by J_Pratt
Among the most painful scams are those in which the victim believes the villain truly cares for them. This connection allows the miscreant to exploit their affection, abusing them financially as well as emotionally. These are known as Romance or Sweetheart scams. … Continue Reading
by J_Pratt
Did you hear the one about the check forger who got caught passing millions of dollars of counterfeit checks? The judge set bail at $1,000,000… the forger wrote the court a check. Ok. Baaaaad joke. A large number of fraud scams – and especially email scams – involve getting the victim to accept a check, deposit it into their own account and then send money back out … Continue Reading
by J_Pratt
It’s a new year and a time when many people enjoy making resolutions to improve their lives in the year ahead. A New Year’s Resolution to improve your fraud defenses in 2012 might be the most valuable decision you ever make.
by J_Pratt
Ever leave your purse or wallet in your unlocked car “just for a minute” while you run a quick errand like picking up your child at daycare? Or mailing a letter at the post office? Or returning a rented movie?
There are crooks hanging around the places where people are most tempted to leave belongings in the car. … Continue Reading
by J_Pratt
In recognition of ACFE’s International Fraud Awareness Week (November 6-12, 2011), we offer the blog article below focusing on small business internal (occupational) fraud, which according to the ACFE’s 2010 examiners report ranks highest in frequency of all businesses at 31%.
Mavis Farquar is a bookkeeper for a small business. She’s been an employee for 25 years. She has attended every baby shower, wedding, graduation and bar (and bas) mitzvah and a few funerals of the owners’ and other employees’ families. … Continue Reading
Scammers are taking advantage of the standard emails sent by most office scanners. They have replicated the messages of famous printer brands but attach malware to the emails instead of documents.
How the Scam Works:
You are at work, and you receive a message from what you think is your office printer/scanner. It appears that someone sent you a copy of a scanned document. The name doesn’t ring a bell, but you open the attachment anyway.
When you click on the file, you find that it isn’t a scanned copy of the latest office report. It’s really a link to a third-party website that will download a virus to your computer. These viruses phish for personal and banking information on your machine. … Continue Reading
Recently, my mother-in-law discovered that a pretty significant piece of jewelry had gone missing. There had been a number of construction workers in the house for a few weeks and when she went to get her jewelry, it was gone. After searching like a crazy person under/in/on top of everything, she called the police.
When the police arrived they asked a bunch of questions, did an onsite investigation and calmly and collectively stated to her: “You misplaced it. It probably hasn’t been stolen. You will find it in a few days.” … Continue Reading
I was at my local Post Office where a very eye-catching brochure caught my attention. Turns out, it’s a very informative brochure with tips compiled by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in partnership with AARP. The brochure is well done both visually and substantively. The brochure’s theme pops out due to great graphics, the bold purple cover and the words blazoned on the cover. The cover says “If You Have To Send $250 To Claim Your Prize Odds Are It’s A Scam — Don’t Risk It”. … Continue Reading
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by Robin Slade
The Boston and Texas tragedies remind us that when disaster strikes, we are not always prepared to deal with the magnitude of the chaotic wake that follows such events in our communities … Continue Reading