Fighting charity fraud
The National Fraud Authority is measuring the extent of fraud against charities in the UK.
The National Fraud Authority is measuring the extent of fraud against charities in the UK. A link to an online survey has been sent to over 33,000 charities with recipients being urged to complete it to provide a better informed picture of fraud loss against the sector.
The National Fraud Authority publishes the Annual Fraud Indicator, which estimates the scale of fraud losses against victims of all types in the UK. Last year a survey by the NFA suggested that chairties could be losing 2.4 per cent of their annual income to fraudsters, which would amount to £1.3 billion across the sector.
Catherine Hayes, head of the NFA’s measurment and analysis unit, says, ‘Fraud is a hidden crime. Fraudsters are skilled at using deception and abuse of trust to defraud others. Just one instance of fraud can have a devastating effect on a charity. The survey that is being conducted cuts across charities of all sizes and will allow us to develop a better picture of how fraud harms the sector.’
Ian Hewitt from The Charity Commission, which has assisted with the survey, says, ‘We strongly support initiatives which raise awareness of, and help to combat, fraud in charities. We are glad the NFA is conducting this survey, which will provide a better understanding of the problem facing the sector.’
As well as helping to address fraud against the charity sector, the NFA is also undertaking similar surveys to measure fraud against the private sector, and targeted studies of payroll, and procurement fraud. All survey results will feed into the third Annual Fraud Indicator which will be published in the first quatre of 2012.
For more information please contact Peter Chua on 020 3356 1034.