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Click Fraud on the Rise in Q1 2008
2008-05-01 13:31:00
http://www.bizreport.com/2008 /04/click_fr aud_rate_up_year_on_year.html Click Forensics reports that click fraud is on the rise in Q1 2008 over the prior year period. At 16.3% in Q1 2008 it is higher than the first quarter 2007 click fraud rate of 14.8%. Even more alarming, Click Forensics reports [t]he fraud rate on third-party sites, such as ads placed through AdSense on non-Google websites, also rose from 21.9% in Q1 2007 to 27.8% in the first quarter of 2008.
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Strengthen Identity Theft Fraud Protections
2008-05-01 13:25:00
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/may/0 1/strengthen_identity_protections39193/ [A]ccording to etiolated.org, a consumer-advocacy group, only 21 percent of "data-loss" cases in our nation since 2000 have come from the federal and state government, with 40 percent traced to private businesses and 39 percent from educational, medical and nonprofit sources.
More About: Fraud , Identity Theft , Theft , Identity

FDIC on Subprime Mortgage Crisis
2008-05-01 13:22:00
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20 601087&sid=ano45SuVp_3w&refer=home Some view the moves by the Bush Administration to increase the limits of guarantees by the Federal Housing Administration as not enough. Sheila Blair from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) suggests that: Congress should initiate a publicly funded loan program under which the Treasury Department would make loans to borrowers with unaffordable mortgages to pay down as much as 20 percent of their principal. Although I feel for those who legitimately were fooled by their mortgage terms, I do not believe that a bailout should be available to all subprime borrowers with high loan values and falling home prices. I would be interested in the stipulations included in the proposed subprime bailout.
More About: Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Subprime , Crisis

Citigroup Totals $67.1 Billion in Writedowns
2008-04-28 12:54:00
http://bankimplode.com/blog/?p=68
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SEC's Involvement with Bear Stearns
2008-04-24 18:12:00
http://burnickblog.sovereignsociety.com/2 008/04/is-wall-streets.html Here's another perspective on the Bear Stearns issue with the SEC. The primary focus on this is how the SEC had acknowledged Bear Stearns shady pricing methods for their CDOs but did nothing to stop them until the bail out. On a personal note, I have large issue with the concept of a tax payer bail out. Whether the government admits it or not, when the Federal Reserve backs these deals it is you and me that foot the bill if things go sour. We as taxpayers should not have to pay for their indiscretions that made them a fortune over the boom of subprime lending but has now led to their demise.
More About: Mortgage Fraud

Bear Stearns Executive Ralph Cioffi Investigation
2008-04-24 18:02:00
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/cont ent/08_18/b4082026894702.htm?chan=top+new s_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives I found this article interesting in that it points out how difficult it will be to get these executives for fraud without an email basically saying that they willfully provided valuations despite having knowledge that they were incorrect. What the article does not address is whether the action would fall under Sarbanes Oxley which would provide prosecutors with another means of pursuing these executives in court.
More About: Mortgage Fraud , Executive , Investigation , Bear Stearns , Stearns

Shareholder Activism - Subprime Mortgage Board Members on Warning
2008-04-23 18:38:00
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/indust ries/real-estate/article/subprime-market- melts-shareholders-heated_574414_17.html Angry institutional investors of firms such as Morgan Stanley and Washington Mutual have become involved in changing the face of the board of directors. Shareholder activists such as Change to Win have campaigned against directors they believe would should no longer be in control. This type of active investing has been correlated with increased returns for shareholders. Research on programs such as CALPERs have determined that large institutional investors can see increased returns by spending only a small proportion of their fund's money in order to actively protect their investments.
More About: Activism , Board , Mortgage , Warning

