27 Jaw Dropping Employee Theft Statistics

Employee Theft Statistics

According to CBS News, a typical organization can lose 5% of its annual revenue to employee fraud. When added to the Gross Domestic Product, the potential global fraud loss can be more than $2.9 trillion. Nearly one third of all employees commit some degree of employee theft. It is also estimated that a third of United States corporate bankruptcies are a direct result of employee theft. The Chamber of Commerce estimates 75% of employees steal from the workplace. Most of which do so repeatedly. The following statistics capture recent employee theft statistics.

Employee Percentages

1. Amount stolen annually from US businesses by employees – $50 billion.
2. Percent of annual revenue lost to theft or fraud – 7%
3. Percent of employees who have stolen at least once from their employer – 75%
4. Percent of employee who have stolen at least twice from their employer – 37.5%
5. Percentage of all business bankruptcies caused by employee theft – 33%

Total Stolen By Amount

The average amount of money stolen is $175,000. The following statistics break down the percentages of the following normally stolen by amount.

1 million and up – 25.3%
$500,000 – $999,999 – 9.6%
$100,000 – $499,999 – 28.2%
$10,000 – $49,999 – 16.8%
$1,000 – $9,999 – 7%
$1,000 or less – 1.9%

Preventing Employee Theft

Corporate fraud expert sits down with CNN to discuss employee fraud and how new monitoring controls and transaction monitoring can be instituted to decrease cases of employee theft. Other monitoring tools include automated auditing. More than 75% of employees commit some form of employee theft.

Demographics of Employee Theft

The following demographics of employee theft based on gender and education level.

1. Men – 59.1%
2. Women – 40.9%
3. High School Degree – 34%
4. Some College – 21%
5. Bachelor’s Degree – 34%
6. Postgraduate Degree – 11%

Reported Fraud Statistics

The percentage of how and where fraud is most unlikely uncovered from occuring.

1. Tip from Employee – 26.3%
2. Accidental Discovery – 18.8%
3. Internal Audit – 18.8%
4. Internal Controls – 15.4%
5. External Audit – 11.8%
6. Tip From Customer – 8.8%
7. Anonymous Tip – 6.2%
8. Tip From Vendor – 5.1%
9. Notification from Law Enforcement – 1.7%

Theft Statistics

37.1% of thefts are committed by a manager.
29% of thefts are by an employee who had an idea stolen at work.
2 years is the average time an employee has been in office committing fraud before detected.
1 in every 30 employees in retail are arrested for workplace theft.

Retail Inventory Shrinkage

The percentage of where inventory shrinkage occurs the most in retail.

Employee Theft – 42.7%
Shoplifting – 35.6%
Administrative Error – 15.4%
Vendor Fraud – 3.7%
Unknown – 3.9%

Interesting Facts About Employee Theft

Employee theft is a global issue that increasingly plagues companies. A 27% increase in employee theft is being seen. 7% of their annual revenue is lost to fraud.