2022 International Fraud Awareness Week Events Spotlight
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ACFE Public Relations Specialist
Stefanie Hallgren
Since 2000, organizations around the world have joined the fight against fraud during International Fraud Awareness Week, or Fraud Week. Every year, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) creates new educational resources for organizations to use to spread the word about fraud prevention and awareness, but groups are encouraged to create their own activities to make the yearly event their own.
Fraud Week 2022 will be held November 13-19, and several organizations have events and activities planned to show the world they won’t stand for fraud. From virtual film festivals to Twitter chats, podcasts to webinars, there’s something for everyone to participate in, even if you aren’t connected to the Supporting Organization hosting the event.
You can find a list of various Fraud Week events being held around the world at FraudWeek.com/Events, but here’s a brief rundown of what you can expect and additional details from some of the event organizers:
Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival Encore – all week
The 10th Annual Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival was held in July 2022. In honor of Fraud Week, organizers will be hosting a virtual encore presentation of the event all week at WhistleblowerSummit.com.
Organizer Michael McCray describes the event as “unique, because it lies at the intersection of law/policy, culture and entertainment.” McCray says, “Tipsters (whistleblowers) are the most effective tool for fraud detection. … We decided to hold an Encore Presentation during Fraud Week so that we can share our message about the importance of whistleblowers and whistleblower protections to a new audience of fraud professionals.”
For more details, head to WhistleblowerSummit.com.
ACFE Lebanon Chapter Podcasts – all week
The Training and Education Director of the ACFE Lebanon Chapter, Soltan Hassanieh, CFE, is putting the spotlight on the 7-episode inaugural season of his “Let’s Talk Fraud” podcast. There is a podcast for you to listen to every day of Fraud Week, covering a wide range of topics.
Sunday, November 13, tune in to the Phishing Email Podcast. Hassanieh will “delve deep into understanding how fraudsters use the phishing email scam.”
Monday, November 14, tune in to the Fake Charities Podcast, which will help you “arm yourself with the skills and tools to be able to tell if a charity is legitimate.”
Tuesday, November 15, tune in to the Jobs and Employment Podcast. This podcast focuses on how scammers trick victims into “handing over your money by offering you a ‘guaranteed’ way to make fast money or a high-paying job for little effort.”
Wednesday, November 16, tune in to the Ponzi Scheme Podcast, where the host breaks down these “illegal investment operations that promise quick, easy, and significant returns with little or no risk.”
Thursday, November 17, tune in to the Dating & Romance Podcast, which exposes romance fraudsters.
Friday, November 18, tune in to the Cyber Crimes Podcast, which highlights the evolution of these crimes over the years.
Finally, on Saturday, November 19, tune in to the Online Shopping Podcast, where the host discusses “scammers pretending to be legitimate online sellers.”
To see the entire list of episodes of the “Let’s Talk Fraud” podcast, go to the Apple Podcasts page.
Harbinson Mulholland Webinar: How to Stop a Thief – Fraud awareness and prevention for those involved with charities – all week
Ireland accountancy and business advisory firm Harbinson Mulholland has an on-demand webinar that can be viewed any time during Fraud Week. In “How to Stop a Thief,” two of the firm’s forensic accountants, Callum Coulter and James McCullough, discuss fraud prevention and awareness training as it relates to people involved with charities.
Coulter says, “This subject has never been more important. Fraud prevention and awareness training is often the best defense in combating fraud.”
To view the webinar, visit this link: https://www.harbinson-mulholland.com/news/213/how-to-stop-a-thief
Kenanga’s 6th Fraud Awareness Week Virtual Opening Ceremony
Long-time ACFE Corporate Alliance partner Kenanga will be hosting its 6th Fraud Awareness Week activities, starting with a virtual opening ceremony on November 14 that everyone is welcome to see. Those who tune in will see a special address from ACFE President and CEO Bruce Dorris and hear from Dan McCrum, the Financial Times investigative journalist who helped expose the Wirecard scandal.
The Kenanga Group has been a dedicated supporter of Fraud Week over the years, and this year’s activities seem destined to repeat the tradition. This year’s theme is “Reaffirming Ethical and Moral Resilience for Good Governance.”
To access the virtual opening ceremony, click on this link: https://bit.ly/3fKTONr
South Carolina Fraud Ambassador Roundtable
On Wednesday, November 16 at 10 a.m. EST, SAFE Federal Credit Union will be holding a roundtable discussion with anti-fraud professionals working at financial institutions across South Carolina. The event will be held at SAFE FCU’s Sumter Operations Building. The goal is to get anti-fraud professionals at competing businesses to look beyond that competition and collaborate for a common good: fighting fraud.
Hailey Windham, Financial Crimes Investigations Officer at SAFE Federal Credit Union, is hoping Fraud Week and fraud fighting, in general, becomes a bigger movement across the state of South Carolina. For Fraud Week, she has obtained a proclamation from the governor and recently participated in a couple of podcasts highlighting her passion for anti-fraud education.
Liberty Fraud Webinar and Other Staff Activities
On Wednesday, November 16, Liberty financial services company in South Africa will be hosting an all-day employee event in honor of Fraud Week. Company officials say they have invited one of their external stakeholders for a fraud webinar for staff members. According to Desiree Maringa, Liberty Senior Fraud Prevention Specialist, this webinar guest will “share information on the latest fraud trends and how our staff members can protect themselves, the customer and the organisation against fraud and corruption.”
