Fraud is a perennial concern to business and never more so than when times are hard.
Even a relatively minor fraud may be enough to push a small business under. So a report by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward, released this week under the headline 'As the credit crunch bites so do the fraudsters', makes alarming reading.
UK business fraud is booming, with reported fraud in the first half of the year up 74% over 2007 to a total of £705 million. April alone saw £317 million swiped.
Bankers and insurers bore the brunt of the first-half losses, to the tune of £636 million - which I at least find heartening, although I guess the cost will only be passed on. BDO reports this was a 15-fold increase on reported fraud in the sector during the same period last year.
The BDO fraud services team points out: "When you add in the fraud that has not yet been uncovered or which businesses have discovered but do not wish to expose, the real cost could be much, much higher." It is the known-knowns that get you as much as the unknown-unknowns, as Donald Rumsfeld would appreciate.
Some aspects of most reports should be taken with a pinch of salt. BDO Stoy Hayward's is no exception. We can dismiss its excitement at the fact that this is the biggest increase in fraud since the BDO FraudTrack service began, since we are talking about something that dates from 2005 here.
Other findings stand out, however. The biggest threat to businesses comes not from organised gangs but from their own management and those they do business with every day.
Management fraud accounted for 46% of the total and third-party fraud, usually involving suppliers, accounted for 32%. Employee fraud amounted to barely one-quarter of that perpetrated by management.
In the words of BDO fraud services team head Simon Bevan: "Management are robbing you blind and suppliers are ripping you off. My team has never been so busy."
The results are interesting in light of ABTA's long-running campaign to make members more aware of the danger of fraudsters, since the greatest danger lies within - as unfortunately ABTA should be only too aware.
In this respect, fraud is a bit like violence toward the person or the risks to children. Read the papers and you will be convinced the greatest risk comes from strangers. Look at the statistics and you will know otherwise.