A majority (58 per cent) of key decision-makers in large UK businesses surveyed by the UK fraud prevention trade association, Cifas, have admitted fraud and financial crime poses a serious threat to their organisations. That’s a rise from 49 per cent in 2023.
Fraud accounts for around 40pc of all crime in England and Wales and remains a critical issue for companies to tackle – from employees being targeted and insider threats to supplier fraud and cyber-attacks, says Cifas. The trade body’s survey of 500 leaders responsible for training staff, and whose organisations operated with 1,000 or more employees, also showed nearly all, 98pc of respondents felt it was important to protect colleagues from becoming victims of fraud – an 18%pc increase from last year.
Meanwhile, half of those surveyed were ‘more concerned’ about their company being targeted by fraudsters or experiencing a cyber-attack since making changes to their operations, such as introducing hybrid working. Most, 77pc of key decision-makers said their staff training budgets had increased in the last year, suggesting more organisations prioritised how to strengthen fraud defences, workplace safety, and safeguard employee welfare. Some 40pc of respondents said fraud was not a concern.
Mike Haley, Cifas CEO, said: “It is encouraging to know that many business leaders understand the severity of fraud and understand that they must invest in measures that protect their organisations, workforces, and customers.
“I would urge those decision-makers who believe that fraud is not a threat to their business or staff to think again. Any business can be targeted and without effective counter-fraud controls in place, the consequences can be significant.”
Rachael Tiffen, Director of Learning at Cifas, pictured, added: “Upskilling your workforce has never been more important. Developing fraud prevention knowledge means your employees will not only help to identify and report criminal behaviour in the present, but also empower them to detect incidents of dishonest conduct and mitigate future risks.”
Cifas has developed a range of products and services; such as, you can download the Cifas Learning Survey 2024 for free.
About the survey
The survey was carried out by Opinion Matters between May 2 and June 3 on behalf of Cifas with a nationally representative sample of 500 UK-based decision makers (aged 18-plus). Respondents were responsible for staff training programmes/budgets and worked in companies that employed 1,000-plus people and offered hybrid options.
