Business Fraud increases by 74%

Figures just released show that as news of the credit crunch still dominates the press, the amount of business fraud has increased by as much as 74%.

Accountants BDO Stoy Hayward’s latest figures put the estimated cost of fraud to UK business at £705m over a period of the last six months.

The finance and insurance sectors have been worst affected with finance fraud and insurance fraud accounting for almost 90 of the £705m figure.

Greed is stated as the main motive for business fraud and accounts for 36% of the £705million figure, whilst gambling is the main motivation for a further 24% of cases.

Perhaps supporting the theory that business fraud has risen because of the credit crunch, debt has been stated as the motive for 25% of business fraud. This suggests that businesses also need to be wary of the threat of internal fraud as well as external threats.