Survey of Fraud Against Businesses

Detailed information for 2006 (Pilot survey)

The purpose of this survey is to collect data on the number of incidents of fraud experienced by certain business sectors. The survey also collects information on fraud detection and prevention and actions taken in response to incidents of fraud, including use of the criminal justice system.

Data release - No public use microdata file will be produced by Statistics Canada and data will not be made available through the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI).

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

This is a pilot survey.

The purpose of this survey is to collect data on the number of incidents of fraud experienced by certain business sectors. These data are required to respond to the need for better information on the nature and extent of fraud in Canada in order to improve policy and public education with respect to this issue. The survey also collects information on fraud detection and prevention and actions taken in response to incidents of fraud, including use of the criminal justice system. The survey collects information on the types and frequency of fraud, methods of fraud detection used, and the total financial losses incurred as a result of fraud.

The pilot phase of this survey is a means of testing the quality of the survey instrument and fraud definitions, and a means to verify the non-response rate by size and industry type, and to assess all survey procedures from the pre-contact stage to and including the Edit and Imputation stage. Based on the results of the pilot survey, the survey instrument and procedures will be further developed and refined for the main survey.

Reference period: Fiscal year

Subjects

• Crime and justice
• Crimes and offences

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population is a sample of Canadian businesses selected on the basis of size from the industrial sectors of retail (442, 443, 444, 446, 448, 452, 4532), banking (5221), payment companies (5222), health or disability insurance (52411), property and casualty insurance (52412) and manufacturing (333, 334, 335, 336, 3391). All establishments of 5 employees or more would be considered in scope.

• Additional documentation

Instrument design

The Survey of Fraud Against Businesses was developed through consultations and focus testing with various stakeholders including; federal partners, law enforcement specialists, private industry fraud specialists and business associations. These members were given a copy of the questionnaire and asked to comment on the content and fraud definitions. Based on their input, the survey instrument was further refined and was further tested through the pilot.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

Sample unit: 642 Establishments

Stratification: Establishments from the following NAICS
Retail (442, 443, 444, 446, 448, 452, 4532),
Banking (5221),
Payment companies (5222),
Health or disability insurance (52411),
Property and casualty insurance (52412)
Manufacturing (333, 334, 335, 336, and 3391).

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

No public use microdata file will be produced by Statistics Canada and data will not be made available through the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI).

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology does not apply to this survey.