Fraud awareness is essential for protecting your organisation from financial losses, reputational damage and increasingly sophisticated scams. From fraudulent invoices and dishonest expense claims to scams targeting employees, organisations of all sizes face potential risks.
According to the Home Office Economic Crime Survey 2024, 27% of UK organisations experienced fraud attempts in the 12 months before the survey, affecting an estimated 389,000 businesses. Among those affected, 71% incurred a direct or indirect financial loss.
As International Fraud Awareness Week takes place from 15th–21st November 2026, it provides an opportunity for organisations to review their approach to fraud prevention, raise employee awareness and strengthen internal procedures.
Understanding the Risks of Workplace Fraud
Fraud can take many forms and isn’t always easy to recognise. While some incidents involve external criminals targeting an organisation, others may originate internally, involving employees, contractors or individuals in positions of trust.
Common examples of workplace fraud include:
- Invoice fraud – fraudsters submit false invoices in an attempt to obtain payments for goods or services that haven’t been supplied.
- Payment diversion fraud – criminals impersonate legitimate suppliers or contacts to persuade employees to redirect payments to fraudulent accounts.
- Expense fraud – employees deliberately submit false or exaggerated expenses for reimbursement.
- Payroll fraud – dishonest manipulation of payroll information to obtain unauthorised payments.
- Financial misrepresentation – deliberately falsifying financial records or information for personal or organisational gain.
The Home Office found that fake invoice fraud was the most common type of fraud experienced by businesses, affecting 11% of those surveyed.
Recognising the different types of fraud and understanding their warning signs are important first steps towards reducing an organisation’s exposure to risk.
The Changing Legal Landscape: Failure to Prevent Fraud
Fraud prevention has become an increasingly important corporate governance responsibility following the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). On 1st September 2025, a new corporate offence of ‘failure to prevent fraud’ came into effect. Under this legislation, qualifying large organisations can be held criminally liable where an employee, agent or other associated person commits a specified fraud offence intending to benefit the organisation or, in certain circumstances, its clients, and the organisation does not have reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place. Although the offence applies specifically to organisations meeting the statutory size criteria, the principles of effective fraud prevention, transparency and accountability are relevant to businesses of every size.
For managers and business leaders, understanding the legislation and their role in maintaining appropriate prevention procedures is an important part of managing organisational risk – read the government’s guidance on failure to prevent fraud.
Creating a Fraud-Aware Workplace Culture
Preventing fraud isn’t solely the responsibility of senior management or finance teams. Employees throughout an organisation can play an important role in recognising suspicious activity and raising concerns. A strong fraud prevention culture starts with awareness, supported by clear policies, effective internal controls and open communication.
Organisations can strengthen their approach by:
- Helping employees recognise warning signs, including unusual payment requests, discrepancies in financial records and unexpected changes to supplier details.
- Establishing clear reporting procedures so employees understand how to raise concerns and feel confident doing so.
- Implementing appropriate financial controls, including verification procedures for changes to supplier payment details.
- Encouraging accountability and transparency at every level of the organisation.
- Providing regular fraud awareness training to reinforce responsibilities and help employees respond appropriately to potential incidents.
Managers have a particularly important role in communicating expectations, identifying potential risks and ensuring concerns are handled appropriately.
How Fraud Awareness Training Can Help
Employee awareness is an important part of effective fraud prevention. When individuals understand how fraud occurs, what warning signs to look for and how to report suspicious activity, they are better equipped to help protect their workplace.
Online training offers a flexible and consistent way to build this awareness across an organisation, helping employees and managers understand their responsibilities. At RealSense Learning, we offer two CPD-approved online courses designed to support organisations in strengthening fraud awareness and prevention:
Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training for Employees
Our interactive online course explores common types of workplace fraud, relevant UK legislation, potential warning signs and practical steps employees can take to help prevent and report fraudulent activity. Real-life case studies and scenarios help reinforce understanding. Explore our Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training for Employees.
Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training for Managers
Designed for those with management responsibilities, this course covers fraud risks, prevention and detection controls, reporting procedures and the responsibilities of managers. It also examines the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, including the failure to prevent fraud offence. Explore our Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training for Managers.
Both courses are delivered online, providing a convenient way for organisations to support staff development and promote a consistent approach to fraud awareness.
Make Fraud Prevention a Priority
International Fraud Awareness Week is a timely reminder that fraud prevention requires ongoing attention, not just a response when something goes wrong.
By helping employees recognise potential risks, establishing clear reporting procedures and ensuring managers understand their responsibilities, organisations can take meaningful steps towards protecting their finances, people and reputation.