Posted on 24th October 2018

Charity fraud: the facts and figures

Back to blog

As part of Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2018 we are producing quick-read content to help you get to grips with the complex and ever-present threat of fraud, cybercrime and internet scams. In this article we give you the facts; the hard evidence that you can use to build the case within your organisation to help mitigate the risk of fraud.

  • Fraud is estimated to cost the sector £2.3bn each year, which accounts for 1.2 percent of total fraud in the UK (source)
  • The exploitation of new technology is considered partly responsible for an increase in fraud across the sector (source)
  • Sadly, a third of charity fraud is suspected to involve staff, volunteers or trustees (source)
  • Around 70% of all fraud is now committed online due to the opportunities to exploit the huge number of internet-connected devices (source)
  • In 2012, £1.1bn was lost in the charity sector due to fraud (source)
  • The majority of reported fraud instances come from whistle-blowing and tip-offs (source)
  • The annual income across the sector is over £69bn, meaning fraud presents a growing opportunity for those wishing to exploit the sector (source)