By Dorothy Riggs, CFE Reportedly, the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel project tallied 3 million consumer complaints received in 2016.   Regarding consumer fraud, identity theft has lost its #1 position.   Impostor fraud has taken the lead.   Last year victims lost $744.5 million collectively to impostor fraud schemes. What is Impostor Fraud? Impostor fraud involves fraudsters impersonating someone else in order to carry out a fraud scheme.   They often contact consumers pretending to be family members, law enforcement, representatives of government agencies, bill collectors and so on.

Poor Ethics:  A Gateway to Ruin By Dorothy Riggs, CFE Recent news reports of the latest Anthony Weiner scandal , once again brings the discussion of ethics to the tips of our tongues.  When it comes to committing acts of questionable behavior Mr. Weiner is definitely not on that crooked path by himself.  Time and time again we hear of politicians, employees, businessmen, educators, husbands, wives and so on who are caught straying away from the straight and narrow. These wandering acts often lead to catastrophe.  Surely no one intentionally sets out on a path of destruction. So, what leads them to a trajectory of ruin?

The Fraud Triangle: Businesses get Burned by the Man-in-the-Middle By: Dorothy Riggs, CFE By: Dorothy Riggs, CFE The fraud triangle involves three major components; pressure, opportunity and rationalization. Mixed together, these ingredients explode causing significant losses for businesses of all classifications. Recent reports indicate that a typical organization loses 5% of annual revenues to fraud.   The Incendiary Mix of Fraud Triangle Ingredients Pressure is felt by potential fraudsters.  It may stem from financial, health, blackmail, psychological, lifestyle dependency or other issues that are of monumental importance to the affected individual.  He or she looks for some way to relieve the pressure by eliminating the immediate issue, if only temporarily, until they can find a more permanent fix. Opportunity is present when the fraudster identifies and takes advantage of circumstances in order to illegally and deceitfully obta...

What Could Bargain Products Really Cost You? By:  Dorothy Riggs, CFE Most of us want to be good stewards over our finances so we often look for ways to save money, which leads us into the world of potentially dangerous bargain temptations. However, the next time you spot what seems to be a bargain, think before you buy.  The word bargain implies that something is a ‘good deal’. You’re getting something of value for a discounted price. Don't be so quick to believe that. Sure, true bargains do exist. But, some bargains are much less than meets the eye and could cost you a lot more than you bargained for.

The Advantage of Due Diligence What is Due Diligence? Perhaps one of the most important elements of fraud protection is due diligence, which at minimum is a measure of prudence or responsibility that should be exercised in all instances.  Due diligence includes basic reasonable steps that should be taken by an individual or company prior to entering relationships, rather business or personal. Why Perform Due Diligence? Checks-and-balances is another term you often hear when discussing fraud prevention.  I consider due diligence a part of my checks-and-balance system.  When performing due diligence my goal is to discover, confirm or refute data. So, I check things out because I don’t want the other party to have more information that I have.  Thus, it’s my responsibility to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible so that I’m in a position of advantage or at least on a balanced playing field.  That way I can make a well informed decision....

Baited and Hooked: Advice for Email Fraud Victims By:  Dorothy Riggs, CFE What do I do now? After realizing they’ve been hooked, email fraud victims often wonder, what do I do now? Here are some practical suggestions:

Don’t Get Hooked By a Crook By: Dorothy Riggs, CFE Email Hacks Criminals are savvier than ever.  Using unauthorized access to an acquaintance’s email account, they bait their crooked hooks with phony email in hopes of deceiving you into sending money to their accounts. Email Spoofing Another method fraudsters use to lure you into the murky waters of fraud is email spoofing, which is basically forging the sender’s email address. If the email appears to have been sent by someone you know the phisherman knows that you’re more likely to open the fraudulent email and comply with its instructions. Family and Friend Impersonations Several victims have reported receiving email from a friend or family member who was on vacation and due to a very detailed emergency situation, they needed the wide-eyed and concerned target to send loot right away.  Details of the emergency vary. Common phish tales have included:   I was attacked by a robber and r...

The massive number of individuals feeling social deprivation, the ease of technological communication and the criminal expertise of savvy fraudsters all set the global stage for a whole lot of hanky-panky. The particular details of romance confidence schemes evolve every year and have little to nothing to do with true romance. Click on the link below to read an article I wrote about romance scams.  It was published as an Online Exclusive by Fraud Magazine.   Fraud Magazine Online Exclusive: A Whole Lot of Hanky-Panky Going On                    The article was also featured on the following site.  Click the link to read the article.                     Fraud Journal: Romance Fraud - A Whole Lot of Hanky-Panky Going On