The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has estimated that occupational fraud costs businesses around the world more than USD$4.7 trillion annually.

A new report has found that as well as individuals, companies of all sizes lose billions more to external bad actors annually.

There was found to be a significant array of consumer fraud threats circulating, from account takeovers to identity theft and phishing schemes.

As part of International Fraud Awareness Week, SAS has teamed up with the ACFE for a campaign that looks to help individuals and organisations around the globe to proactively minimise frauds adverse impacts by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education.

"Curbing the ceaseless torrent of fraud that erodes tax coffers and company balance sheets starts with building awareness," says ACFE President and CEO Bruce Dorris.

"In complement, anti-fraud professionals must be equipped with the technology and know-how necessary to detect and prevent increasingly vexing schemes. On all these fronts, SAS is a steadfast ally and partner throughout Fraud Week and all year long."

Stu Bradley of SAS says the company's joint study with the ACFE gives insight into how organisations are feeling about fraud and how tools like data analytics can be used to prevent it.

"Our latest anti-fraud technology study with the ACFE revealed that 97% or more of fraud examiners consider analytics an indispensable tool in increasing the amount of fraud prevented and boosting the timeliness, efficiency and accuracy of their fraud detection programs," he says.

"While that's an impressive proof point, there is likely no greater testament to the immense value of analytics in fighting fraud than the innovations and successes of our many customers.

According to conservative industry estimates, at least 10% of all insurance claims contain some fraud. Rampant fraud costs insurers an estimated USD$120 billion annually in the US alone, driving consumer insurance premiums steadily upward.

Banks are being hit hard, but some use cases are proving that putting the right processes in place can promote positive outcomes.

Australian customer-owned financial institution Greater Bank recently announced that it would employ a powerful, cloud-based fraud detection/prevention and AML solution from SAS to better safeguard its 270,000-plus customers.

The solution will transform Greater Banks' cybercrime toolkit into a world-class offering hosted on the SAS preferred cloud platform, Microsoft Azure. Implementation will see Greater Banks' disparate IT systems transformed to meet organisational and regulatory fraud and AML requirements. It will also significantly streamline and reduce manual processes, enhancing the user experience for employees and customers.

"In our quest to become a more agile, nimbler organisation, SAS is helping us to simplify our IT operations by eliminating the need to manage our own on-premises infrastructure," says Greg Nyman, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at Greater Bank. 

"Not only does this align with our own cloud journey and strategy, but it will enable us to invest more time into creating a safe, secure and reliable environment for our customers that ultimately allows us to focus on growth, building upon a really solid base of established trust."