The perpetrators of fraud come in all shapes and sizes, demographically speaking.  But fraud investigations throughout the years have been able to pinpoint the more typical characteristics of a fraudster, and some of the results are surprising. “Understanding the traits of the average fraudsters isn’t going to allow you to look at your employees and… Read more »

The single most common anti-fraud control companies use as a fraud deterrence vehicle is the formal financial audit.  Unfortunately, it’s not a very effective one. In its 2014 Report to the Nations, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) reported that out of 18 identified anti-fraud controls, the formal financial audit scored 16th in reducing… Read more »

Fraud deterrence programs never take a vacation, but your employees most definitely should. Requiring employees to take regular vacations is a key anti-fraud control in an organization’s comprehensive fraud deterrence program.  In its 2014 Report to the Nations, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) notes that a mandatory vacation policy reduces an organization’s median… Read more »

Opportunity — the ability for fraudsters to carry out the misappropriation of cash or other company assets — is one of the three key elements necessary for fraud to occur and it is an element that organizations often can eliminate by enacting strong anti-fraud controls as part of a comprehensive fraud deterrence program. In its… Read more »

Fraud investigations into asset misappropriation — one of the three main types of fraud — reveal an assortment of deceitful means by which dishonest employees can steal from an organization. “There is no shortage of schemes by which a fraudster can misappropriate funds from an employer, whether it is a company, a non-profit or a… Read more »