Fraud Losses: An Examination of Gender, Opportunity, and Social Identity

Abstract

ABSTRACT The intersection of gender and crime has been of interest to academics and practitioners since at least the 1970s. Beginning in 1996, an examination of descriptive statistics (e.g., median fraud loss) related to gender included in the ACFE Reports to the Nations suggests that male perpetrators cause significantly more losses than female perpetrators. Using a lens of opportunity, social comparison, and social identity, as opposed to the gendered theory of crime, we explore the impact of gender and position on fraud loss using an ACFE dataset. We generally find that once employment position is considered, there are not significant differences in fraud losses between female and male perpetrators, consistent with one’s position providing opportunity to commit fraud. These findings represent an important step in understanding the relation between gender, position, and fraud activity. Our study provides new insights for practitioners and academics to better evaluate organizational fraud risk. Data Availability: Data are available from the ACFE Research Institute (formerly the Institute for Fraud Prevention). JEL Classification Codes: G32, G40, J16, K49, M49.