Tuesday 17 December 2013

Former Brisbane netball leader Deborah Morton jailed for fraud


A Brisbane netball association badly hit in the city's flood disaster suffered a double blow when its president stole more than $100,000 to feed a gambling addiction, a court has heard.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/former-brisbane-netball-leader-deborah-morton--jailed-for-fraud-20131217-2zi40.html#ixzz2nnBkgTJh

Monday 25 November 2013

Threat intelligence starts with the human element

It can be easy to forget that there are people behind just about everything that happens on the internet. However complicated a technology may be, it was engineered by people and is used by people too, and people are predictable.

Read more at http://www.scmagazine.com/threat-intelligence-starts-with-the-human-element/article/322589/

Sunday 3 November 2013

Thursday 24 October 2013

Costly cybercrime fraud, value this year to surpass RM1.1bil of last year - Here are some handy hints

Cyber Security Malaysia chief technology officer Dr Solahuddin Shamsuddin  said “Actually, to fight this type of cyber-crime is simple – just increase the awareness of people to more careful and vigilant in following the links sent to their e-mail accounts.

“If you receive a suspicious e-mail, never try to click on the link provided. On the other hand, the public should go to their banking sites independently by typing website address themselves.

“They could also click on the padlock icon on the browser to ensure the certificates and domain address really belong to the bank,” he said.

For more read: http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/10/23/Costly-cybercrime-fraud-Value-this-year-expected-to-surpass-2012s-RM11bil.aspx

Why We Do What We Do: The ACFE’s Global Fraud Survey

"The average corporate fraud lasts up to 18 months before detection and involves more than $140,000.” - Walt Pavlo, “Forget NSA Surveillance, Your Company is Watching You," Forbes.com, June 26, 2013
"Research shows that worldwide, payroll fraud comprises 8.5 per cent of occupational fraud and costs an average of £46,195 per payroll fraud case." - UK National Fraud Authority, Annual Fraud Indicator, March 2012
"… It's not surprising that fraud in the workplace increased during the economic crisis and recession. The median loss tied to occupational fraud is $160,000 … so the issue is something about which many companies are rightfully concerned. Small businesses are especially vulnerable." - The Huffington Post, June 5, 2012

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Tuesday 13 August 2013

SMEs leave fraud door wide open

An increasing number of SMEs are failing to protect themselves against the risks of employee fraud, according to accounting and advisory firm William Buck.
Leo Tutt, head of the firm’s audit focus group said many SMEs were overlooking basic control procedures, leaving the door open for opportunistic employees.

Read more at:
http://www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au/news/smes-leave-fraud-door-wide-open-178011.aspx

Wednesday 24 July 2013

"Inside the Fraudster’s Mind" - Dr Joseph T Wells' award winning article

Dr. Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, has received the 2013 Outstanding Contributor Award from Internal Auditor magazine. The article is cited for its "outstanding quality, clear presentation of ideas, practicality, and relevance to the continuing practice of internal auditing."

Read it at:
http://www.theiia.org/intAuditor/feature-articles/2012/april/inside-the-fraudsters-mind/

Emerging Threat to Data Security - Storing Data in the Shadows & on the Cloud

In the rush to embrace developing technologies, organizations and their employees often unwittingly increase the risks of data loss. The convergence of cloud computing and powerful employee mobile devices means the goals of securing sensitive data and maintaining regulatory compliance are becoming more difficult. Many employees today incorporate personal devices into their daily work routine, often storing precious company documents on the same smart phones that access various social media apps, and are routinely left in movie theaters, taxis and restaurants.

Read more at:
http://www.acfe.com/fraud-examiner.aspx?id=4294978987

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Serious Fraud Office (UK) charges two brokers in the Libor Scandal

Britain's fraud prosecutor on Monday charged two former brokers at interdealer broker RP Martin with conspiracy to defraud, stepping up its investigation into the rigging of Libor benchmark interest rates.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/15/us-libor-britain-charges-idUSBRE96E0HM20130715

Sunday 26 May 2013

Thursday 23 May 2013

Dutch trader arrested for 'horsemeat fraud'

An example of vendor/supplier fraud that led to meatballs in Ikea stores, sausages in Russia and frozen burgers in Britain's Tesco chain being pulled from shelves by the millions.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h45ZLK7vRCuXOeX7JlGnL387RIFA?docId=CNG.2669686247d25885a8fa04b63b078a6f.331

Thursday 2 May 2013

Small Business Fraud and the Trusted Employee - Protecting against unique vulnerabilities

Small businesses have it rough.  They're particularly vulnerable to fraud because they lack the resources to implement complete systems of internal controls and properly segregate accounting duties among their limited staff.