When asked about her organization’s participation in Fraud Week, Maringa said “Liberty is a proud supporter” every year, offering praise to the ACFE. She went on to say the “ACFE has done so much in this space. They have constantly ensured that forensic practitioners are on the same page in terms of global fraud trends. Initiatives such as Fraud Week are key, and much needed to further this cause.”
Oxford Investigation Service Annual Fraud Conference
On Thursday, November 17, Oxford Investigation Service – part of the Oxford City Council in the U.K. – will be holding its 7th Annual Fraud Conference. The in-person event is free for all public sector delegates and will be held at Oxford Town Hall. The event will include several expert speakers and exhibitors that focus on fraud and debt recovery solutions.
Again, it is free to attend, but you must register in advance to attend. To do that, and for more details on the event, visit this link: https://www.oxfordinvestigationservice.co.uk/annual-fraud-conference-2022-2
Webinar: “The Changing Landscape of Elder Fraud”
On November 17 at noon EST, the New York City Chapter of the ACFE, NYCFE, will be hosting a webinar titled “The Changing Landscape of Elder Fraud.” Several panelists working in the elder abuse investigation field will be participating and discussing the changing landscape of elder financial exploitation (EFE) and how to deal with those changes.
The webinar is free and open to both NYCFE members and non-NYCFE members. Attendees who tune in live can obtain 1.5 CPE credits by answering poll questions during the webinar session.
For more information, and to register, visit this link: https://nycfe.org/meetinginfo.php?id=131&ts=1667154181.
Elder fraud was the focus of one of this year’s ACFE-produced video resources for Fraud Week. You can find this video by visiting FraudWeek.com/Resources.
Deloitte Dbriefs – The Deloitte Fraud Risk Center survey on fraud risk management results
On Thursday, November 17 at 1 p.m. EST, Deloitte will be hosting a special Fraud Week edition of its Deloitte DBriefs webcast series to announce the results of a recent fraud risk management survey. Michael Brodsky, Deloitte Audit and Assurance Managing Director will be discussing the results of this survey with Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory Partner, Holly Tucker.
Brodsky says he would like the survey and the subsequent release of results to become a regular occurrence around Fraud Week every year. “As part of a team at Deloitte that works with our auditors helping them evaluate the risk of fraud in financial statement audits, we think that it’s important to support the ACFE in their efforts to draw attention to fraud and fraud risk,” says Brodsky. “We hope that by conducting a survey on fraud risk management and anti-fraud programs and controls that organizations will revisit their current fraud risk assessments and leverage some of the information from our survey to enhance their existing fraud prevention and detection programs.”
Attending the live program will earn you 1 CPE credit. For more details, and to register to attend, visit https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/events/financial-executives-dbriefs-webcasts/2022/the-deloitte-fraud-risk-center-survey-on-fraud-risk-management-results.html.
Pindrop Webinar: Is Your Financial Contact Center Actually a Fraud Tool?
On Thursday, November 17 at 1 p.m. EST, information security company, Pindrop, will host a webinar titled "Is Your Financial Contact Center Actually a Fraud Tool?” Pindrop Director of Product Marketing, Nicole Culver, and Director of Fraud Business Intelligence, Brian St. John will discuss the relationship between fraud and authentication within the call channel. As Culver explains, “Just a year ago, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), an organization that creates guidelines for financial institutions, released updated authentication guidelines that included a lot more information tying in digital authentication and contact centers—a connection that can help fight fraud in the call center.”
She goes on to say, “As [Pindrop’s] primary customer base is made up of financial institutions, banks and credit unions, we hope to highlight how important protecting the call channel is against the pervasiveness of fraud. Participating in Fraud Week is an honor and we are excited to help promote fraud awareness internationally alongside the ACFE."
For more information on the webinar, and to register, visit this link: https://www.pindrop.com/pulse/is-your-financial-contact-center-actually-a-fraud-tool/
2nd Annual International Insurance Fraud Twitter Chat
On Thursday, November 17 at 1 p.m. EST, the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and the New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud are joining forces for the 2nd Annual International Insurance Fraud Twitter Chat. Head to Twitter.com/Insurance_Fraud to follow along during the conversation between several insurance fraud experts.
If you’d like to participate in the chat, email elijah@insurancefraud.org or sign up here.
ACFE Maryland Chapter #21 Training Event (in-person and online)
On Friday, November 18, the ACFE Maryland Chapter #21 is opening up its November chapter meeting/training to anyone who would like to attend. Mary Breslin, CFE, CIA, who spoke at the 33rd Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, will be delivering the training event titled “Root Cause Analysis: Getting to Know the Root of the Matter.” The training event will define what root cause analysis is and how it can be used in fraud investigations.
Attending the training event earns you four Continuing Professional Education credits. It costs $25 for both members and non-members and will be held in-person in Baltimore as well as virtually.
For more details, head to www.cfemd.org/md-fraud-conference.
This year’s Fraud Week may be quickly approaching, but you still have time to sign up as a Supporting Organization and plan a fraud education event. Head to FraudWeek.com and click on “Sign Up to Support” on the top-right portion of your screen. To submit an event to be listed on the Fraud Week website, click on the Events tab at FraudWeek.com, scroll down to “Submit Your Fraud Week Event,” and fill out the form.
And don’t forget to use the hashtag #FraudWeek on social media so the world can see how you and your organization are helping fight fraud in your community for the ACFE’s International Fraud Awareness Week.