The Truth About the Dark Web Fraud Trade

/
The Truth About the Dark Web Fraud Trade

The dark web is kind of like the last season of Game of Thrones; it’s not all good, but it’s not all bad either. In her session today, Emily Wilson, CFE, VP of Research at Terbium Labs, discussed the dark web fraud economy thriving just below the accessible search engines we visit every day.

According to Wilson, the dark web is not found through a Google search and it requires special technology called TOR for access. The technology is used to encrypt a user’s IP address and browsing history to give you an anonymous presence while you search. The dark web lives below the clear web and the deep web, and is booming with activity.

Read More

Bill Browder Fights Against Corruption in Sergei Magnitsky’s Name

/
Bill Browder Fights Against Corruption in Sergei Magnitsky’s Name

For much of his life, Bill Browder’s goal was simple: to be the most successful capitalist in Eastern Europe. And he reached his goal there and in Russia. He made fortunes and lost them and then made them again. But that all changed in 2009 when his lawyer and friend, Sergei Magnitsky, died in prison under suspicious circumstances one month after submitting detailed documentation of a governmental scandal to Russian investigators. The year before, Magnitsky had exposed a complicated $230 million web of tax-refund fraud and graft involving Russian government officials. And for his courageous efforts, he lost his life.

Read More

Emerging Trends Affecting the Admission-Seeking Interview

/
Emerging Trends Affecting the Admission-Seeking Interview

A tense interview scene is a familiar staple in almost every dramatic cop show or movie made in the last 50 years. Sometimes there’s a good cop and a bad cop who use psychological push and pull in their interrogation. Sometimes it’s one determined veteran of the force, or rookie, that will do anything to get the suspect to confess. Emotions are visibly high and eventually the suspect breaks down and spills the entire account of their crimes.

While that romanticized version is great for shows that need to provide closure in under an hour, many fraud examiners know that real interviews are much more complicated. The Reid Technique, which focuses on lie detection and obtaining a confession, has been a popular interview strategy for some time for investigators. However, changing the goal for interviews from admission-seeking to information-seeking is becoming more popular — and some say it’s helping cut down on false or coerced confessions.

Read More

Don't Be Scared of the Data

/
Don't Be Scared of the Data

Beyond traditional sources of data lie valuable alternative sources. Bringing these various data sources together to develop a hypothesis for an investigation may seem intimidating at first, but in her session at the 30th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference titled, “Leveraging Traditional and Alternative Data in Investigations,” Lacey Keller, data science managing director at Gryphon Strategies, demonstrated a common-sense approach to gathering and shaping data. The goal of doing so is to create a narrative that those outside of an investigation can easily understand.

Read More

Heard in the Halls: Fraud Is Evolving

/
Heard in the Halls: Fraud Is Evolving

“In this day and age, if anybody’s serious about this profession, this is a minimal requirement to stay one step ahead of a fraudster. Because things are changing so rapidly, that if you try to do your job in auditing or accounting…you’re so out of date. Unless you come to hear from the experts on emerging trends, you’re not going to be effective.” - Laura McInerney, CFE, Turn Key Office

Read More

Theranos Whistleblower Risked His Relationship with His Family to Expose Fraud

/
Theranos Whistleblower Risked His Relationship with His Family to Expose Fraud

In October 2015, Inc. magazine featured a young, blonde woman wearing a black turtleneck on its cover. Her name was Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of a company called Theranos, and they declared she was “the next Steve Jobs.” Theranos promised to revolutionize blood testing as the world knew it — and investors couldn’t throw money into the company fast enough.

Read More