Navigant Consulting Q1 Subprime Update - 448 Subprime Cases Filed
2008-04-23 18:32:00
http://www.navigantconsulting.com Navigant Consulting released today that in the first quarter of 2008 there were 170 cases filed. Of the 170 cases filed, borrower class actions and securities cases dominated the subprime filings with 79 and 44 cases respectively. Based on the explosion of federal subprime filings, Navigant expects that the total case filing "will soon surpass the 559 savings-and-loan cases of the early 1990s." For more information check out Navigant Consultings website.
More About: Mortgage Fraud , Update , Cases , Subprime

Subprime Mortgage Reform
2008-03-13 13:46:00
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120535743 939031491.html?mod=djemalertNEWS The nation's top economic policy makers plan to release today their broadest blueprint yet for avoiding a recurrence of the credit crunch now threatening the economy. Their recommendations extend to nearly every niche in the credit markets -- from mortgage brokers to the Wall Street firms that package home loans into securities, to the credit-rating firms that assess the risk of those securities, to the regulators who police the system. Amid the housing market's deepening slump, mounting defaults by cash-strapped homeowners and an upswing in foreclosures have made investors wary of mortgage-linked securities and have made those securities increasingly difficult to value and trade. That's led to turmoil in global financial markets. "We aren't singling out any group of market participants, because...there were mistakes made by all," including regulators, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in an interv...
More About: Mortgage Fraud , Reform , Mortgage , Subprime

Identity Fraud - Facebook Users Beware
2008-02-21 12:51:00
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main .jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/02/21/dlface12 1.xml "The consumer magazine Which? warns that people are effectively giving away PIN codes and passwords by posting just a handful of personal details on the sites, including their date of birth, contact details and home address." Thats a pretty good point that I'm sure many people often overlook. It is important to keep a unique and random password to your important accounts in order to protect yourself from identity theft fraud.
More About: Fraud , Facebook , Beware , Users , Identity

Hedge Fund Fraud - $200 Million
2008-02-21 12:48:00
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4adf040-e03e-1 1dc-b0d7-0000779fd2ac.html "If convicted, all five could face a maximum sentence of 20 years for wire fraud, five years for conspiracy and up to $500,000 in fines." Looks like the punishment is starting to fit the crime.
More About: Fraud , Fund , Million , Hedge , Hedge Fund

Credit Card Fraud Prevention - Open Source Software by Risk IDS
2007-11-09 03:44:00
I recently came up with an idea to change the focus of this site to be an open source fraud software development project and it got me looking around at what is already out there. Risk IDS provides fraud prevention software specifically related to credit card fraud and other banking related transactions. "Risk IDS is for prevention of fraud within, although not limited to, credit card companies, retail banks and financial service organizations. The system is unique as it binds together all of the duplication that exists within the management of all fraud types. The interaction is via a workflow system, which reduces the need for training of bank staff and increases audit. It can integrate with other systems thus reducing duplication further. Analysts write their own rules and workflows using a GUI. The system is multi language for many sites whilestoring information in a central database for all customer products."
More About: Software , Credit Card Fraud , Open Source , Card , Credit

Fraud!: How to Protect Yourself from Schemes, Scams, and Swindles
2007-11-06 13:58:00
FRAUD!: How to Protect Yourself from Schemes, Scams , and Swindles by Marsha Bertrand "The odds in favor of becoming a victim of fraud are higher than those of becoming a victim of a violent crime. After all, a mugger can only mug one person at a time, but a con artist can swindle hundreds of people at once.Fraud ! provides readers with all the weapons they need to defend themselves against economic crime of all kinds -- from "ponzi scams" and "pyramids" to telemarketing fraud and credit card schemes. Using examples, anecdotes of real-life scams, interviews with state and federal regulators, victims of fraud, and actual con artists themselves, Fraud! gives the low-down on the low-lifes behind this billion dollar business.With the advice in this book, readers will be able to: spot a fraud, find a trustworthy stockbroker or financial planner, invest their money, use credit, run a small business, borrow money, and surf the Net -- all without fear of being scammed, swindled, ripped off, ...
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Hedge Fund Fraud - Seaforth Meridian
2007-11-06 13:51:00
http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/ 348179.html "Two principals of a hedge fund linked to a Ponzi scheme that swindled individuals worldwide, including Kansas investors, have been ordered to cough up the funds they fraudulently obtained. Kansas federal Judge Richard D. Rogers last week ordered Alain A. Assemi to disgorge $577,598 and John D. Friedrich to disgorge $277,340. He also ordered them to pay prejudgment interest of $39,440 and $18,938, respectively. The two were owners and managers of Seaforth Meridian of New York., a hedge fund that purported to invest in A-rated fixed-income bonds and corporate securities. Between May 2004 and October 2005, Seaforth attracted investments totaling nearly $22 million from 75 limited partner investors, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission."
More About: Fraud , Fund , Hedge , Hedge Fund

