Accounting giant KPMG revealed that British fraud surged in 2011, up 150 per cent to £3.5 billion - boosted by rising incidents of management fraud.
The KPMG 'Fraud Barometer' reported an all-time high for the UK with the firm attributing the dodgy dealings to continued tough economic conditions. £2.5 billion of the fraud occurred in the second half of 2011.
"2011 was an extraordinary year for fraudsters - as demonstrated by the record losses through large-scale cases of fraud which dominated the headlines," said KPMG forensic partner Hitesh Patel.
Patel said that economic uncertainty was a "double edged sword" and had caused companies and government to root out fraud but at the same time individuals were motivated to perpetuate more fraud.
KPMG also warned that fraud perpetuated by professional criminals was also on the rise. Many such acts were enabled via online mechanisms such as phishing and online banking fraud.
"Sadly due to the current economic circumstances the forecast is that the situation will get worse before it gets better," Patel added.
Advertisement
Related Stories
- 'UK leads world in ticket fraud sites' says the Met Feb 21st 2011 at 6:02AM
- UK firms told to beware hackers Feb 7th 2011 at 4:42PM
- Repair techs defraud man of $20 million Nov 10th 2010 at 12:02PM
- IT security workers oblivious to social networking risks Sep 2nd 2010 at 5:29PM
- VAT rise the 'least worst' option for retail Aug 24th 2010 at 11:02AM
- Apple kicks rogue developer off App Store Jul 7th 2010 at 12:30PM
- Microsoft acts to cut down cyber crime Jun 18th 2010 at 5:35PM
- Retail health shows signs of improvement Apr 23rd 2010 at 10:31AM
- Email is most popular scam method Feb 2nd 2010 at 3:23PM
- December shows strongest retail growth for four years Jan 12th 2010 at 11:39AM
Add a new comment
You need to be logged in to post comments. If you do not have an account then please register.
Comments
0 comments
There are no comments yet, be the first to add one!