NEW YORK -- Actimize, the leading provider of transactional risk management software for the financial services industry, today announced the results of an Actimize peer-review survey examining employee fraud within financial services institutions. More than half of the financial institutions surveyed see organized crime, increased employee access to technology and poor hiring/screening practices as the main contributors to employee fraud.
More than three quarters of respondents see employee fraud becoming more sophisticated while almost the same number, 73 percent of respondents, rate the finance industry's readiness to tackle the employee fraud problem as poor to somewhat acceptable. Of those who knew, 50 percent said they have had a case of data theft in the last 12 months and their average "largest employee fraud" incident uncovered in the last five years was $874,961, while the single largest theft reported was $6,000,000.
The survey found that 85 percent of respondents have been affected by employee fraud and 65 percent see the threat increasing. Additionally, more than 50 percent of respondents believe that half, or less, of employee fraud occurring at their institutions is being detected. Not surprisingly, fewer than half were using automated tools or more sophisticated data mining technology, like that offered by Actimize and other leading vendors.
"Financial institutions have been aware of employee fraud and have been fighting the problem for years. However, with increased employee access to information and the growing sophistication of employee fraud, financial institutions are losing millions of dollars each year as insiders develop new and innovative fraud techniques to continue stealing from their organizations," said Amir Orad, EVP and CMO of Actimize. "Proper employee fraud detection technology, infrastructure and tools need to be implemented by financial institutions, in addition to proactive screening and reactive investigations, to safeguard their assets and retain customer loyalty."