Fraud Awareness Week comes during a time when intense financial pressures caused by the economic crisis have led to an increase of fraud, according to a survey of fraud experts conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education.

 

Official Supporters of Fraud Awareness Week include Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coca-Cola, Best Buy and JCPenney, among hundreds of other organizations of all sizes, industries and locations. During Fraud Awareness Week, Official Supporters will engage in various activities in support of the anti-fraud movement, including: hosting fraud awareness training for employees and/or the community, conducting employee surveys to assess levels of fraud awareness within their organization, posting articles on their web site and in newsletters and teaming with local media to highlight the problem of fraud.

 

ACFE President James D. Ratley, CFE, said that the support of organizations around the world helps make Fraud Week an effective tool in raising anti-fraud awareness.

 

“Fraud continues to be a serious problem, and the state of our economy requires all organizations to be even more vigilant,” Ratley said. “Once again, we want to say ‘thank you’ to all of the Fraud Awareness Week supporters for helping to shine a spotlight on the urgent need for fraud prevention and detection.”

 

In its report Occupational Fraud: A Study of the Impact of an Economic Recession, the ACFE found that:

 

Employees pose the greatest fraud threat in the current economy. When asked which, if any, of several categories of fraud increased during the previous 12 months, the largest number of survey respondents (48 percent) indicated that embezzlement was on the rise.
 

Layoffs are affecting organizations' internal control systems. Nearly 60 percent of Certified Fraud Examiners who work as in-house fraud examiners reported that their companies had experienced layoffs during the past year. Among those who had experienced layoffs, almost 35 percent said their company had eliminated some anti-fraud controls.
 

Fraud levels are expected to continue rising. Almost 90 percent of respondents said they expect fraud to continue to increase during the next 12 months.
 

For more information about increasing awareness and reducing the risk of fraud during International Fraud Awareness Week, visit www.FraudWeek.com.

 

Occupational Fraud: A Study of the Impact of an Economic Recession is available for download online at the ACFE’s web site: www.ACFE.com/Occupational-Fraud.