Support Groups for Fraud Victims

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Support Groups for Fraud Victims

As investigators, we have all reached the point in the span of our interviews of what can be said or suggested next in support of fraud victims. With all the busy work of report writing, speaking to law enforcement, preparing for court and filing examination findings, we do not always remember the trauma a financial loss can be to the victim. As trained as we are, we may not have experienced fraud in our own lives to understand the emotional impact it can have.

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Fraud Predictions are Alarming, But Together We Can Help Reverse Them

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Fraud Predictions are Alarming, But Together We Can Help Reverse Them

Fraud is nothing new. In fact, fraud has been with us from as far back as 300 B.C. when Hegestratos, a Greek sea merchant tried to sink his empty ship and claim back the nonexistent cargo of corn. Unlike many fraudsters however, Hegestratos’ plan backfired, and he came to a watery end.

Today things are very different. In our increasingly digital world, sophisticated criminal activity is taking advantage of individual and organizational vulnerabilities on an industrial scale. In the ACFE and Grant Thornton’s latest report, The Next Normal: Preparing for a Post-Pandemic Fraud Landscape, 51% of organizations have uncovered more fraud since the onset of the pandemic and 71% of respondents expect payment fraud to increase in the next year. Weaknesses in our global financial infrastructure and a lack of fraud consciousness are generating huge personal and institutional losses.

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Look Beyond the Auditing and Compliance Departments — Fraud Awareness Training is for All!

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Look Beyond the Auditing and Compliance Departments — Fraud Awareness Training is for All!

Why doesn’t every organization implement fraud awareness training for all employees? That’s a question I get asked a lot; it’s also a question I ask when I speak. Having investigated fraud and taught fraud prevention for years, I think there are a number of reasons — and right now it’s more important than ever for companies and organizations to have a more integrated fraud awareness program in place.

The pandemic disrupted every organization in some way. Organizations reinvented ways of conducting business, granted exceptions to processes and policies, extended unusual permissions and responsibilities to employees, and changed oversight and governance approaches. Simply put, every organization changed, and with change comes increased risk. That risk could be temporary while the change is normalized or it could be permanent.

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Creepy and Costly Frightening Frauds

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Creepy and Costly Frightening Frauds

As fraud examiners know, fraud comes in many varieties and touches every type of business. Some fraud stories defy belief due to the audacity of the fraudsters, the context in which they occur, or both. These seasonally appropriate examples of frightening frauds show that fraudsters will consider any type of trick when it comes to scamming victims.

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