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Electronic Theft Costing Companies More Than Physical Theft

by Caleb Johnson on October 18, 2010 at 06:00 PM

electronic theftReuters reports that a recent study conducted by a risk consulting firm shows that, worldwide, electronic theft is now costing companies more than physical theft. While it's a marginal difference, according to Kroll's Global Fraud Report, electronic theft accounts for about 27.3-percent of fraud losses reported globally while physical theft accounts for about 27.2-percent of that total. Fraud in North America, both electronic or physical, remains low (87-percent of businesses are affected) in comparison to China, which boasts the highest level of fraud (98-percent).

Kroll's Tommy Helsby told Reuters, "Much more work is done electronically, and that creates new opportunities for fraud. It takes time for companies to catch up with that." Information-based industries, like finance, media and telecommunications, were the most common global targets of electronic theft because those businesses handle so much sensitive consumer data. This doesn't mean you should panic and disable your online accounts. An increase in electronic fraud could mean that we're doing a better job at detection.

Tags: crime, data, fraud, krolls global fraud report, KrollsGlobalFraudReport, privacy, security, study, theft, top

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