By Samuel Ouma
South Africa leads Africa in the number of high-level fraud cases, says a report published by Proxyrack.
According to the report, the South African nation recorded 188 fraud cases in 2022, the second highest in the world.
After South Africa, there is Nigeria, with 61 cases. The most recorded occurrences of fraud in the West African nation are related to banking fraud, in which scammers attempt to make quick money.
Kenya rounds out the top three list of African countries with the largest number of fraudulent transactions. Proxyrack reported that the East African country’s total fraud cases in 2022 were 49.
Globally, the United States registered considerably more fraud cases than any other country, with 625 cases recorded in 2022, 437 more than South Africa, which features in 2nd.
Nigeria is third, the United Arabs Emirates fourth, Canada fifth and Kenya sixth. Australia, China, Saudi Arabia and Greece are in the position seven. Eight, ninth and tenth, respectively.
The study explores into the industries that have seen the greatest increase in fraudulent activity over the last five years, the financial losses caused by fraud in each sector, the number of cases reported globally, the number of businesses at risk, and the most common type of fraud in each industry.
The transportation and warehousing industry leads the list of sectors with a spike in fraudulent incidents, with a 20.59% increase between 2016 and 2022.
“Some common types of fraud in the transportation and warehousing industry include falsifying delivery documents and posing as an authentic carrier to help assist criminals to steal cargo loads,” said the report.
The technology sector ranks second on this list, with a 13.51% increase in fraudulent instances. The industry recorded 84 fraudulent cases in 2022.
The religious, philanthropic, or social services sector rounds out the top three industries that have witnessed a rise in fraudulent claims between 2016 and 2022. The sector saw an 11.54% increase in fraudulent cases.
On the other hand, the real estate business is said to have lost the most money due to fraud, with a 117.50% increase in financial losses since 2016, followed by utilities (96.08%) and transportation and warehousing (74.83%).
Meanwhile, corruption has significantly impacted the energy and manufacturing sectors.
