International Charity Fraud Awareness Week is about encouraging and empowering charities to share best practice, raise awareness, and promote openness and honesty about fraud.

The campaign is supported by a coalition of regulators, law enforcers, representative bodies and other not-for-profit stakeholders globally. You can read more about this Government Campaign here. 

The extent of the fraud problem

The extent of the problem of fraud in charities is illustrated by the figure of over £2.5 billion in costs, according to The Annual Fraud Indicator. Such a high cost suggests the need for internal focus within charities, which in itself accrues a financial cost in the staffing of such responsibilities in a sector in which the CEO is not necessarily from a financial background. 

Supporters will be interested in the kind of frauds are typically targeted at charities; for example, people raising money for themselves under the charity name, IT attaches, phishing scams, other cyber attacks and other behaviours. Being cyber-security conscious has its setbacks as stringent protections can intercept regular communications if a legitimate email is identified as spam, but generally speaking the cost of cyber-fraud is potentially much higher. 

Keeping charities safe

Nationally, internal fraud is a big issue Devon Air Ambulance supporters can feel reassured that safeguarding measures are in place and that we are always working to stay on top of the ever-evolving cyber-security landscape.

Read more about Charity Fraud Awareness from Devon Air Ambulance Finance Director, David Hawes.