Larry Adams "Fraud In Other Words" News Archive Jan-Mar 2006

Noteworthy News Archive
2006 January - March

March 23, 2006
Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S.
This is the second book written by my friend, Alex Boese, who is the curator of the Museum of Hoaxes in San Diego. Hippo Eats Dwarf is an entertaining look at the gullibility of humans. Alex's serious research reveals the untruths of their stories, but some hoaxes will live on and on. The jaw-dropping fraud cases cover stupid counterfeiters, poop-and-scoop stock scams, salad oil swindles, ghost voting, phony military veterans, resume padding, e-mail tracing, flesh-eating bananas, DVD rewinders, fetal footprints, scambaiters, boyfriend markers, greenscamming, eBay hoaxes, mushroom licenses, bonsai kittens grown in jars, cell phones implanted in teeth, and hundreds more. Hippo hurray! Alex's first bestselling book, The Museum of Hoaxes (2002), was published in 10 editions, including English, Dutch, Polish, and Japanese. His legion of bloggers from around the world post daily updates on www.museumofhoaxes.com. Museum of Hoaxes, ISBN 0-525-94678-0. Hippo Eat Dwarf, ISBN 0-15-603083-7.

March 21, 2006, Tuesday
Why Should Payroll Be Part of a Fraud Examination?
Guest speaker: Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. Fraud is a global business problem that extends far beyond your cubicle or office. The median loss for a payroll fraud case is US$140,000. One payroll scheme exceeded US$83 million before it was discovered. Find out how easily you can be duped by payroll schemes, and how you can improve internal controls. Find out what your payroll department can do to keep the employees, managers, and clients of your organization from becoming victims. Learn how you can assist a fraud examination team to discover the evidence of fraud and the perpetrators. Monthly dinner meeting of the American Payroll Association, Phoenix Metro Chapter. 5:30p.m. - 8:00p.m. Radisson Hotel Phoenix Airport/Southbank, 3333 East University Drive (Exit 151, north of I-10), Phoenix, Arizona. Cost: $25.00 for members and their guests. $30.00 for non-members. Reservations required. E-mail Cheryl Carstensen at ccarst@cox.net.

March 15, 2006
Viatical investments are very risky because 40 to 50 percent of the life insurance policies might be procured
by fraud.
Read the Fraud In Other Words article for
March 2006 by Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. The topics are Wet Ink Policies, Baksheesh, Bicheiro, Big Bath Charges, MI5, Plaintiff, Take-out, Channel Stuffing, Share Market Fraud, and Top Hatting. This article on fraud terminology is featured in Fraud Magazine, the Journal of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. This article also is on the website of the AICPA Antifraud and Corporate Responsibility Resource Center in May 2006.

March 14, 2006, Tuesday:
Predatory Lending Practices and
Fraudulent Schemes Targeting Lower Income Groups
Guest speaker: Patty Brown, Phoenix Housing Partnership.
Monthly meeting of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Arizona Chapter (www.cfe-arizona.org). Arizona Industrial Commission Building, 5^th Floor Conference Room, 800 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona. Sign-in and networking 11:30 am – 12:00 pm. Seminar 12:00 pm - 1:00pm. 1 hour of Continuing Professional Education (CPE). Members: Free. Guests and college students: Free. Please use the free parking on the top level of the garage. More details about the topic and speaker.

March 8, 2006, Wednesday:
Internal Audit Strategies for Fraud Prevention
Luncheon guest speaker: Peter S. Davis, CPA, ABV, CIRA, CFE, Principal at Simon Consulting.
Strategies for Fraud Deterrence and Risk Management
Afternoon technical session guest speakers: Nathan Curtis and Peter S. Davis. Sponsored by the Institute of Internal Auditors, Phoenix Chapter.
3 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE). DoubleTree Suites, 320 North 44th Street, Phoenix, Arizona. 11:00 am - 3:15 pm. More details about the topics, speakers, and registration.

March 7, 2006
Create an E-Mentor Program: Business Men and Women Can Share Their Experience with Students
Presenter: Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. A meeting of the Phoenix Union High School District, Advisory Board Committee for the Accounting Program, including district officials, teachers, and business representatives. The case study reviewed an e-mentor program used in a high school in Blissfield, Michigan. Topics included getting more business people involved with students, getting students to improve their writing and speaking skills, getting students to take more accounting courses, using an e-mentor program to help meet state and federal student performance measures, and encouraging more students to consider careers in accounting, fraud examination, and business. Metro Tech High School 4:30 - 7:30 pm.

March 6, 2006:
In their final weeks of medical school, students flock into court to change their names before they receive their diplomas.
Archive addition: Read the Fraud In Other Words article for October 1994 by Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. The topics are Trap Streets, Phony Slide, LL.B., LL.M., Sweat Merchant, Analysis Paralysis, Club Fed, Doc Flock, Displacement, and Stripped Book. This article on fraud terminology appeared in the newsletter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Arizona Chapter.

March 6, 2006:
The software industry estimates that two softlifted copies are made of every licensed application.
Softlifting is the unauthorized sharing of computer software.

Softlifting is the unauthorized sharing of computer software.

Archive addition: Read the Fraud In Other Words article for September 1994 by Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. The topics are Vaporware, Salted Name, Foil Transfer, Softlifting, Counterfeit Software, Acronymphobia, Jerry Case, Be Full Jerry to Someone, and Scuttlebutt. This article on fraud terminology appeared in the newsletter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Arizona Chapter.

March 6, 2006:
New additions to Fraud Examination Courses and Degrees Offered by Universities:
Universities offer many new fraud courses.

