British businesses facing fraud 'epidemic' costing them £125 billion a year
PA Fraudsters have taken advantage of technology and corporate inaction
Fraudsters have taken advantage of technology and corporate inaction and sent the total annual losses linked to fraud and error to record levels - up 43 per cent since 2008. A report by tax and advisory firm Crowe Clark Whitehill and the University of Portsmouth's Centre for Counter Fraud Studies found that those losses are now equivalent to 6.54 per cent of UK business expenditure. On a global basis, the financial cost of fraud now stands around £3.55 trillion - which is two thirds more than UK gross domestic product.
GETTY On a global basis the financial cost of fraud stands around £3.55 trillion
Fraud is a pernicious problem which affects every area of society Jim Gee
Jim Gee, head of forensics and counter-fraud at Crowe Clark Whitehill, said: "Fraud is a pernicious problem which affects every area of society. "Businesses are less financially stable and profitable, the quality of public services is diminished, and even charities do not get the full benefit of the donations which are made. "Organisations constantly analyse costs and seek to reduce them to the point of optimal efficiency, but fraud is being overlooked."
GETTY Fraud and cyber crime now account for nearly half of all crime in the UK
Official statistics released in January showed that fraud and cyber crime now account for nearly half of all crime in the UK. However, proper fraud protection that cut losses by at least 40 per cent would free up more than £50 billion each year for the UK economy, the report said. That is more than the UK Government spent on defence or education in 2016.
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GETTY Proper fraud protection cut losses by at least 40 per cent