Alarming results emerge from a CRIF study on internal fraud in Italy: 81% of respondents agree that internal fraud is on the increase

Italy, December 1, 2014

The final data points to a fairly widespread awareness of the existence of internal fraud – those interviewed knows it often happens within companies and banking institutions alike – but at the same time shows a somewhat limited and passive approach to preventing and identifying it.

The most shocking result to emerge was in response to the survey’s opening question:  “In your opinion, is the risk of internal fraud increasing?”, to which 81% of respondents replied in the affirmative: YES. Not one single respondent declared that the risk of internal fraud was decreasing.
Sadly, internal fraud was shown to be quite common within CRIF clients’ companies: 58% of respondents claim that in the past their companies have been hit by internal fraud carried out by a company employee. The most common motivations for internal fraud were identified as absence or poor internal prevention methods (57%), job dissatisfaction (25%) and personal financial difficulties (43%) – all of which are typical factors in tough economic times such as the current economic crisis. 

 
Despite the clear evidence that internal fraud is a reality within Italian companies, it is worrying to note that many do not proactively try to avoid or prevent it: less than 1 respondent in 5 declared that no pre-employment screening is carried out on new employees to verify and certify candidates’ professional qualifications and work experience before hiring.