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Holiday season linked to criminal activity, rogue employers and unscrupulous service providers

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Joanne Swann
Hands wearing fingerless gloves type on a laptop keyboard against a dark background, perhaps crafting the perfect wish list for the holiday season.

Labour violations, unlawful money lending, consumer protection violations and cybercrime are becoming as common as unwanted presents during the holiday season as recorded instances across these categories spike in the final three months of the year according to historical analysis by LSEG Risk Intelligence.

In 2023, 67% of all new LSEG World-Check records were for labour violations or cybercrime and the trend is set to continue.

The relevant categories with the highest proportion of new World-Check records registered between Oct – Dec 2023*:

  1. Labour violations – 67%
  2. Cybercrime – 67%
  3. Consumer Protection Violations – 59%
  4. Unlawful Money Lending – 59%
  5. Fraud – 56%
  6. Counterfeiting or Piracy – 49%
  7. Forgery and Uttering – 47%

Priya Nallan,Head of Product at LSEG Risk Intelligence, comments:

Exposure to forced labour and exploitation through third parties is possible without a comprehensive audit of supply chains. Payment fraud can also be mitigated through verifying bank account details for suppliers and customers prior to transaction and in real-time. A proactive stance to internal compliance and security protocols, can help protect your workspace and assets, ensuring a peaceful and secure holiday and into the year ahead.

Priya Nallan, Head of Product at LSEG Risk Intelligence

Worker exploitation can be linked to seasonal employment. Many industries, such as retail and logistics, hire temporary workers to handle the increased demand during the holiday season and these workers might be more vulnerable to violations due to their temporary status and lack of familiarity with their rights.

In addition, the end of the year often brings a surge in workload, especially in sectors like retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. Employers might push employees to work longer hours or skip breaks to meet deadlines and targets, leading to more violations.

As with workers, consumers can be on the receiving end as increased spending activity provides more opportunities for businesses to engage in deceptive practices or cut corners on product quality and safety as well as more innocuous errors and/or breaches of consumer data.

We also see an increase in misleading advertising, hidden fees, or bait-and-switch tactics as businesses compete for consumer attention around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Finally, unlawful money lending can be linked to the financial pressure of paying for gifts, travel, and celebrations. Individuals facing financial strain may turn to loan sharks as a quick solution to cover these costs. In addition, many may seek this route if they have year-end financial obligations such as taxes, debt repayments, and other bills.

LSEG World-Check data is used by businesses to identify potential financial crime and reputational risk and comply with regulations and comes from public domain sources collated by specialist teams of researchers globally across multiple languages.

Joanne Swann, Content Manager, WorkWellPro
Editor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional | Website |  + posts

Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and has a keen interest in promoting the safety and wellbeing of the global workforce. After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature and media studies, she taught English in China and Vietnam for two years. Before joining Work Well Pro, Joanne worked as a marketing coordinator for luxury property, where her responsibilities included blog writing, photography, and video creation.

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