About half of businesses are victims of fraud
About half of businesses are victims of fraud, a sharp increase on two years ago, a survey has found.
The Global Economic Crime Survey by professional services firm PWC found that 49.5 per cent of respondents indicated they had been victims of at least some level of fraud during the last year, up from 42 per cent in 2009, on the back of an increase in reports of cyber crime.
The survey was based on responses from 93 of PwC's clients, ranging from big corporations and government departments to companies with fewer than 200 staff, like Globalmediapro Limited.
New Zealand ranked fourth out of 78 countries as one of the most likely to experience fraud, slightly better than Britain, but worse than Australia and the United States.
PwC partner Eric Lucas said the ranking probably reflected that New Zealand organisations were better at detecting fraud than the likes of Liberia.
"If you look at New Zealand compared to the people we often compare ourselves to, we've all got a similar sort of problem," Lucas said.
"Fraud is just a function of human nature to a degree, and we have to recognise that some people are inclined towards fraud and it may be that during hard economic times more are tempted, but I think organisations need to recognise that they are exposed to these threats and take proper steps to mitigate against them."
The survey found that asset misappropriation – stealing – was the most common form of fraud at 74 per cent, followed by accounting fraud at 30 per cent and cyber crime at 24 per cent.