Britain's fraud problem shows no sign of abating, with
over £1bn of fraud coming to court in 2007, a large chunk of which
was web- or IT-related.
According to the
KPMG
Forensic Fraud Barometer, the country has just recorded its
highest level (by value) of fraud since 1995, and the second
highest ever in the barometer's 20-year history.
Although the number of cases coming to court fell to 197 from
277 in 2006, this number was higher than any seen in any year prior
to 2005, said KPMG.
With fears that the credit crunch will lead to a period of
protracted economic slowdown, KPMG Forensic warned that
personal and corporate pressures could fuel fraudulent behaviour,
making the situation worse in 2008 rather than better.
Hitesh Patel, partner at KPMG Forensic, said, "Levels of fraud
continue to remain disturbingly high. Organised gangs have been
more active than ever, with a proliferation in VAT frauds, ID
thefts and other forms of white collar crime, to the tune of a huge
£889m, or nearly 90% of fraud by value."
KPMG said government agencies had been the primary target for
fraud by organised gangs, with fraud totals reaching £833m. This
represents an enormous jump from 2006, when professional gangs
accounted for just £221m of fraud.
Once again last year,
carousel
fraud on items such as mobile phones and computer chips
represented a substantial proportion of the value of organised
fraud.
Gangs have also aggressively exploited ID theft to perpetrate
scams, making false benefit or tax credit claims, often through
government benefit websites.
Other scams were more basic. One saw a Northern Ireland man
routinely remove barcodes on items in a hardware superstore and
replace them with his own false barcodes so that he paid less than
the items were worth. He then sold the goods on eBay and made an
estimated profit of £100,000 before he was finally caught.
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