Moonlighting by salespeople and procurement scams are common in the consumer markets sector, according to a KPMG analysis

 Moonlighting by salespeople and procurement scams are common in the consumer markets sector, according to a KPMG analysis

According to the research, the majority of fraudsters were mid-level workers, aged between 30 and 45, who took advantage of lax internal controls.

38 percent of KPMG's investigations in India found procurement irregularities, highlighting important themes and fraud risk areas in the consumer markets industry.

Based on several forensic engagements, this investigation examined over 200 people and discovered frauds ranging from collaboration between workers and suppliers resulting in inappropriate payments to purchase from preferred vendors at prices above market rates.

Problems with the sales and distribution chain were found in around 21% of studies. These problems included staff members working two jobs, fabricating attendance records to show market penetration, and making unauthorized sales of branded goods.

Indeed, the majority of fraudsters were mid-level workers, often between the ages of 30 and 45, who took advantage of lax internal controls. In 78 percent of the instances, there was employee or outside party collusion.

Financial gain for oneself was the main driver of deception. However, there were other elements that also played a role in fraudulent operations, such carelessness, a culture of circumventing procedures, and inadequate anti-fraud safeguards.

Frauds connected to e-commerce and cyberspace, which were detected in 16 percent of investigations, are continuously changing. These scams include phishing attacks, product theft, and sales to bogus clients in order to profit from incentives and cashbacks.

Twelve percent of the investigations found evidence of stock manipulation and thefts connected to inventory. This involves falsifying raw material consumption claims, changing documentation, and editing CCTV video to hide theft. Ten percent of the investigations turned up evidence of labor fraud, such as the creation of ghost workers and the theft of labor to other companies.

In the meanwhile, 18% of the investigations revealed that there had been transgressions of the code of conduct, which included revealing private information, using public resources for personal gain, and submitting false invoices.

According to the study, dishonest workers were either fired or removed from the company, and in some cases, investigations resulted in the filing of lawsuits against the perpetrators for the damages suffered by the companies.

Organizations upgraded current procedures, held awareness and training sessions, and deployed technologies to spot fraud's early warning signs in order to prevent fraud in the future.