The most dangerous enemy is sometimes the one from within. That, at least, is how it can be for companies that fall victim to employees who commit fraud to enrich themselves or do damage to the firm.

• The dean of a university medical school convinced patients to make payments totalling HK$4 million into the account of his wholly-owned private company.
• A “shopping addict” was caught transferring between HK$100,000 to HK$200,000 several times each month from the account of her small commercial printing firm, stealing in total HK$6 million.
• An estimated $7.9 million worth of watches and cash went missing from a luxury watch retailer in Singapore on December 26, 2008, a crime perpetrated by an employee.
• A sales representative at a medical supply company in Singapore made cheques out in his own name for 35 shipments of products over two years, pocketing almost $2 million.
• In Japan, an IT services company reported that a former employee had embezzled around $1 million by fraudulently selling personal computers that were stocked in the warehouse. He sold more than 300 computers in five years.
• Other recent frauds include the creation of “ghost employees”, fictional names on the payroll who claim salaries, embezzlement of large sums by senior executives, fraudulent accounting, and other innumerable employee crimes.

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