Global

Ponzi schemes and the pandemic . . . a perfect storm?

If 2020 wasn’t bad enough, some experts believe the COVID-19 pandemic is creating the perfect conditions for an increase in Ponzi schemes. Here’s some advice on how best to deal with this type of fraud and why these schemes persist.

Managing insider-fraud risks in a pandemic

Insider-fraud risks are on the rise as the economic and psychological fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic takes its toll on organizations and their employees. Understanding these risks and knowing how to manage them will be an important part of many CFEs’ jobs.

Is a U.K. version of SOX compliance on the horizon?

The U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 mandated strict reforms to existing securities regulations and imposed tough new penalties on lawbreakers. The U.K. might soon adopt similar legislation, which could significantly change board responsibility for fraud risk management and increase demand for anti-fraud professionals.

32nd Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference builds on 2020’s breakthrough event

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last June, the ACFE pivoted the ACFE Global Fraud Conference to a virtual format to keep attendees, speakers and sponsors safe. The ACFE stood firm in its commitment to provide quality education and resources for anti-fraud professionals, and it delivered. More than 4,000 fraud fighters gathered virtually in a breakthrough format to share knowledge, network with like-minded professionals and learn from the industry’s top leaders.

Global deforestation facilitated via fraud

Illegal logging companies in the Amazon regions, which are driving deforestation, are using multiple fraud schemes. They include fake or forged permits based on fraudulent information; corruption and collusion of and with officials who are supposed to enforce timber regulations; and front companies to avoid taxes.

Fake calls from Amazon and Apple, vaccine scams, strengthening passwords

Amazon and Apple aren’t calling you to warn you of suspicious activity. And vaccine scammers are here. Plus don’t get lax in concocting new passwords.

Cobalt blues

The battery in your cellphone could be powered by cobalt derived from copper that exploited “artisanal miners” — often children — hand dug from open-pit mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But a new DRC government could crack down on the illegal awarding of mine licenses, permits and contracts. And blockchain could make supply chains more transparent.

Learning to speak the same fraud language

The FraudClassifier model, developed by a U.S. Federal Reserve-led industry work group, provides the payments industry with an intuitive classification approach to help fraud fighters get on the same page to understand the nature and magnitude of fraud.

Wirecard's house tumbles

Dan McCrum, an investigative reporter for the Financial Times, spent six years questioning the finances of Wirecard, Germany’s moneymaking payments processor. Fraudulent Wirecard would strike back against McCrum and his wife with smear campaigns, lawsuits and surveillance. German banks and regulators targeted him. But his efforts paid off. Read about his crazy, weird investigation.

5 most scandalous frauds of 2020

We were all glad to discard our 2020 calendars. Fraudsters took advantage of COVID-19 conditions, but not all of them needed an pandemic to pull off some big frauds. We've distilled a long list of cases to give you a few shockers.

Remote but engaged

How do fraud examiners conduct fraud examinations when they often can’t meet their team members and subjects in person? These experts — during pandemic constraints — discuss their biggest investigation hurdles, maintaining professional skepticism, best practices, eDiscovery challenges, chain of custody, interviewing constraints and more.

Six candidates selected for ACFE Board of Regents’ ballot

Six candidates have been selected to compete for two positions on the 2021-2022 Board of Regents. The board sets standards to promote professionalism and to ensure the reputation of the CFE credential.