News and analysis on the global fight against fraud
International Fraud Awareness Week 2021 is now coming to a close and we at the ACFE want to thank everyone who signed up as an official supporter. Supporting organizations from 112 countries around the world took the time this week to raise fraud awareness and share anti-fraud education with people in their communities and workplaces.
Read MoreFraud 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.
Read MoreWhy 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.
Read MoreEveryone likes a good superhero. I always like the ones who use their shields to fight off their enemies.
Superheroes are usually depicted as characters that have abilities greater than a normal person and they use them to accomplish good deeds. In his essay “More Than Normal, But Believable,” for the book “What is a Superhero?” Stan Lee said, “If the good guy is doing something that a normal human being couldn’t do, couldn’t accomplish, then I assume he becomes a superhero.” But isn’t that what people working in fraud and financial crimes try to do? We all bring our unique abilities in fighting crime so the world can be a safer, better place — and together we can accomplish more than one normal human can.
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Sarah Hofmann
ACFE Public Information Officer
One of the great things about International Fraud Awareness Week, beginning next week, is seeing how it brings fraud fighters together as they spread fraud awareness in their communities. In that spirit, we want to connect with each one of you on social media this Fraud Week. Here are some of the ways you can connect with us and your peers during this week of fraud awareness:
For more ideas on what supporters are doing for Fraud Week, check out the Fraud Week events page. We look forward to seeing and sharing all the great things supporters like you are doing during this week, and encourage you to connect and engage with other anti-fraud professionals!
News and analysis on the global fight against fraud.
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