Fraud costs UK economy £30bn a year
FRAUD costs the UK £30bn every year – more than double previous estimates.
The total equates to £621 per adult in the UK, according to the annual report buy the National Fraud Authority.
A massive 58 per cent of fraud was in the public sector at a cost of £17bn.
False insurance claims cost the financial services industry £2bn last year while mortgage fraud cost £1bn.
A 2007 report by senior police officers estimated the total was only around £13bn a year.
Chief executive of the NFA Dr Bernard Herdan said: “Although the figure appears on the face of it far greater than the previous estimate, we know this is because we have included many additional figures that other studies have not.
“With this vital information we can develop clearer priorities to prevent, detect and deter fraudsters.
“We will use the data to help identify those areas of fraud that cause the most harm to the UK economy.”