Read more at .......
http://www.acfe.com/article.aspx?id=4294976289

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Hunter Valley Training Company Board Members Caught Up In $260K Fraud

It was common practice for the signatures of Hunter Valley Training Company board members, Milton Morris and Kay Sharp, to be forged on cheques and documents by an office manager, the Maitland Local Court heard.........
http://www.maitlandmercury.com.au/story/1468851/hvtc-board-members-caught-up-in-260000-fraud-scandal/?cs=171

Sunday 14 April 2013

Liquidators find finance fraud on rise

Discovery of fraud in the financial statements produced by staff within companies is increasing, according to liquidators examining recent corporate collapses........more financial statement fraud including staff fudging financial reports, excluding information, faking revenue or asset value, or understating expenses.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/liquidators-find-finance-fraud-on-rise-20130414-2htqq.html#ixzz2QV8gWGGT

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Brisbane: False Invoicing - an accounts payable clerk, received $769,029.41 by providing 181 fraudulent invoices and having company funds deposited into her daughter's bank account.

BRISBANE grandmother Sonja McLeod loved nothing more than making family, friends and Third World children happy by lavishing them with gifts and financial support.     

But the only way the 53-year-old was able to make that happen was fleecing her employer out of almost $770,000 over a five year period.  

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/sonja-mcleod-jailed-for-fleecing-employer-lindsay-australia-of-770k-to-spend-on-gifts-and-charity/story-e6freoof-1226606826817

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Brisbane: Queensland Health $16m fraud and the fake prince

Morehu-Barlow's criminal record stretched back to 1998 in New Zealand when he defrauded his employer of about $32,000 and he was convicted in 1999 and given an eight-month, non-residential sentence.

In September 2007 he committed his first fraud at Queensland Health, funnelling a few thousand dollars into his own bank account.  It grew from there with Morehu-Barlow setting up a fake charity called Healthy Initiatives and Choices and authorising Queensland Health grants to this body.

To uncover the fraud all someone in the department had to do was put the Australian Business Number into a free website search and they would have been led to Morehu-Barlow's name and he had even listed his own Teneriffe address and phone number as the contacts for the organisation.

Queensland Health came close to busting him when they conducted an audit and one transaction to Healthy Initiatives and Choices was selected at random to be checked.  They requested the documentation from Morehu-Barlow but he just simply did not hand it over and they did not chase it up.

A simple fraud; bound to be discovered but not until December 2011!

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/from-scavenging-for-food-to-a-multimilliondollar-lifestyle-built-on-fraud-20130319-2gd64.html#ixzz2O2WCuAv3

& more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-19/fake-prince-gets-14-years-jail-over-16m-fraud/4581720

& more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/fake-prince-splashed-the-cash-at-clubs-20130319-2gd6p.html

Monday 18 March 2013

Friday 1 March 2013

A big year for the flies

Selling sterile mosquitoes and food made from larvae are among one man's ideas to stop the world from committing ecocide

http://www.itbdigital.com/opinion/2013/02/07/a-big-year-for-the-flies/

Wednesday 20 February 2013

An FBI Case - Optometrist Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud Charge

Instead of billing Medicare for the actual service Jeffrey Sponseller (the Optometrist) was providing at the nursing homes, he claimed that he was conducting the most expensive type of eye examination, which typically lasts 45 minutes!
http://www.fbi.gov/atlanta/press-releases/2013/augusta-optometrist-pleads-guilty-to-health-care-fraud-charge

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Leighton Contractors Sues Over Fraud

Damian Victor O'Carrigan, former long-time finance manager for Construction giant Leighton Contractors and part of the publicly listed Leighton Holdings (Australia's largest project development and contracting group) will be sentenced in April after pleading guilty to stealing more than $20 million from Leighton's coffers over 12 years.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/former-leighton-contractors-manager-damian-victor-ocarrigan-pleads-guilty-to-simple-20m-deception/story-e6frg6n6-1226523111799

Leighton Contractors is now suing the wife, daughter and a female acquaintance of O'Carrigan for gifts received.

Friday 18 January 2013

ACFE's 2012 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse

The ACFE's 2012 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse is based on data compiled from a study of 1,388 cases of occupational fraud that occurred worldwide between January 2010 and December 2011. All information was provided by the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) who investigated those cases. The fraud cases in our study came from 94 nations — providing a truly global view into the plague of occupational fraud.

See More.....ACFE 2012 Report Key Findings & Highlights