Urgent call issued for fraud prevention training as insider threat increases

The advice follows on from the results of Cifas-commissioned research, which has revealed that 6% of organisations with over 1,000 employees only held insider threat prevention training while onboarding recruits. Worryingly, 2% admitted to having never conducted any training of this type at all.

Despite wage growth slowing once more in the UK and the cost-of-living crisis continuing to place financial strain on many workers, less than half (42%, in fact) of respondents – ie key decision-makers from large corporates – were ‘most concerned’ about the insider threat emerging within their organisations.

Subsequent to the research, Cifas is advising employers to be alert to the dangers of employees becoming an insider threat. The counter-fraud member organisation recommends that businesses:

*carry out thorough checks on recruits, such as Right to Work, before employment

*implement a robust pre-employment screening policy and review it regularly

*conduct regular counter-fraud checks throughout the employee lifecycle

*review internal controls to spot any gaps

*be proactive to identify dishonest conduct and stop incidents at the source

*provide expert training to bolster organisation-wide counter-fraud knowledge

Insider Threat Database

Tracey Carpenter, insider threat manager at Cifas, said: ‘We’re seeing more cases than ever filed to our Insider Threat Database in relation to dishonest conduct by employees. While there are myriad reasons behind staff becoming an insider threat, the cost-of-living crisis has further exacerbated the need for people to supplement their wages or repay debts, which can create temptation. For others, being disgruntled at work has been enough to ‘justify’ or otherwise rationalise dishonest conduct in their minds.”

Carpenter continued: “Employees are the first line of defence against fraud. Our research further underlines how important it is for organisations to hold specialist preventative training on a consistent basis. When they do, they’re equipping their workforces to effectively identify and report incidents of dishonest conduct by staff.”

Rachael Tiffen, Cifas’ director of learning, explained: “An untrained workforce can often become a business’ weakest link. Building a colleague’s knowledge throughout their entire employee lifecycle – regardless of their job title, tenure or industry experience – can prove to be vital when keeping organisations and their people safe from nefarious threats.”

In addition to accredited Fraud and Cyber Academy courses for individuals wanting to enhance their fraud prevention knowledge, Cifas has now launched a Digital Learning Programme: an interactive video series equipping individuls with the tools they need to identify and prevent fraud. Further detail is available online.

*Access the Cifas website at www.cifas.org.uk