When a company is defrauded, the perpetrators often come from within its own ranks. But external fraudsters are also becoming increasingly sophisticated, as an analysis of the insurance industry shows.
In cases of economic fraud or embezzlement, those responsible are often on the payroll of the company concerned. Only around every second case of damage with a criminal background can be traced back to external perpetrators, as the German Insurance Association (GDV) has reported. All other crimes are committed within the respective company.
The damage caused by criminal employees is significantly higher than that caused by external crimes. “On average, criminal employees cost their employers around 125,000 euros before they are caught,” it said. “External criminals would cost an average of 80,000 euros.” The company’s own employees enjoy a level of trust and are aware of the company’s security gaps.
GDV has evaluated thousands of claims
According to its own information, the GDV evaluated a total of 4,400 claims from fidelity insurance for the study.
In external attacks on companies, the perpetrators are now very cleverly using the possibilities of artificial intelligence. They use it to fake false identities, for example. “Some go so far as to pose as a board member or managing director in a video conference,” it said. Employees often do not recognize the fraud and transfer large sums of money to other people’s accounts at the instigation of the supposed boss.
Source: Stern
