Organizations around the world lose an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenues to fraud, according to a report released today by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). Applied to the 2011 gross world product, that figure translates to a potential fraud loss of more than $3.5 trillion, the organization said.

The ACFE’s 2012 Report to the Nations, which studied 1,388 cases of fraud investigated in 2010 and 2011, validates statistical trends found in previous years’ reports, said James Ratley, the organization’s president and CEO.

“As in previous years, what is perhaps most striking about the data we gathered is how consistent the patterns of fraud are around the globe and over time,” Ratley wrote in the report’s introduction.

Key findings from the 76-page report include:
– Fraud schemes are extremely costly. The median loss caused by the occupational fraud cases in the study was $140,000. More than one-fifth of these cases caused losses of at least $1 million.

– Schemes can continue for months or even years before they are detected. The frauds in the study lasted a median of 18 months before being caught.

– Small businesses face increased risk. The smallest organizations in the study suffered the largest median losses. These organizations typically employ fewer anti-fraud controls than their larger counterparts, which increases their vulnerability to fraud.