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FRAUD PROTECTION AGENCIES
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Stolen Data From T.J. Maxx Parent Company Surfaces In Florida Wal-Mart Fraud
Larry Greenemeier, News,
InformationWeek, CMP Media LLC [ 21 March 2007 ]
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20 Ways to Detect Fraud
Business Fraud Detection Service,
Clumeck, Stern, Schenkelberg & Getzoff
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Advance Fee Business Scams
Tips for Traveling Abroad, International Travel,
Travel.State.Gov, Bureau of Consular Affairs,
U.S. Department of State
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HOW EMPLOYEES STEAL - CASH FRAUD
Excerpt from Chapter II,
How to Prevent Small Business Fraud,
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)
[ 8 April 2002 ] (Adobe PDF file)
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Internet Fraud
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
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Internet fraud: credit crooks and the new economy
Jay MacDonald, Bankrate.com®,
Bankrate, Inc.
[ 17 April 2001 ]
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Multi-Level Marketing vs. Illegal Pyramid Schemes:
How to protect yourself from a bad investment
Division of Consumer Services,
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS),
State of Florida
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ORGANISATIONS AS VICTIMS OF FRAUD AND DECEPTION:
ENCOURAGING THE USE OF
LEGAL REDRESS
Dr. Russell G. Smith,
Australian Institute of Criminology (ACT)
(Adobe PDF file)
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“PYRAMID SCHEMES”
Debra A. Valentine,
General Counsel for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
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Tax Scams - How to Recognize and Avoid Them
IRS.gov, Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
U.S. Department of the Treasury
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Telemarketing Fraud
Fraud.org, National Fraud Information Center (NFIC) &
Internet Fraud Watch (IFW),
National Consumers League (NCL)
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CONSUMER & INVESTMENT FRAUD
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Business fraud, while taking many guises, is perpetrated in three
basic forms:
- By a business against consumers or customers, who can include other
businesses, government agencies or investors;
- By an employee or employees within a company against the company itself
or other employees within the company;
- Against business men and business women by outside assailants such as
customers or con artists.
Business men and women, while accustomed to traditional forms of fraud
such as bounced checks and stolen credit cards, often believe they are
immune to more sophisticated forms of deception. It is a hard, cold
fact that business people and other professionals are bilked out of
thousands or, in some cases, millions of dollars each year by scams and
other deceptive practices. No matter what your level of business savvy,
be assured that there is a con artist or other scammer out there just
waiting to test your judgement and make off with your money.
It is ironic that some of the most successful forms of fraud are some of the
simplest. Con artists and other perpetrators of fraud rely on a number of
basic precepts to run their scams, stings and deceptions:
- Deception - the greatest weapon of the con artist or
perpetrator of fraud;
- Speed - most frauds are committed quickly, with the
perpetrator disappearing before the victim is aware that he or she
has been defrauded;
- Gullibility or innocence on the part of the victim;
- Lack of due diligence - failure to thoroughly check
identification, credentials and other forms of information, especially
when secondary or background checks are involved;
- Greed - that quirk of human nature which causes otherwise
rational human beings to go for the too good to be true
offer;
- Embarrassment - reluctance on the part of victims to
inform law enforcement because they feel embarrassed at having been
tricked, especially if a scam is simplistic in nature, or feel they
will be subjected to ridicule;
- Intimidation of the victim, occasionally by threat or inuendo,
but more often by enticing the victim to become a party to an illegal
activity;
- Lack of distribution of information and lack of cooperation
between differing law enforcement agencies and governments.
It would take pages to list all the different types of fraud, if it could be
done at all. A few of the more common types of fraud are:
- Embezzlement;
- Counterfeiting;
- Advance fee business scams;
- Illegal investment and trading activities;
- Tax evasion and tax fraud;
- Scams and stings;
- Pyramid schemes;
- Chain letters;
- Identity theft;
- Dummy auction bidding, also known as shilling;
- Illegal check writing/cashing and credit card theft;
- Bait and switch - advertising a low-priced item, then persuading a
consumer to purchase a higher-priced one, often by claiming that
the advertised item is unavailable;
- Advertising false sale prices based upon inflated
retail prices;
The internet has become a breeding ground for fraud because of the speed,
accessibility, and anonymity it provides to the scammer. Internet
and email addresses are easily faked, or spoofed; email
accounts and websites can be set up and abandoned quickly and with complete
anonymity by internet thieves. These con artists migrate from website to
website, collecting money from unsuspecting victims, then fleeing before
law enforcement agencies can close in.
People often forget that when fraud or theft occurs, there are always
multiple victims. When a consumer is bilked by a fraudulent merchant
on an internet website, all legitimate internet merchants suffer because
the victim is less likely to do business on the internet again and may
caution other consumers to stay away. When individuals file false
disability or insurance claims, rates for everyone increase as a result.
Perhaps most alarming is the rising incidence of identity theft, which
leaves in its wake countless defrauded merchants and the victim whose
identity has been stolen with a shattered credit history and bill
collectors beating on his or her door. For these reasons, regardless of
whether you are a business person or a consumer, it is your
responsibility and moral obligation to report all occurrences or suspected
occurrences of fraud promptly to law enforcement officials. It is the
responsibility of law enforcement agencies to make it easier for citizens
to report suspected cases of fraud.
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 29 April 2004, updated 24 February
2006.
Follow links to the right to learn more about business fraud and fraud protection.
At the left margin, Related Links address topics of interest
pertaining to business and ecommerce.
In addition to business fraud protection, our Business Law section
identifies areas of business requiring legal expertise and provides
resources you can use both to become better informed and to accomplish
those legal transactions necessary for the operational success of your
business. View the
Business Law SiteMap
for a complete list of business law topics.
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