One fifth of all of fraudulent activity was found to occur in London W1. The geographical map of fraudulent activity within UK businesses shows that over 50% of cases occur in Central London and the North West region. The majority of fraudulent activity occurs in inner city locations, with over 40% of business fraud taking place in just 10 of the 235 UK Post Code areas.
Blackburn, Peterborough and Stevenage are among the new entrants in the UK’s top ten locations of fraudulent activity. Based on the previous year’s rankings, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Oldham and Sheffield are some of the locations falling out of the top ten.
Alan Norton, Head of Intelligence at Graydon UK, commented: “The government faces a challenge to provide adequate resource and expertise to combat corporate fraud. It is vital that businesses themselves take decisive action to better understand fraudulent activity and how they can prevent it.
“When you consider the National Fraud Authority estimated fraud cost the UK £52 billion in 2012 alone, it’s clear that tackling fraud more effectively will have a major effect on business growth – both at the individual business and national level.”
One in every 635 UK companies was found to show signs of fraudulent activity over the year. This rises to one in every 343 in Central London and one in every 429 in the North West.
Graydon UK advises businesses of all sizes spanning a wide range of industry sectors on achievable and effective measures to prevent fraud within their business. These include:
•Be vigilant – It is important to monitor your own business for any changes or unusual activity.
•Use outside intelligence – Engage a credit provider that benefits from advanced software and data analysis, allowing your business to gain vital insights.
•Be proactive – Dedicate resources internally to check and monitor all credit applications and activity which is prone to fraudulent behaviour.
