One third of B.C. businesses say they’ve been victims of fraud, finds a survey by MNP and the Vancouver Province.
It also finds 27% of the public are also fraud victims. But only 8% of the general public and only 5% of businesses think the risk of fraud is high.
Read: Tax scam targets thousands, says IRS watchdog
“We are concerned that so many of the respondents felt that the risk of fraud was low. Clearly there is a disconnect between the realities of fraud and perceptions of it,” says Jackie Davies, partner and B.C. leader of MNP’s investigative and forensic services group.
Read: Canadian courts won’t consider U.S. data theft case as precedent
“A significant number of frauds are found by tips from whistle blowers and third parties,” said Pat McParland, senior manager of MNP’s investigative and forensics group.
Key findings:
- Males tend to rate the risk of fraud higher than females, likely a reflection of the fact that more males reported being victims of fraud;
- People over 55 were most likely to report being victims of fraud;
- Vancouver reported the lowest number of incidents of fraud in the province.