Charity Fraud Report 2023:

Increasing pressure causing a rise in fraud

Over a third of charities said they had experienced more instances of fraud in 2023 than in the previous year, and 67% of charities think that the cost-of-living crisis increases the risk of fraud in the sector.

The 2023 Charity Fraud Report details the findings from our annual survey conducted alongside the Fraud Advisory Panel into the fraud landscape within the charity sector.

In this year’s report, get a snapshot view of how some charities in the UK have been affected by fraud over the last year. As is demonstrated by the survey results, the impact of fraud is not just financial – fraud impacts all parts of an organisation – from staff turnover to negative press and impact on reputation.

Find out how UK charities view fraud risk, the losses that can be sustained, and most importantly, what measures charities can put in place to combat fraud risk during times of great pressure and uncertainty.

Charity fraud statistics: insights from the report

  • 50% of detected frauds were perpetrated by staff, members, volunteers, or trustees
  • 56% experienced non-financial issues as a result of fraud
  • 64% expected fraud risk to increase in the next 12 months
  • 92% of charities who suffered a fraud suffered financial loss


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What fraud risks are charities most concerned about?

To try and gauge what lies ahead, we asked charities what their biggest fraud risk was likely to be over the next 12 months. Unsurprisingly, respondents cited cyber-related fraud and cybersecurity most often, but when analysing the most common types of fraud actually perpetrated against charities, this was not the most common type. Download the report to find out which types of fraud charities suffered most over the past year.

Top tips for preventing fraud

In this year’s report, discover ‘top tips’ for charities to consider as part of their fraud risk management, as well as a template Fraud Response Plan, which is an essential checklist to ensure that charities are prepared, should the worst happen.

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#StopCharityFraud expert insight series

Following on from the report, we’ll be delving deeper into the key issues highlighted in the report, focusing on the risks they present and what you can do to tackle them in your charity. To get these updates straight to your inbox, Sign up now.

 

Fraud advisry

For the insights from the 2022 Charity Fraud Report, see below:

Have the cumulative effects of continued home working practices and the rising cost-of-living pushed up the risk of fraud from people close to your organisation? How can you reduce the risk of fraud by staff and volunteers? Find out more about the rise of insider fraud in charities.

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Procurement fraud, payment diversion fraud and expenses fraud should all be a priority for charities – there was a five-fold increase in procurement and supplier fraud in 2022. Find out how to spot procurement and supplier frauds, and the steps you can take to prevent them.

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Grant and donation fraud pose significant risks to the fundraising activities of charities – find out what to look for and how to put controls in place to prevent loss of funds

Read more