"Fraud & Stupidity Look a Lot Alike"

Interview with Allan Bachman of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners The magnitude of fraud schemes has grown - the scale and the losses. But the basics of fraud investigation remain sound. And if there's one thing people should know up front, says Allan Bachman of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), it's this: "In their initial stages, fraud and stupidity look an awful lot alike." In other words, an investigator who stumbles upon what appears to be just a stupid mistake might want to dig further. Stupidity often ends up being cleverly disguised fraud, Bachman says. In an interview with Editorial Director Tom Field, Bachman discusses: Current fraud trends; When a breach becomes an actual investigation; What it takes to be a fraud examiner today. Bachman, CFE, MBA, is responsible for seminar development and the educational content of all ACFE conferences and online learning. Most recently he worked in Higher Education as director of an audit unit and was project manager on several IT implementations specializing in security. His largest fraud investigation for over $1.5 million was conducted during this time. Previously Bachman worked in or consulted for retail, real estate, manufacturing and has done extensive small business consulting where he has actively worked a number of fraud cases. His fraud investigation experience extends back to the mid- 70's and has continued throughout today. He became a CFE in 1993.