Mortgage Fraud - Subprime vs FHA loans
2007-11-01 04:49:00
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119241016 826258768.html?mod=googlenews_wsj "FHA-backed loans are being touted for their "safety" -- to consumers and the financial system. "If we can get people into the FHA rather than to some of the other kinds of loans they have, everybody will be better off," argued Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, during a hearing this year. But before the FHA's loan spigots are opened up, a little due diligence by the political sector is in order. The FHA's recent credit history shows it is far from the prudent institution it is said to be. By its own estimate, next year the agency expects to be in the red, paying out more for defaulted loans than borrowers pay to it in insurance premiums. "Because of adverse loan performance," the FHA states in its budget submission for 2008, "total costs exceed receipts on a present value basis, and therefore would require appropriations . . . to continue operation." The ag...
More About: Fraud , Loans , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Subprime

Fraud Prevention Techniques for Credit Card Fraud
2007-10-31 03:18:00
Fraud Prevention Techniques for Credit Card Fraud by David A. Montague Effective credit card fraud prevention programs can increase sales revenue while decreasing administration costs and fraud losses. Learn the techniques and strategies to feel secure about accepting credit cards.
More About: Fraud , Fraud Prevention

Credit Card Fraud - US man sentenced to 13 years in prison, must repay $12M
2007-10-31 03:11:00
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/30 /business/NA-FIN-US-Telemarketing-Scam-Se ntence.php "Authorities say Porcelli defrauded or tried to dupe at least 165,000 Americans, many with poor credit histories." Looks like this guy was busy, amazing that he was able to scam that many people without getting caught much sooner. Credit card fraud monitoring is crucial to minimizing losses to victims. It can be as simple as monitoring your balance online in order to identify fraudulent charges proactively.
More About: Credit Card Fraud , Card , Fraud , Prison

Iraq Fraud
2007-10-28 22:43:00
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071026/ap_on _go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_contract_fraud;_ylt= A0WTUeHJZyJHFu4AaxSs0NUE?loc=interstitial skip Army investigators will look for fraud in the awarding of the roughly 6,000 Iraq war contracts worth $2.8 billion. Many of these investigations will continue long after the war, but I'm still waiting for the investigation of where the pallets of cash went in the early days of the US occupation. I'm sure it is difficult now to divert resources from proactive solutions to iraq fraud investigations.
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Mortgage Fraud - American Home Mortgage
2007-09-21 12:37:00
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzdefe r0918,0,5702591.story?coll=ny-nycnews-hea dlines As the failing bank, American Home Mortgage , recently fired over 7,000 employees for cost savings related to their subprime investments, they've now decided to freeze the funds in employees deferred compensation plans. Bankruptcy court is to decide whether American Home Mortgage is able to release nearly $27 million of employees contributions to make them accessible to other creditors. This is a dangerous precedent if they find that employees funds are open to creditors. When other banks fail, the issue will be whether banks with commingled funds (investments + customer deposits all in same accounts) have open all their assets to creditors. In the end, customers could be treated as a regular unsecured creditor behind large institutional banks.
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud

