Fraud is continuing to increase this year, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
The report found that 79 percent of anti-fraud professionals have seen an increase in the overall level of fraud as of November, compared to 77 percent in August and 68 percent in May. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents said in November the increase has been significant, compared to 34 percent in August and 25 percent in May.
Grace Ata, AVP of product development at Equisoft has 17+ years of experience in fintech and insurtech, Grace has led the development of several game-changing digital transformation initiatives within the automotive lending sector and Insurance and Wealth Management industries in North America. As AVP, Product Development, Grace brings a deep knowledge of the insurance distribution space and extensive network of industry subject matter experts to lead the strategy and development team working on our core Digital Insurance Agency Platform, Equisoft/centralize.
- Deep knowledge of insurance distribution and its challenges
- Focused on performance and results for on-time, on-budget digital transformation initiatives
- Completed 60+ projects that drive operational efficiencies for financial institutions and MGAs
- Subject matter expert on data utilization including CITS/ACORD data feeds
An active member of CLIEDIS, CAILBA, NAILBA, and FundServ, Grace's exceptional talent rests on her ability to analyze & leverage industry trends to build exceptional high-value products. Passionate about operational excellence, she has successfully helped clients optimize their use of technology to accelerate efficiency, growth and digital transformation. A Bachelor of Science graduate of the University of Waterloo, Grace applies a thorough approach to product development.
This report details municipal stakeholders' views of the current and future environment, outlining the challenges and opportunities to get major infrastructure projects completed in the United States.
Doug Stitzer is the Global Head of Insurance for Pegasystems. Doug is responsible for building & leading the platform solution strategies, go to market messaging, product roadmap, and ISV partnerships for the Insurance vertical. Doug and his global team of industry principals carry an average of 25 years of Insurance experience and use this first-hand knowledge to help clients transform how they approach profitable growth using technology. His mission is to bring positive disruption to Insurance and bring its user experiences up to par with the automation, personalization, and digital demands driven by other industries.
Cyber fraud, payment fraud (such as schemes with debit and credit cards) and identity theft are the three top fraud schemes seeing increases, according to anti-fraud professionals.
The largest increase in observed fraud was in financial statement fraud, with 7 percent more anti-fraud professionals reported seeing financial statement fraud in November, compared to August. That could be because as companies continue to see their profits drop, they feel more pressure to cook the books.
The survey also found 77 percent of anti-fraud professionals report that investigating and preventing fraud is more challenging now, while 71 percent said detecting fraud is more challenging as a result of the pandemic.
ACFE members anticipate the fraud trend will continue, even as vaccines have begun rolling out this week in the U.S. Ninety percent of the survey respondents expect a further increase in the level of fraud over the next 12 months, with 44 percent predicting the change is likely to be significant.
Nearly half (48 percent) of the organizations polled expect to increase their investments in anti-fraud technology, and 38 percent intend to raise the use of fraud-related consultants or other external resources. Budgets for anti-fraud training and professional development are experiencing a similar increase (according to 37 percent of the organizations polled), but nearly one-quarter (24 percent) anticipate a decrease in this area. The budget component most likely to see decreases is travel for anti-fraud staff, which shouldn’t be surprising given the plunging levels of air travel in general over this past year, with 38 percent of the survey respondents expecting a reduction in funds for travel in the year ahead.
