Substitute the word SPY for FRAUD
Special note to corporate security directors: This Certified Fraud Examiners survey is excellent. The findings parallel my internal corporate counterespionage experiences, another form of fraud... with much larger monetary losses. Swap a few words. Expand your thinking. Learn where to look. Become a wiser counsellor for your company.
A fraud spy suspect might not be easy to pick out of a crowd -- or from a rap sheet.
The average fraud spy perpetrator has no prior fraud spy charges or convictions, according to new research by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world's largest provider of anti-fraud spy training and education. The offender is commonly between the age of 31-45, and somewhat more likely to be male than female.
More insights gleaned from the study help fill out the profile, however. Behavioral red flags, tenure at an organization, position and educational background are all criteria examined in the ACFE's 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud & Abuse. The Report is drawn from a survey of Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) who investigated fraud cases between January 2008 and December 2009.
Here are some of the key findings
about fraud perpetrators
in the 84-page Report:
High-level perpetrators cause the greatest damage to their organizations. Frauds Spying committed by owners/executives were more than three times as costly as frauds spying committed by managers, and more than nine times as costly as employee frauds spying. Executive-level frauds spying also took much longer to detect.
Fraud offenders Spies were likely to be found in one of six departments. More than 80% of the frauds spying in the study were committed by individuals in accounting, operations, sales, executive/upper management, customer service or purchasing.
More than half of all cases in the study were committed by individuals between the ages of 31 and 45. Generally speaking, median losses tended to rise with the age of the perpetrator.
Most of the fraudsters spies in the study had never been previously charged or convicted for a fraud-related spying-related offense. Only seven percent of the perpetrators had been previously convicted of a fraud spying offense. This finding is consistent with prior ACFE studies.
Fraud perpetrators Spies often display warning signs that they are engaging in illicit activity. The most common behavioral red flags displayed by the perpetrators in our study were living beyond their means (43% of cases) and experiencing financial difficulties (36% of cases). (more)
