According to the latest edition of the Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report, theft of information and electronic data at global companies has overtaken physical theft of property and goods for the first time.
The annual Global Fraud Survey, commissioned by Kroll and carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, polled more than 800 senior executives worldwide from a broad range of industries and functions in July and August 2010. Kroll is a global risk consulting company headquartered in New York with offices in more than 55 cities in over 27 countries, and has been conducting the global fraud survey for the past 4 years.
Some key highlights of the report:
* For the first time in its annual survey, companies reporting theft of information / information assets is more than the companies reporting theft of physical assets or stock.
* The amount lost by business to fraud rose by 20% from the previous year.
* According to the 2010 survey, 88% of companies said they had been the victim of at least one type of fraud during the past year.
* Of the specific countries analyzed China is the top market in which companies suffered fraud with 98% of businesses operating there affected, Colombia ranked second with a 94% incidence of fraud, followed by Brazil with 90%. India is not very far behind with 89% fraud incidence.
* Information-based industries reported the highest incidence of theft of information and electronic data over the past 12 months; these include financial services (42% in 2010 versus 24% in 2009), professional services (40% in 2010 versus 27% in 2009) and technology, media and telecoms (37% in 2010 versus 29% in 2009).
* Fear of fraud is dissuading 48% of companies from operating in other countries.
* Fraud is largely an inside job across all geographies and industries. Some 44% of respondents attributed fraud to employees and a further 11% identified agents or intermediaries as the key perpetrators.
* The following sectors are more prone to information fraud – “Technology, Media & Telecom”, “Financial Services”, “Natural Resources”, and “Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology”.
* The speed of technological developments poses new challenges in the fight against fraud. Nearly one-third (28%) of respondents cited information infrastructure complexity as the single most important factor in raising their exposure to fraud.