No occupation is immune to Fraud - Even the best dressed can be Fraudsters Lawyers Accountants Business Directors Government officials Entrepreneurs Housewives Plumbers Ministers of parliament Sporting heroes The guy in the penguin suit may well be using his reputation to attract  your  Trust  to deceived you for  his own benefit . You can prevent fraud  simply  by becoming aware of what fraud is and how it happens.

Fraud

The fastest growing business in New Zealand , it is like  a weed it grows best when it  is ignored. 

We are very complacent about Fraud in New Zealand  and   only the very top of the iceberg   can be seen.

There is nothing new about fraud , its occurred through the ages but technology has placed  the ability  for fraud  at the tips of  the fingers of more people than ever before   click here to visit a most interesting fraud site

New Zealand has the lowest level of corruption in the OECD  we pride ourselves  on this  achievement and many believe that  this is what inspires business confidence .

Our Government  strives to actively protect our corruption free status  to encourage business growth and  overseas investment.

There are two ways  of protecting the corruption free status

By exposing  Corruption and  dealing with  offenders in such a way  that the word  goes  out  to any one contemplating fraud or corruption that  you will be caught and dealt with harshly  or

 

By making  life difficult for  those  who  seek to question corruption or expose fraud there by sweeping fraud and corruption out of sight and out of mind.

 

Only By exposing fraud and corruption  can we  stamp it out. 

 

Corruption and Fraud  both  thrive in silence

 

It is essential that Fraud is properly handled  , by  allowing the offender  off will give others  with the message that  Fraud is condoned.

Fraud is a  low priority to the police because it is not funded.  ACC fund  bodily injury though crime or vehicle and LTSA funds traffic.

In terms of Economy  Fraud is uneconomical  the  hours involved in investigation  invariably do  not provide a return  and  it is therefore left to businesses to seek their own solution.

I remember the days when failing to pay for a meal was an arrestable offence  now it is called a civil debt.

Property and monetary offences have moved from the criminal sector into the civil sector, those still in the  criminal sector are difficult to enforce.

We all need to be come  proactive about Fraud   , it is like a cancer and is the fastest growing crime in New Zealand. The chances are that you have  already been a victim if not you soon will be.

KPMG have published some interesting findings on Fraud .....Fraud, fuelled by greed and lifestyle, continues to strike at 50% of New Zealand businesses
 

The survey 2008 shows a significant increase in fraud in Australia and New Zealand, compared with our last survey in 2006.

Gambling was the major driver of fraud and a significant number of the reported incidents involved some form of identity compromise.

internal controls remain a key tool in the prevention and detection of fraud. Organisations should ensure that the current control environment adequately addresses it's current fraud risks. Prevention, detection and response strategies should be in place to mitigate the risk of fraud.

Fraud Survey 2008: A New Zealand perspective (PDF: 392KB)

 

Protect yourself    -    Verisure  offers an in depth investigation based screen  for any decision  which you have to make  where by the worst case scenario is that  you  could lose  money.

Fraud   can happen any where  any time   even   who wants to  be a millionaire  was a victim   and  see this episode as well