September 2022
Featured in this insight: Construction
A quarter of construction firms have fallen victim of fraud over the last year: A recent survey of people working in the construction industry has uncovered that 25% of construction firms have experienced some sort of scam in the last 12 months, however, two in five chose not to report it to the authorities, suggesting that it is more prevalent than the police are aware of.
The study by Herts Tool observed 39 companies in the UK to uncover how fraud is impacting British construction companies. In addition, the survey found that larger companies are twice as likely to be targeted and to experience fraudulent activity.
When asked what type of fraud they had been a victim of, three in five companies said their providers had changed the quality of the product. This response was the top answer cited making it the most common way to defraud a company. In addition, one in five firms said they had experienced a form of corruption such as bid rigging or bribery.
At least two in ten construction firms stated that they had experienced at least one of the following fraudulent practices: falsifying expense reimbursement, false billing, contractors lying about qualifications, purchase fraud or stealing tools for other projects.
One of the bigger issues caused by fraud was that four in ten companies almost faced closure, with three in 10 stating they had lost employees as a result.
View more of our sector specific insights: Construction 
