Page 375 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020

One of the most interesting findings in our Report each year is the fact that male fraudsters tend to cause
losses that are more than twice as high as the losses caused by females. In our 2012 study, the median loss in a
scheme committed by a male was $200,000, while the median loss for a female was $91,000. The chart below
shows that this has been a consistent trend over the last three Reports.

Gender of Perpetrator — Median Loss

$300,000 $250,000 2012
$200,000 2010
$250,000 $232,000

$200,000
Median Loss $150,000 $91,000 $100,000 $110,000 2008

$100,000

$50,000

$0
Female Male

Gender of Perpetrator

This disparity does not appear to be based solely on males occupying higher levels of authority than females.
In the chart below, we compared losses by gender based on the perpetrators’ levels of authority. Males caused
significantly higher losses at every level.
10

Position of Perpetrator — Median Loss Based on Gender

Male
$75,000
Employee
Female
$50,000
Position of Perpetrator Manager $150,000 2012 REPORT TO THE NATIONS on occupational FRAUD and abuse |
$200,000

Owner/Executive $699,000
$300,000

$0 $200,000 $400,000 $600,000 $800,000
Median Loss

10 We only received 31 cases involving females in the owner/executive category, which impacts the reliability of the loss data in that category.
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