1.
Cracking the Code
on Consumer Fraud
How public safety agencies can
address the growing challenge
1
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2.
Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
Overview
Consumer fraud—fraud perpetrated against the public—has
been growing steadily over the last decade. Yet, the
pandemic supercharged its growth.
The evolving nature and escalation of consumer fraud is
impacting more victims and resulting in greater financial and
psychological harm. It is also challenging the way public
safety agencies operate today.
We examined eight countries in our study — Australia,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, the UK and the
US to forecast what the future holds in terms of the potential
growth in consumer fraud and the subsequent growth in
indirect costs and direct losses to victims. The following
showcases our findings for the next five years across these
eight geographies.
2
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3.
From 2013-2019:
Consumer Fraud incidents grew nearly 7%
per year or around 50% total over 6 years;
From 2020-2021:
Consumer Fraud grew by nearly 23% or
almost 60% in just 2 years
Rate of growth of consumer fraud in
2013-2019 vs 2020-2021
In percent change of the number of
reported cases for selected countries
6.8%
CAGR in the
number of reported
incidents
2013-19
22.5%
CAGR in the
number of reported
incidents
2020-21
CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate
3
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Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
Singapore*
(SG)
United States
(US)
Australia
(AU)
United Kingdom
(UK)
Italy
(IT)
Germany
(DE)
Canada
(CA)
France
(FR)
*Singapore’s data releases on the extent of consumer fraud as a crime type began only in 2017. Prior, data tracking on consumer fraud was limited, and the definition
has been broadened over the years for tracking purposes. Accordingly, the period pre-pandemic reflects a larger rate of growth than that of most other countries.

4.
Direct losses together with indirect
costs of fraud reached US$ 143B in
2021, up from $89b in 2019.
Direct and indirect cost of
fraud in selected countries
In US$ billion, 2019-2021*
2019 2020 2021
Wellbeing costs
Direct Financial Losses
Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
The figures for 2021 were estimated
by Accenture Research based on
applying the rates of growth of
reported incidents for the US (q1-q3)
and the UK (H1).
Based on estimates for the US, UK,
France, Germany, Italy, Canada,
Australia and Singapore.
$89.0
$117.5
$142.8
$49.3
$65.3
$79.4
$39.7
$52.2
$63.4
4
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5.
We modelled four different scenarios over the next 5
years to gain a clear picture of alternative futures for
consumer fraud. Our findings across the 8 geographies
show…
17-24% US$93B-157B
2.4-3.9X
US$125B-198B
of the population will be affected
by consumer fraud
in direct financial losses
from consumer fraud
burden of fraud, as a percentage
of GDP, compared to 2013
anticipated wellbeing costs
resulting from being victims
of fraud
Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
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6.
Forecast Scenarios
Under any of our 4 scenarios, fraud will grow faster than before and will
affect a higher share of the population (50-115% increase from 2021 to 2027) Number of victims of fraud
In millions, 2013-2027
Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
7.3%
of total population
in 2019
Up to
13.2%
of total population
in 2022
Up to
23.6%
of total population
in 2027
+50%
in the number
of victims
Up to
+84%
in the number
of victims
Up to
+83%
in the number
of victims
2013-19
2020-22
2023-27
6
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7.
Forecast Scenarios
Direct or indirect cost of
fraud in multiple countries
In US$ billion, 2019-2027
Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
3.9x
in terms of GDP in
between 2013 and 2027
23.6%
of total population
affected by fraud in 2017
16.7%
of total population will
suffer a financial loss due
to fraud by 2027
7
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8.
Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
Four pillars that hold both challenge and opportunity
Eco-system partners
include other public
safety and government
agencies at the local,
state, and international
level as well as private
sector companies, such
as financial institutions,
telecommunications
companies, and
technology companies
(e.g. Meta, Google,
Twitter, etc.) and third
sector organizations.
Partners Citizens Workforce Technology
This pillar focuses on
citizen engagement both
from the perspective of
informing and educating
the public to reducing the
likelihood of them
becoming victims, but also
supporting and reassuring
victim to and helping them
to feel safe and educated.
The way in which public
safety officers and staff are
recruited, retained, trained
and supported to best fight
consumer fraud.
How digital capabilities and
new emerging technologies
can be best leveraged to
address consumer fraud.
8
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9.
Cracking the Code on Consumer Fraud
Solutions
To address consumer fraud, public
safety agencies can employ three
types of operational responses
across these four different pillars
9
Citizens
Engagement
of citizens
and support
to victims
Partners
Collaboration
with
ecosystem
partners
Workforce
Skilling,
enablement
and
empowerment
of the
workforce
Technology
Use of
technology &
data to
enhance
service
provision
Collect
Intelligence
& Analyze
Collect and analyze
intelligence from a
wide range of data
sets
Detect &
Investigate
Detect fraud
and pursue
investigations to
deliver better
justice outcomes
Prevent
& Disrupt
Stop fraud before it
occurs and disrupt
criminal activity
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10.
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