Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/12/financial_fraud_soars/
Financial fraud hits 23-year high
High-tech scams and tax fraud cost UK economy £1.37bn, says KPMG
Posted in Security, 12th January 2011 11:55 GMT
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High-end financial fraud hit a record 23-year high during the course of 2010, management accountancy and consultancy firm KPMG reports.
KPMG's latest annual Fraud Barometer report records 314 incidents of fraud with a combined total of £1.4bn, up 16 per cent on 2009. This is the highest level recorded in the 23-year history of KPMG's Fraud Barometer.
Tax fraud, money laundering and cases involving high technology all rose last year while mortgage fraud fell, the Daily Telegraph reports [1]. The barometer only looks at incidents with losses of over £100,000 that became the subject of High Court cases. The true level of fraud is undoubtedly much higher.
Professional crooks were blamed for roughly half (51 per cent or £709m) of the reported losses. Allegedly corrupt insiders were fingered for the remainder of the figure, with the 61 cases blamed on senior managers responsible for a disproportionate £419m in losses.
Government departments have now overtaken financial services firms as the main victims of high-end scams. ® ®