March 29, 2023

Jamie Bartlett: In Search of The Missing Cryptoqueen

March 29, 2023/ John Duffley

As an investigative journalist, Jamie Bartlett has a knack for spotting inconsistencies and strange behaviors. His published books include “The Dark Net” (2014) that details niche internet subcultures and online crime, “Radicals Chasing Utopia” (2017) about the motivations and growth of fringe political groups, and “The People Vs Tech” (2018), which won the 2019 Transmission Prize.

But when Bartlett began pursuing the mysterious disappearance of OneCoin founder Dr. Ruja Ignatova in November 2018, his next endeavor proved to require an even higher level of scrutiny as he began unraveling the truth behind a billion-dollar scam whose mastermind seemingly vanished into thin air.

March 29, 2023

ABCs of Emotional Intelligence in Investigations

March 29, 2023/ Kate Pospisil

The first day of the 2023 ACFE Fraud Conference Europe concluded with a session on emotional intelligence by Lloydette Bai-Marrow, a founding partner of Parametric Global Consulting, a former lawyer for the U.K. government and a visiting faculty member at the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Vienna. Her goal for this session was to discuss recognizing how emotions can affect an investigation, how to employ emotional intelligence to manage investigations, and how to identify the four types of emotional intelligence and how they apply in investigations.

March 30, 2021

Interviewing the Fraudster: A Strategic Approach

March 30, 2021/ Liza Ayres

Interviewing suspects can be one of the most valuable and illuminating components of any investigation. It’s crucial for fraud examiners to constantly evaluate and improve their tactics and approaches.

In an enlightening virtual session titled “Interviewing the Fraudster: A Strategic Approach” during the 2021 Fraud Conference Europe, Jonathan Davison shared anecdotes from his professional career to exemplify how interviewing has evolved and explained new strategies that viewers might incorporate into their investigations.

March 25, 2021

Developing a Culture of Compliance: How Ethics and Risk Management Intersect

March 25, 2021/ Hallie Ayres

Despite the oft-invoked title of “ethics and risk management” for anti-fraud initiatives and professional roles, it’s occasionally difficult to put modes of compliance into practice that explicitly draw links between ethics and risk as symbiotic symptoms of each other. While it may be easy to identify potential risks within an organization, it’s harder to trace those risk opportunities back to an ethical aspect of the company’s culture that may be the foundational cause for a risk.

As part of the virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Europe, Dr. Attracta Lagan, co-principle of Managing Values, spoke with Dr. Klaus Moosmayer, the executive committee manager and chief ethics, risk, and compliance officer for Novartis, to discuss techniques for promoting an office culture that enhances ethical accountability as a means of reducing risk.

March 12, 2021

What Fraud Examiners Can Learn About Report Writing from a Journalist’s Plagiarism Case

March 12, 2021/ Sarah Thompson

When investigating a financial fraud case, anti-fraud professionals know the importance of following established steps and best practices. From beginning an investigation, through collecting evidence and conducting interviews, they follow generally accepted guidance and document each stage in their final report. This diligence is important not just for financial fraud cases, but for other types of fraud — such as academic and journalistic fraud.

March 02, 2021

Cybersecurity Journalist says SolarWinds Hack is a “Harbinger” of Threats to Come

March 02, 2021/ Sarah Thompson

Award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author Misha Glenny says that ransomware should be the top concern of European organizations — and that they’re not prepared. “Over the past year, we have seen a ramping up of the strategy among some of the top Russian ransomware groups. Instead of just locking up your data, leaving you to bang your head against a brick wall, some groups are now carrying out their threat to exfiltrate your data and post it for all your competitors to peruse,” he told the ACFE. “The darkest moment in cybersecurity over the last year was the discovery of the SolarWinds hack … This is a harbinger of the security issues in the era of the Internet of Things and machine-to-machine learning.” Glenny, who’s groundbreaking exposé, McMafia, has been adapted into a major BBC television series, will be speaking at the virtual 2021 ACFE Fraud Conference Europe, 11-12 March.

April 21, 2020

The Face of Cybercrime Is No Longer the Person With the Hoodie

April 21, 2020/ Hallie Ayres

“People don’t rob banks with guns anymore; they use USB sticks and malware.” Implementing this sobering remark as a reminder of the everchanging landscape of crime, Raj Samani greeted his virtual audience at the ACFE Fraud Conference Europe. Samani, who is Chief Scientist and McAfee Fellow at the cybersecurity firm McAfee, helped found the initiative NoMoreRansom, which now includes more than 100 partners across the public and private sector.

Samani’s talk comes at a ripe moment for increased awareness and precautionary measures regarding cybercrime, which has recently been employed to target the health care industry as it combats the dire prognosis of COVID-19. Samani noted that many cybercrime enforcement officials believed that criminals would take the high road and resist attacking hospitals and health care providers during the pandemic, yet as soon as Samani heard word of a cyberattack at a health care facility a few weeks into this global situation, he received unwanted confirmation that criminals will always take advantage of opportunities when they arise.

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