Occupational fraud is the most common and costly type of fraud, resulting in billions of revenue dollars lost each year. Unfortunately, credit unions remain an accessible and desirable target for many occupational fraudsters. At the beginning of 2023, the NCUA reported that the risk of fraud within credit unions remains elevated. In fact, in the last quarter of 2022, financial institutions experienced a 53% increase in fraudulent activity, and credit unions experienced a 70% increase in total fraud activity for the year, according to a Pindrop study. The most common type of occupational fraud is asset misappropriation at the executive level, but organizations can be targeted by an employee at any level.

To help mitigate and discourage fraud attempts, credit unions must understand how they are vulnerable to attacks and what measures they can take to prevent occupational fraud. When occupational fraud does occur, leadership must hold those responsible accountable and apply a transparent approach to stakeholder relations to ensure their reputation remains intact.