors surveyed said the selling of log-in details was justifiable. Among Cโsuite executives, this figure was yet higher – 43pc; and for business owners, 81pc. Besides that tolerance for fraud-related behaviour across all levels of seniority โ including leadership, by sector the survey pointed to IT and telecoms professionals as showing the highest tolerance across the multiple fraud scenarios.
Some 24pc admit to knowing someone who has committed expenses fraud in the past year โ making it the most witnessed fraudulent behaviour.
Rachael Tiffen, Director of Learning at Cifas, said: โSelling login details might seem insignificant to those involved, but it can open the door to serious fraud and financial harm.” And Mike Haley, chief exec of Cifas, said: “These insights suggest a shift in workplace norms and raise urgent questions about organisational culture, risk management, and accountability. Organisations must take steps urgently to build effective counter-fraud cultures in the workplace, strengthening prevention, and empowering employees to do the right thing.”
For the findings in full visit https://www.cifas.org.uk/workplace-fraud-trends-2025.
