Fraudulent behavior is not necessarily perpetuated by people hiding their identities. For example, legitimate customers sometimes use the credit card chargeback process to their advantage — and to the disadvantage of merchants. Others routinely abuse chargebacks to steal merchandise. Here is how to protect your...
Bad faith denials of claims by insurers are illegal but some dishonest companies or agents attempt them anyway. It is possible that just when you have the greatest need, you will find yourself out of luck. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of great legal...
The COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous pressure on global supply chains. As companies struggle to obtain the goods and materials they need, they may not pay as much attention to potential fraud signs. Unethical employees and organized crime gangs have only been too willing to...
Not all red flags lead to active occupational fraud schemes. But when fraud is occurring, it usually leaves traces — for example, accounting anomalies — for fraud experts and other knowledgeable people to find. Owners and executives, as well as rank-and-file workers, should be familiar...
As counterintuitive as it may seem, law firms are not immune to criminal activity. Because some firms place enormous pressure on attorneys to produce billable work, they may be particularly vulnerable to fraud. Your firm needs to know what to look for and how to...
It is not always easy being small. For one thing, small businesses (with fewer than 100 employees) experience higher occupational fraud losses: a median $150,000 vs. $140,000 for larger companies, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. That is because they do not always...
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled a lawsuit with a company it says made false and misleading claims about its consumer products. Specifically, the company advertised on its website and social media accounts that its goods were ‘Made in USA,’ even though most of...
When Anna, the chief executive officer of a small manufacturing company, received an anonymous report about fraud in the accounting department, she was not sure how to act. After all, the complaint could be accurate, but there also was a chance that it was not....
Dividing a marital estate is rarely easy, and it is made much harder if a divorcing spouse owns a private business and attempts to artificially deflate its profits or hide assets. If you or your attorney suspects this type of deception, engage a forensic accountant...
All that glitters is not gold. This includes gold — and other precious metals, stones, and jewels that are sometimes used to launder the ‘dirty’ proceeds of criminal activities such as drug trafficking and terrorism. But several U.S. laws and regulations target these international money-laundering...