According to the National Crime Agency, fraud is the most common crime in the UK. Charities are not immune to fraud and can even be more vulnerable to it.
It is important we learn how to protect our organisations from fraud and how to report it. When you provide education training for staff. trustees and volunteers the fraud loss significantly decreases.
According to estimates, charity fraud is costing the UK as much as £2 billion a year. While that is the big picture, even a small amount can have a devastating impact on a charity.
Charity Fraud Report
The BDO Charity Fraud Report 2023 reported 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 Report details the findings from the BDO annual survey conducted alongside the Fraud Advisory Panel into the fraud landscape within the charity sector. 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.
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
Practical steps
The Charity Fraud Pledge - The pledge suggests six practical steps you can take to manage the risk of fraud and protect your charity’s assets.
- Appoint a suitable person to champion counter-fraud work in your organisaton.
- Ensure that all trustees are aware of their legal duty to protect the assets of the organisation.
- Consult with staff, volunteers and trustees to identify types of fraud and ways to prevent them.
- Create a written fraud policy and share regularly with staff, volunteers and trustees.
- Perform checks on the individuals and organisations that you have a financial relationship with.
- Assess each year how well your fraud controls are working, identify new risks and make any improvements needed.
Resources and Support
Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2024 - for information and advice click here. For FREE events - register here
International Fraud Awareness Week - Resources
Government Guidance to protect your charity from fraud - Information about fraud and cyber crime, how to spot it and what you can do to protect against it.
Charity Commission for NI - Tackling Charity Fraud Together
Charity Digital - How to protect your organisation from fraud
Fundraising Regulator - Five top tips to avoid fundraising fraud
Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime where you should report fraud if you have been scammed, defrauded or experienced cyber crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can download the print ready resources which include; Action Fraud leaflets, posters, fraud and cybercrime fact sheets and info-graphics.
The ScamwiseNI Partnership was established in November 2016 and now has over 45 organisations involved with representatives from faith groups, youth organisations and the charity sector.
