Report: Every Second German Business a Victim of Crime

A report by business consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) released on Tuesday claims that almost every second German business has been a victim of criminality. The report stated that on average those businesses targeted by criminals, half of which are revealed to be experienced employees, are taken for around 3.4 million euros ($4 million).

The PWC study stated that the German businesses most at risk were those in the banking or trading sector who were most susceptible to swindlers, spies, product pirates and other criminals. It added that many don’t take enough precautions to protect themselves.

The German study, which is part of a global survey, involved 400 companies and covered the period between 2003 and 2004.

The current study showed that 46 percent of those surveyed had been targeted by criminals. The results also showed that the amount of reported criminal acts against German companies had risen from 42 percent in the previous study carried out in the period 2001 to 2002.

The perpertrators of the crimes were usually experienced, male employees in positions of trust. Every fourth culprit was shown to have been with the company they targeted for less than two years. Only seven percent of crimes were carried out by female staff.

One-third of internal culprits came from positions of high management and, as their position allowed it, the amount stolen from the company was considerably higher.