Business Fraud: What it is and how to respond to it?

Business Fraud can be quite an elusive subject when it comes to its definition. Also known as corporate fraud, commercial fraud or organisational fraud, there is no single, universally accepted, legal definition of business fraud; therefore, as the ACFE agrees, it tends to mean different things to different stakeholders. That being said, for the sake of clarity, a working understanding of corporate fraud can be understood as  

illicit acts that look to manipulate or divert resources away from a company for personal gain, including accounting malpractices, asset theft and abuse of power.  

Types of Organisational Fraud: Internal Vs External

There are numerous types of fraud that are taking place all the time in the murky underworld of fraudsters; however, they can largely be categorised into two groups: internal fraud, where the scammer is working from within the targeted organisation; and external fraud, where an outsider to the organisation is responsible for defrauding the victim.

For instance, internal fraud can manifest itself via:

• Embezzlement schemes, whereby an insider steals assets from the organisation
• Accounts manipulation, such as inflating revenue or concealing stolen funds
• Or, conflicts of interest, where decisions are made with the personal benefit of the employee-fraudster in mind, at the expense of the targeted organisation.

When it comes to external fraud, threats come in the form of:

• Cyber attacks, where hackers steal sensitive company information, funds, or gain unlawful access to internal systems
• Vendor fraud, which consists of third parties invoicing for goods or services not provided and/or overcharging the target organisation
• Or, invoice fraud/false bank details schemes, whereby threat actors impersonate a trusted supplier to divert funds toward a fraudulent bank account.

Corporate Fraud Examples: Lessons from 2025

According to the 2025 London Fraud Forum Annual Conference, the most common types of fraud in 2025 were:

• CEO fraud, whereby a fraudster impersonates the victim’s CEO or Director and asks them to complete some unapproved task, which usually involves moving money.
• Invoice fraud, as explained above.
• Bank impersonation fraud, where fraudsters claim to be the victim’s bank.

Unfortunately, examples of recent fraud cases are in large supply due to the ever-increasing rates of fraud schemes; however, a selection of the most notable ones in 2025 listed by ACFE include the following:

• Sean Kingston, the famous rapper of hit single “Beautiful Girls”, and his mother, Janice Turner, were found guilty of wire fraud. The pair exploited Mr. Kingston’s fame to convince high-end businesses to send goods prior to receiving payment, only to afterwards send fraudulent wire transfer receipts.
• Europol dismantled a $540 million cryptocurrency fraud network that affected more than 5,000 victims worldwide. The sophisticated cryptocurrency investment fraud network has been likened to a large-scale “pig-butchering scam”, where scammers build a trusting relationship with their victims, only to later convince them to invest large sums of cash into fraudulent schemes, and then run off with the funds. The investigation resulted in 5 arrests in the Canary Islands and Madrid.
• The infamous Credit Suisse, one of Switzerland’s largest financial institutions, also found themselves in hot water in 2025 as they admitted to tax fraud by assisting American clients to hide more than $4 billion from the American tax authority, the IRS.

What should you do if you suspect fraud in your Organisation?

When fraud is uncovered, the recommended response by ACFE includes the following phases:

1. Report the Concern Internally: Report what you have identified to the relevant internal channels within your organisation (compliance officer, whistleblower hotline, HR, etc.).
2. Initial Internal Investigation & Evidence Preservation: The report, should, be followed up by an internal investigation headed up by either internal auditors or a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). The key components of this step are evidence preservation, as well as confidentiality.
3. Decide on Internal vs. External Resolution: Once the internal investigation has been completed, the relevant officers must decide whether they employ an internal or external resolution, as not all fraud cases will end up being referred to law enforcement. The main considerations when it comes to this decision are:

a) concerns about negative publicity

b) the amount of money lost

c) the nature of the fraud

d) and, the organisation’s willingness to go through the legal process. 

Counter-fraud measures

The repercussions of fraud are diverse in how they affect the victim organisation; ranging from financial losses to reputational damage. Following the detection of fraud, organisations often take additional counter-fraud actions to understand vulnerabilities and prevent repeat incidents. This may include conducting a formal Fraud Risk assessment or Anti-Fraud Assessment, which helps identify weak points in internal controls, governance, and reporting processes. These assessments act as diagnostic tools, guiding decision-makers on whether further internal controls or specialist investigative support are required.

The London Fraud Forum remarks that in order to effectively integrate counter-fraud measures, organisations must impose a continuous training regime tailored to employees’ level of responsibility. The Forum also suggests that mock threat drills are an effective method to consolidate training, as well as practise incident response strategies. Also, it is widely accepted among Fraud Forum members that proactive prevention measures are significantly more effective than post-event investigations, and that an essential part of this approach is rooted in easy-to-understand educational content and actionable advice, alongside collaboration between the public and private sectors, as well as regulators.

TenIntelligence Thoughts on Business Fraud

Like with many sectors nowadays, the dynamic world of AI is continuously and radically changing the fraud landscape. The growing sophistication of synthetic media now means that certain fraud schemes can often bypass human detection. The ACFE notes that, even in the face of AI-backed fraud schemes, “active fraud risk management by organisations creates organisational cultures that promote transparency and accountability and build resilience”; therefore, demonstrating that proactive fraud risk assessments as a driving force for decision making sets the stage for long-term success in any industry. If you require assistance with your anti-fraud strategy and risk management, please contact info@tenintel.com to speak about how you can safeguard your Organisation’s future.

FAQs on Business Fraud