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Kroll, a risk consulting and security unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos (), said 53 percent of financial services respondents reported a higher level of fraud, compared with only 27 percent in other industries.

The Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report covered 729 executives in 10 business sectors, with at least 50 executives from each. Nearly half of companies polled have more than $1 billion of annual revenue.

According to the survey, the average financial services company lost $15.2 million to fraud over the last three years. That compares with $8.8 million for companies overall, a sum that rose from $8.2 million a year earlier.

Thirty percent of respondents said the economic environment directly increased their exposure to fraud over the past year, with only 5 percent reporting a decline. The percentage reporting an increase was 32 percent in North America.

Five sectors reported higher fraud losses: financial services; health care, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; professional services; retail, wholesale and distribution; and travel, leisure and transportation.

Five sectors reported lower fraud losses: construction and engineering; consumer goods; manufacturing; natural resources; and technology, media and telecommunications.

The survey was conducted by a unit of The Economist Group, which publishes the magazine The Economist.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel)