Fraudsters Unmasked: Spotting Fraud Red Flags

Welcome to "Fraudsters Unmasked: Spotting Fraud Red Flags," your essential guide to understanding, detecting, and preventing fraud. This course, led by Elizabeth McDowell and her, co-host Fraudie, the Fraudster (evil twin of Audie the Internal Auditor), delves into the critical subject of fraud awareness, illustrating why it's not just a financial issue but a threat to reputation, morale, and legal standing.

You'll gain invaluable insights into various types of occupational fraud, categorized into asset misappropriation, corruption, and financial statement fraud. We explore behavioral red flags—subtle individual warning signs such as living beyond one's means, exhibiting a "wheeler dealer" attitude, or showing unusual irritability. Each behavioral red flag is accompanied by practical preventative and detective controls like mandatory vacations, asset disclosures, and anonymous whistleblower hotlines. Real-world fraud stories, including the infamous Rita Crundwell case, underscore the importance of these controls.

The course then shifts its focus to organizational fraud red flags, revealing systemic vulnerabilities within companies. You'll learn to recognize dangers such as a lack of internal controls (Theranos), the overriding of essential controls (Enron), or an unwillingness to share duties (Collins Street Bakery). We also discuss the impact of high-pressure environments (Wells Fargo), resistance to audit or oversight (WorldCom), and the critical absence of independent oversight (Nikola Motors). Concrete preventative measures like clear policies, robust approval processes, and ethical leadership, alongside detective strategies such as control assessments and anomaly flagging, are highlighted.

By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to identify suspicious patterns, implement effective risk mitigation strategies, and contribute to a stronger, more transparent organizational culture. Together, let's unmask fraudsters and protect our organizations from future threats.