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Most, 58 per cent of decision-makers in large UK businesses as surveyed by the UK fraud prevention trade association Cifas, admit that fraud and financial crime poses a serious threat to their organisations. That’s a rise from the 49 per cent found in the survey in 2023. Some 500 responsible for training staff, and whose organisations operated with 1,000 or more employees, were surveyed. Near all, 98pc of respondents felt it was important to protect colleagues from becoming victims of fraud โ an 18pc increase from last year.
Half of those surveyed were โmore concernedโ 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 the 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, pictured, said: โIt 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.โ
Rachael Tiffen, Director of Learning at Cifas, added: โUpskilling 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.โ
