Nigeria has been ranked 3rd among top 10 countries with the highest levels of fraudulent cases in 2022, according to a new research.
The research by Proxyrack revealed that Nigeria recorded a total of 61 cases of occupational fraud in 2022, with most reported cases of fraud in the country related to banking fraud in which scammers attempt to make some quick cash.
The study also provides information on the industries with the highest increase in fraudulent activity over the last five years. It also showed the financial losses suffered by various industries, the number of fraud cases reported, number of businesses at risk, and most common type of fraud for each industry.
According to the data, the United States of America tops the list with a total 625 fraud cases, followed by South Africa with 188 cases, and Nigeria in third place with 61 cases.
Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates recorded 60 cases, making it the fourth country with the highest levels of fraudulent cases in 2022, while Canada comes 5th with a total of 50 cases.
Other countries on the list are Kenya with 49 cases, Australia (38 cases), China (33 cases), Saudi Arabia (29 cases), while Greece, Europe’s only country on the list, takes the 10th position with 27 cases.
The research found the transportation and warehousing industry to have recorded the biggest increase in fraudulent cases with over 20.59 percent between 2016 and 2022. It listed the common types of fraud in the industry to include falsifying delivery documents and posing as an authentic carrier to help assist criminals in stealing cargo loads.
Also, the real estate industry was reported as the biggest losers as a result of fraud with 117.50 percent change in financial losses since 2016.
The report also stated that corruption was the main cause of fraud cases in industries, especially the energy industry (64 percent), followed by the manufacturing industry and the transportation and warehousing industry, each of which has 59 percent of all fraud cases resulting from corruption.
