Types of Frauds in the Contemporary Business Life

Wachovia Corporation which was formed by the 2001 after the merger of First Union Corporation and the former Wachovia Corporation have made researches about the types of fraud.[1] Wachovia Corporation combines a variety of fraud prevention programs, analysis tools and backroom processes to identify suspicious activity.

According to their research the types of the frauds are stated below:[2]

·         Counterfeit checks

·         Worthless checks – NSF – Altered checks

·         Employee thefts from customer accounts or bank funds (teller funds)

·         Misrepresentation of information when applying for loans

·         Falsification of bank records

·         Misuse of computer equipment – looking up customer information with no valid reason / selling information to outside perpetrators

Other than the above types, we can also use the wide classification of ACFE in which they are distinguishing the frauds as occupational and non-occupational. The structure of their classification is shown in the following:[3]

OCCUPATIONAL

·       Fraudulent Statements

·         Financial

·         Non-financial

·       Asset Misappropriation

·         Theft of Cash

·         Fraudulent disbursements

·         Inventory and other assets

·       Bribery and Corruption

·         Bribery

·         Illegal gratuities

·         Economic extortion

·         Conflict of interest

NON-OCCUPATIONAL

·       Intellectual property theft

·       Financial institution fraud

·       Check and credit card fraud

·       Insurance fraud

·       Healthcare fraud

·       Bankruptcy fraud

·       Tax fraud

·       Securities fraud

·       Money laundering

·       Consumer fraud

·       Computer and Internet fraud

As seen from the above classifications, there are several types of frauds.

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[1] Wachovia Corporation, “Company History”, http://www.wachovia.com/inside/page/0,,132_150,00.html

[2] Belk Collage of Business, “An Overview of Fraud Investigations in Wachovia Corporation”, http://www.belkcollege.uncc.edu/reguinn/Documents/11

[3] ACFE, Fraud Examiner’s Manual, US, ACFE, 2004.