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.
Christopher Cornella is the vice president of business development at US Professional Funding and US Medical Funding, specializing in commercial financing solutions for businesses nationwide with start-ups, acquisitions, expansions, refinancing, working capital, equipment, etc. He has a particular focus on helping accounting and tax firms access the capital they need to grow, modernize, and thrive.
Viacheslav Brui is a Data & AI Practice Manager with over 14 years of experience in the IT industry. He began his career as a Data Engineer and has since worked with both large global IT service companies and boutique consulting firms. Today, he leads the development of data and AI capabilities, helping organizations define and execute their data strategies.
Viacheslav specializes in AI transformation initiatives, supporting companies in moving from experimentation to scalable, business-driven adoption of AI.
Iffi Wahla is a second-time founder serving as co-founder and CEO of Edge, an HR tech platform focused on transforming the hiring landscape through solutions that aim to make talent acquisition quicker, more accessible, and effective for organizations everywhere. With insights gained from launching and growing his initial startup, where he built skills in team leadership and scaling operations, Iffi now channels that expertise into Edge's goal of changing the future of work. Dedicated to fostering a more equitable job market, he incorporates AI-driven tools and user-friendly interfaces to bridge gaps between employers and candidates, ultimately supporting broader economic advancement.
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.
