(The full report can be found from the ACFE website)

COVID-19 has affected — and will continue to affect — the business environment in countless ways. Travel bans, employees working remotely, and an increased reliance on technology and economic uncertainty have become the reality for many organizations around the world. And while these and other hurdles present numerous logistical and operational challenges, they also open the door to the increased pressure, opportunity and rationalization that can lead to fraud.

To illuminate the global pandemic’s impact on the fight against fraud, the ACFE is undertaking a series of benchmarking surveys exploring how fraud risks and anti-fraud programs are changing in the current environment. The December 2020 edition of the Fraud in the Wake of COVID-19: Benchmarking Report summarizes the results of the third of these surveys, which was conducted November of 2020. We hope that the information highlighted in this report will help you understand how fraud risk is evolving and the importance of staying ever vigilant in protecting against its harms in the wake of the novel coronavirus.