From the President: Record Relief Money and the Fight Against Fraud

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From the President: Record Relief Money and the Fight Against Fraud

In some of the first COVID-19 articles we published nearly a year ago, we warned how the pandemic was creating the perfect storm for fraudulent activity to thrive. Sadly, those predictions have proven true as record amounts of COVID-relief money flood the economy.

To date, the U.S. Congress has approved over $5 trillion in aid packages to help the unemployed and businesses survive the economic impact of the pandemic. That’s the largest federal spending program in U.S. history and, as such, it’s become a veritable playground for fraudsters to ply their trade. It’s also the subject of our cover story for the current issue of Fraud Magazine.

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From the President: We’re Remote, but We Must Connect

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From the President: We’re Remote, but We Must Connect

2020 is officially behind us, but its repercussions will live with us for a long time. Nothing prepared us — professionally or personally — for the pandemic. COVID-19 probably has permanently changed the ways we operate. But we’ve been resilient as we work through tremendous disruptions. We’re fighting the good fight to protect our organizations from fraud despite our limitations.

In October 2020, I had the honor of conducting an ACFE webinar with a group of expert fraud examiners to discuss the challenges and difficulties they and their colleagues are facing. The two-hour discussion flew by with the three speakers from consulting, industry and law enforcement sectors. The discussion was so robust, we decided to expand the session to become the January/February issue of Fraud Magazine’s cover story.

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Common Schemes and Red Flags of Unemployment Insurance Fraud During the Pandemic

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Common Schemes and Red Flags of Unemployment Insurance Fraud During the Pandemic

In October, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory regarding unemployment insurance (UI) fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of FinCEN’s advisory was to notify financial institutions of the types of UI fraud schemes the bureau has observed during the pandemic, as well as the red flags associated with such schemes.

For obvious reasons, unemployment claims have surged during the pandemic. According to FinCEN, law enforcement agencies and financial institutions in the United States have detected a corresponding surge in UI fraud. The following are the most common types of UI fraud schemes observed by FinCEN during the pandemic.

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