Voting Fraud: What the Public Should Really be Concerned About During Elec
2007-04-25 14:06:00
Government Focus on Individual Voting Frau d Critics recently have claimed that the government's decision to target individuals in suspected voting fraud has been an attempt to deter voting of minorities and the poor. The New York Times claims that there were only 86 voting fraud convictions in the last year therefore is not as pervasive and the type of person "illegally" voting is not the type of "criminal" officials have lead the public to believe. One particular case cited was a woman on probation that when she went to vote was unaware that in that particular state it was against the law. After an attempt to rescind her vote she was denied that right and later charge for voting fraud. Another example is of a foreign US resident that was given a voting registration care upon completing his driver's license renewal at the DMV. After sending in the application he was later deported for trying to illegally vote. It seems that the biggest concern in voting fraud prevention ...
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Executive Roadmap to Fraud Prevention and Internal Controls: Creating a Cul
2007-04-25 14:05:00
Executive Roadmap to Fraud Prevention and Internal Controls: Creating a Culture of Compliance by Martin T. Biegelman, Joel T. Bartow "Our nation is faced with dual alarming trends of record highs in white-collar crime and seemingly record lows in ethics. The solution cannot be left only to legislators, regulators, and law enforcement. It requires the attention of all of us in business to create a culture of compliance. This new book by Martin Biegelman and Joel Bartow is an invaluable resource to achieving the highest levels of compliance." --Kenneth J. Hunter, former chief postal inspector and former president & CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus
More About: Fraud Prevention , Executive

Forensic And Investigative Accounting 2nd Edition by D. Larry Crumbley
2007-04-16 18:20:00
Forensic And Invest igative Accounting by D. Larry Crumbley, Lester E. Heitger, G. Stevenson Smith "Forensic accounting" is a growing area of practice in which the knowledge, skills and abilities of advanced accounting are combined with investigative expertise and applied to legal problems. Forensic accountants are often asked to provide litigation support where they are called on to give expert testimony about financial data and accounting activities. In other more proactive engagements, they probe situations using special investigative accounting skills and techniques. Some even see forensic accounting as practiced by skilled accounting specialists becoming part and parcel of most financial audits--an extra quality control step in the auditing process that will help reduce financial statement fraud. CCH's Forensic and Investigative Accounting (2nd Edit ion) is a complete and readily teachable text on today's most timely accounting topics. Written by three top accounting and fore...
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Tax Fraud - IRS Allows Criminals to Avoid Prosecution
2007-04-16 18:13:00
Estimated $100 Billion in tax fraud involved in shifting assets offshore If that is the case then why is this not under investigation? The IRS has recently admitted that they are under constrained resources and have opted for more high profile investigations then tracking those tax shelters that hide assets off shore. The decline in prosecution referrals to the Justice Department has continued over the last 4 years following some of the highest shortly around the tech bust in 1999-2000. The referrals were totaling 3,037 in 2004 and have dropped to 2,720 by 2006, a decrease of 10%. Critics of the decision to only target higher profile incidences claim that the threat/concern of getting caught wears off when there is a acknowledgement of lower investigations. Proponents of the high profile strategy offer examples of some of the recent success: Walter Anderson - convicted of $170M due in federal taxes and sentence to 9 years in prison KPMG - fined $456M for continuing to sell t...
More About: Fraud , Tax , Prose , Rose , Frau

