Female employees are likely to wait almost twice as long as their male counterparts before committing a fraud.
Female employees are likely to wait almost twice as long as their male counterparts before committing a fraud.
According to the fraud prevention service CIFAS, women wait on average nearly four years before committing a fraud whereas men wait just over two.
Arjun Medhi, CIFAS staff fraud adviser, says: ‘The longer period of employment for female fraudsters highlights an apparent different modus operandi between the sexes. Women seem either to wait longer before attempting to defraud their employers, or are able to disguise their activities better.’
Richard Hurley, CIFAS communications manager, says: ‘There are no hard and fast rules to explain why women tend to wait longer. It may that men tend to be more impulsive and are greater risk-takers.’
The database also reveals differences in the types of fraud committed by the genders. In the case of dishonest action by staff to obtain a benefit by theft or deception (something which could even include taking undue sick leave) there is a relatively even gender split of 52 per cent male, 48 per cent female.
Whereas unlawful obtaining or disclosure of commercial data – including the use of commercial data for unauthorised purposes – is an exclusively male fraud.
Hurley says: ‘One could draw a number of implications here. Potentially [in the case of unlawful disclosure] it is an IT issue, as statistics indicate that the majority of senior IT positions are held by men, and the nature of this offence implies someone in a senior position with access to that sort of information. Whereas dishonest action can occur more easily regardless of position and may have lower risks associated with it.
Of all the cases filed on the CIFAS staff fraud database, 59 per cent of total staff frauds were committed by male employees, with 41 per cent committed by female employees.
Hurley adds: ‘These figures might go some way to show how the ‘difference between the sexes’ is manifested in unexpected ways. What should never be forgotten, however, is the damage that any of these actions will cause – irrespective of gender – in terms of financial loss and professional reputation.’
If you are concerned that a member of staff might be committing a fraud visit the CIFAS website or Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development website for more information.
