- Embezzlement within Businesses: Frequently Committed by Internal Workforce
In instances of financial deceit or misappropriation, the guilty parties are typically on the company's payroll. As per the German Insurers Association (GDV), only roughly half of the cases with a criminal history lead to damages from external sources. The remaining incidents are internal acts.
The financial harm caused by criminal insiders significantly surpasses that caused by external threats. According to reports, on average, these insiders cause their employers approximately 125,000 euros in losses before being apprehended. On the other hand, external criminals tend to inflict an average of 80,000 euros in damage. Employees are often trusted with a certain level of responsibility and are familiar with their company's vulnerabilities.
GDV has analyzed numerous damage cases
For their investigation, GDV reportedly examined a total of 4,400 damage cases from the fidelity guarantee insurance.
In external attacks on companies, perpetrators are now leveraging AI's capabilities quite effectively. They use this, for instance, to generate fake identities. "Some even go as far as impersonating a board member or managing director during a video conference," it was reported. Employees often fail to identify the fraud and, at the behest of the supposed superior, transfer substantial amounts to foreign accounts.
Despite these external threats, the financial losses from internal crimes, primarily committed by employees in Germany, are significantly higher. GDV's analysis of 4,400 damage cases from fidelity guarantee insurance reveals that these insiders often cause losses exceeding 125,000 euros before being detected.
