Investigation

Adjusting to a new reality

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work and provided an opportunity for fraudsters to scam the populace like never before. The ACFE Board of Regents looks back on its experiences and provides advice on how to fight fraud in this post-coronavirus landscape.

No truce in cyberwars

With people increasingly living their lives online, fraudsters have never had easier access to potential victims. COVID-19 has only accelerated that trend. Indeed, business is booming for cybercriminals now focused on high-value organizations. Fraud Magazine talks to cyber expert Robert Herjavec and CFEs about how best to tackle this ever-evolving threat.

Revamp controls now to battle burgeoning synthetic ID fraud

Fraudsters combine stolen personally identifiable information from many different individuals to create dangerous Frankenstein identities. Guard against this growing insidious fraud and protect the IDs of your customers.

New mission, same focus: Interview with Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York

Preet Bharara speaks about lessons learned, the outlook for new insider trading rules under the Biden administration, the challenges of overseeing COVID-relief funds, the difficulties of investigating Ponzi schemes and much more.

Calibrate your professional skepticism: How to modulate your skepticism threshold to better spot red flags

An auditor applied the correct level of skepticism and uncovered the largest government misappropriation, $6.9 million, in Washington state’s history. Here’s how the team investigated the crime, and how you can modulate your skepticism threshold to better spot red flags and evidence that otherwise might have remained hidden.

Game-changing digital background checks and asset searches

Fraud examiners understand the importance of knowing whom you’re doing business with. From compliance and due diligence to investigative asset tracing, solid background-checking skills are key tools for CFEs. But beyond traditional methods, new techniques are emerging to greatly enhance business transparency — and some may surprise you.

Wasted opportunities: Find and investigate waste now

Investigators and auditors spend hours looking for fraud and abuse but often overlook the third bad boy: waste. Fraud is flashy, and abuse is sinister. But waste often gets a short shrift. These CFEs encourage us to look for waste so we can save our organizations millions during these lean times.

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.

Taking down a crooked film producer

Fraud Magazine recently spoke with three veteran CFEs about how they break open and dissect investment scams and claw back stolen capital. Though these practitioners weren’t involved in this ongoing Hollywood case, they’ve reviewed the public records. And they’re deeply experienced in the case’s functional components: financial investigation, digital forensics, and asset tracing and recovery. As these experts reveal, their tools and techniques also are potent weapons against other kinds of schemes.

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.

Best defense is a good offense

Use the new Anti-Fraud Playbook, produced by the ACFE and Grant Thornton, to operationalize leading guidance from the ACFE/COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide to help your organization move from theory to practice.