Types of Fraud Schemes to Look Out For In our last newsletter we identified fraud as a significant threat to all businesses, a threat with devastating and long lasting negative effects. Our goal is to make you more familiar with fraud so that you can recognize it and take the steps necessary to eradicate it before it destroys your business. Therefore, in this article we explore three broad categories of business fraud: asset misappropriation schemes, corruption schemes, and financial statement fraud.
Asset Misappropriation Schemes
Misappropriation schemes are frauds in which the operator steals or misuses (misappropriates) the assets of a business. Instead of using business assets and resources to advance the goals of the business, the employee takes and leverages them for his own gain. Misappropriation schemes are the most commonly reported and the least costly of the three major categories of fraud. False invoicing, payroll fraud and skimming are all examples of misappropriation.
Skimming is when an employee steals company cash before it is recorded as a receipt or income. For example, an employee accepts payment from a customer but... Read More
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The Most Effective Way to Discover and Stop Fraud
Previously we discussed the various types of fraud schemes that have been designed and implemented by fraudsters to steal the cash and assets of their employers. Some fraudsters search for employment specifically to further their fraud activities; having worked for a similar business and been identified as a thief and asked to leave, these parasites search for a similar host to feed off of. Others enter employment for legitimate reasons and are tempted by a combination of need and opportunity to steal their employer's assets for their own use.
One of my favorite newspaper stories reported on a woman, a longtime employee, who found herself in a position where she could easily and without detection steal funds directed to her employer. Unable to resist the temptation, she began taking money in modest amounts. As her level of affluence increased, she needed more money to maintain her new lifestyle. She stole enough money to send her children to college, pay for their weddings, and provide them with lavish wedding presents. This scheme grew so complex... Read More
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