These are the typical scenarios that jump to mind for most people when they think of fraud.
But fraud is not limited to citizens and consumers – it’s also a huge problem for business.
Let’s take a typical example from the construction industry.
A buyer places an order for some beams on credit from a steel supplier.
The supplier delivers the beams to the buyer and issues an invoice due in 60 days.
At the end of the payment deadline, the buyer fails to pay: when the supplier tries to contact them, they discover the company doesn’t exist.
In the meantime, the fraudulent buyer has sold the steel beams on to another (legitimate) company, and disappeared with the cash.
This type of scam is all too common today, particularly in industries featuring goods with high unit values, such as construction materials or IT equipment. In fact, Euler Hermes found in a study in one country that this type of fraud accounts for more than 85% of business fraud cases detected.
Julien Vong
Lead Product Manager, Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence