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Met Police launches forum to help employers fight the rising tide of employee fraud

The Metropolitan Police Service and organisations from the screening and vetting industry are to launch a cross-sector forum to share information and advice and improve awareness of the role of vetting and screening in dealing with the rise in employee fraud.

The Association of Chief |Police Officers (ACPO) estimates that fraud costs the UK around £20 billion a year and that an organisation's own employees are responsible for the majority of fraud-related crime. Many business failures can even be attributed to fraudulent activity by senior executives.  

The launch of the forum, PREFIT - Protecting Employers From Internal Threats - will take place on Friday, 19 June at New Scotland Yard. Its aim is to facilitate the sharing of information and good practice between employers and investigative, enforcement and advisory agencies.

David Chernick, senior manager at KPMG Forensic and chair of PREFIT, comments: "The world is turbulent enough without having to worry about the damage caused by insider threats to job prospects, business survival and safe public services. And we're doing something about it."

Following the official launch a publicly accessible website will be available to raise awareness and to offer advice for both employees and employers.