Corporate Fraud Handbook: Prevention and Detection
2007-04-09 20:31:00
Corporate Fraud Handbook: Prevention and Detection by Joseph T. Wells Emphasizing that it is much more cost effective to prevent fraud than to punish it, Corporate Fraud Handbook: Prevention and Detection, Second Edition explains fraud schemes used by employees, owners, managers, and executives to defraud their customers and illustrates each scheme with real-life case studies submitted to the ACFE by actual fraud examiners who aided in the case resolutions. It shows the reader how to spot the "red flags" of fraud, how to comply with recent regulations including Sarbanes-Oxley, and how to develop and implement effective preventative measures. This new edition contains all new statistics from the ACFE 2006 Report to the Nation as well as new cases.
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Tax Fraud - Jackson Hewitt
2007-04-05 16:55:00
Ignorance is NOT an Excuse for Tax Frau d Jack son Hewitt is currently under investigation for maintaining a business environment that is conducive to filers committing tax fraud by using fake W-2 forms or taking false deductions. Allegedly employees of the franchise were told to overlook clear signs of fraud for the sake of filing more returns. As the Justice Department has begun sampling the returns filed they have found approximately 31% of Farrukh Sohail's franchises have contained fraudulent information. A major area of most tax fraud emerges from the over use of the Earned Income Tax Credit that is designed to give large refunds to lower income tax payers. This is a large profit business area for companies such as Jackson Hewitt therefore there is a motivation to increase their return amounts. These franchises have withheld from the government approximately $70 million in tax revenue for the government. As Internet free filing services become more popular I sense that ...

Certified Fraud Examiners Manual
2007-04-02 15:06:00
2006 Frau d Exam iners Manual by the ACFE Section I: Financial Transactions and Fraud Schemes ? Learn about the vast landscape of fraud in business and government including the responsibilities of managers and auditors in fraud detection, as well as the schemes used to commit most business fraud. Section II: Law ? This section serves as a ready, permanent reference for the courtroom with relevant statutes and common law principles involved in prosecuting a defendant in both the criminal and civil systems. It also includes a complete set of US Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the US Federal Rules of Evidence. Section III: Investigation ? Possess the tools and techniques necessary to gather evidence and information when conducting a fraud examination. This section also contains samples of useful forms, such as report forms, fraud examination checklists, and engagement and opinion letters. Section IV: Criminology and Ethics ? Take an in-depth look at the criminal...
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Credit Card Fraud - Banks Can't Identify Your Thief!
2007-04-02 14:30:00
Banks around the country have been faced with larger instances of credit card fraud while victims are often times left to foot the bill. On the chance that you are protected under your coverage it is often the case that banks are unable to reveal the source of the fraud. Their response is often that they must remain silent because there is currently a police investigation of that particular location/person. It seems to reason though if card holders where told where they were being defrauded from they would consider avoiding credit card use while in those areas. There seems to be a disconnect between stopping the credit card fraud and providing consumers with enough information to properly handle fraud prevention.
More About: Credit Card Fraud , Card , Credit , Fraud , Banks

Sarbanes Oxley - Third Prosecution
2007-03-29 05:12:00
Steven Garfinkel, CFO of the medical equipment manufacturer DVI Inc., was recently sentenced in the third prosecution to occur under the corporate accountability section of Sarbanes Oxley. This fraud case involved Garfinkel pledging the same assets as collateral for two separate loans. When the company tanked, Fleet Bank was left with a loss of $51 million from DVI. Since Garfinkel as CFO had signed filed with the SEC that the financial statements were free from fraud and an accurate representation of DVI's financial position under Sarbanes Oxley he was liable for personal liability. Pending appeal he is currently being sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and must pay back the $51 million in restitution.
More About: Prose , Rose , Bane , Sarbanes-Oxley , Third

Fraud Services - Federal Government Sources of Information
2007-03-27 04:09:00
1. Department of Defense ?Maintain records on all military personnel whether they are active or not. ?Collect information involving threats to national security. ?Investigators use their records to help search for hidden assets of military personnel by using their previous addresses. 2. Department of Justice ?Enforces the federal and civil laws. ?Maintains the records related to detection, prosecution, and rehabilitation of offenders. ?Includes US Attorneys, US Marshals, DEA, and FBI. 3. Bureau of Prisons ?Includes federal prisons, correctional institutions, and community treatment facilities. ?Information regarding repeat offenders can be important evidence when making a case against a suspect. 4. Internal Revenue Service ?Enforces all internal revenue laws except alcohol, firearms and tabacco. ?IRS records are not open to the public so investigators need the involvement of law enforcement. 5. Secret Service ?Responsible to protect president and federal dignitaries. ?Handle...
More About: Government , Services , Fraud , Men