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.
Ryann Ramos is a product manager at Advyzon. She is a team-oriented, skilled communicator and organizational enthusiast with experience in financial investment technology.
Henry Kowal is Director of Product Management at Arity, where he is responsible for emerging aspects of Arity’s Insurance product strategy, including Arity IQ. He joined from The Hartford, where he defined the telematics strategy and roadmap for the Personal Lines Auto business. He also oversaw the design, implementation, and management of the new smartphone telematics program offered to The Hartford’s AARP policyholders in over 40 states.
Isabelle leads a team of over 12,000 industry professionals committed to helping insurers transform and reshape their business models through EY audit, business consulting, tax and corporate finance services. She’s committed to bringing the support and confidence of the firm to help businesses thrive in the new transformative age.
She has over 30 years of experience working with large financial services organizations. Previously, she held the role of Assurance Managing Partner for EY EMEIA Financial Services and before that, held the role of Global Assurance COO based in London. Since 2000, she has served as the lead partner for large international financial institutions headquartered in France or in Europe, whether audit or non-audit clients.
In addition to her work with EY, Isabelle is an active contributor to the discussion shaping the sustainability agenda in the insurance industry and is a board member of Positive Planet, a non-profit organization.
She received a master’s degree in Management from ESCP.
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.