Binghamton University offers a course in Forensic Accounting and Financial Fraud.
Drexel University offers a course in Regulating Health Care Fraud.
Illinois Wesleyan University offers a course in Accounting Fraud.
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania offers a Fraud Examination course online.
Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, offers a certificate program in Investigation & Prevention of Commercial Fraud. It offers seven courses including a CFE Exam Review course.
Nottingham Trent University offers a Master of Science in Fraud Risk Management.

February 14, 2006, Tuesday:
Medical ID Theft Prevention

Guest speaker: J. Alan Cates, CFE, Director - Fraud Prevention Services, Fraud Prevention Institute. Monthly meeting of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Arizona Chapter (www.cfe-arizona.org). Arizona Industrial Commission Building, 5^th Floor Conference Room, 800 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona. Sign-in and networking 11:30 am – 12:00 pm. Seminar 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm. 1 hour of Continuing Professional Education (CPE). Members: Free. Guests and college students: Free. Please use the free parking on the top level of the garage. More information about the topic and speaker.

February 10, 2006, Friday:
What Can Students Do To Prevent Fraud?
Guest speaker: Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. A discussion with the Business Law and Accounting students and teachers at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen, Arizona. Topics include trends in dishonesty, seven elements of fraud, wi-fi computer security, internet fraud, identity theft, credit reports, and calculating the additional sales a business needs to make to recover from a fraud loss. 9:30 - 10:25 am. Go Champions!

February 9 - 12, 2006:
2006 Fulbright Enrichment Seminar at the Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, Arizona. Sponsored by the United States Department of State and the Institute of International Education. The seminar theme is "The Engaged Citizen and Civic Participation in Environmental Education." The seminar will host 130 graduate college students from other countries who have earned Fulbright Scholarships. The seminar provides an outstanding opportunity for Fulbright students studying at universities across the United States to gather together and learn more about international issues, the diversity of viewpoints, and life in the U.S., as well as each student's unique Fulbright experience. The families of the Interact Club of Saguaro High School in Scottsdale are inviting the Fulbright scholars to have dinner in their homes or in favorite restaurants on Friday, February 10. If your family would like to host a Fulbright scholar for dinner, please contact Mrs. Peggy Owen at powen@susd.org. Rotary International sponsors Interact, which is a community service club for young people to promote international understanding and goodwill.

February 8, 2006, Wednesday:
CyberExtortion: A Behind the Scenes Look at Extortion, Organized Crime, and Data Breach Law, guest speaker, Dr. Chris Pierson, Associate in Lewis and Roca's Intellectual Property and Technology Group. Wireless Security: The Cost of Convenience, guest speaker, Eric Graham, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for General Dynamics - C4 Systems. Quarterly meeting of the Sonoran Desert Security Users Group (SDSUG). 8:00 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. Word of Grace Family Life Center, 655 East University Drive, Mesa, Arizona. Reservations required. E-mail hauguelj@wellsfargo.com with the subject line "Attending February 8 SDSUG Meeting."

February 6 and 7, 2006, Monday and Tuesday:
Professional Interviewing Skills Seminar in Scottsdale
Learn how to ask the major interview questions and avoid interview pitfalls, evaluate the interviewee’s responses for signs of deception and enhance your effectiveness as an interviewer. By enhancing your interview techniques you will get more information, more insight and less deception from everyone you interview. This two day seminar (16 hours CPE) is presented by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, headquartered in Austin, Texas. Register before January 6 and get the early bird discount. For a course outline and registration information, visit their Web site at www.acfe.com/training/EventDetail.asp?PackageID=1498&EventID=546. Seminar location: Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas, 6333 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, Arizona.

January 19, 2006:
"I keep six honest serving men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who."
Read more wisdom from Rudyard Kipling, Samuel Johnson, and Pearl Bailey in Fraud In Other Quotes.

January 16, 2006:
Fraudsters aren't aware that a laser color printer or photocopier prints a hidden code on every document it produces.
Read the Fraud In Other Words article for January 2006 by Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. The topics are Tracking Dots, Fleece, Invigilate, Magha, Revenge Fraud, Schumer Box, Honesty Box, Straight from the Horse's Mouth, Sug, and Blute. This article on fraud terminology is featured in Fraud Magazine, the Journal of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

January 16, 2006:
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Fraud In Other Movies
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is released on DVD. It's an excellent documentary about the fraudulent, fast growth of Houston-based Enron Corporation into the seventh largest US company and its rapid destruction. Enron earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Read summaries of Enron, The Prime Gig, The Inspector General, and more films in Fraud In Other Movies.

January 15, 2006:
Resume fraud is committed by 20 to 50% of job applicants.

20 to 50 percent of the resumes that employers receive contain intentionally false information.
Archive addition: Read the Fraud In Other Words article for December 1994 by Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. The topics are Crazy Glue Fuming, Phrenology, Autograph, Obituary Fraud, Maple Syrup Diplomacy, Resume Fraud, and
Go Scot-free. This article on fraud terminology appeared in the newsletter of the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners, Arizona Chapter.

January 15, 2006:
Many museum curators and antiquity collectors are unwilling to believe they have been swindled by a forger.
Archive addition: Read the Fraud In Other Words article for November 1994 by Larry C. Adams, CPA, CFE, CIA, CISA. The topics are Balderdash, Swag, Museum Fraud, Psychological Warp, Antiquity Fraud, Tomb Looters, Deep Background, Funny Money, Mickey Mouse Money, Mickey Mouse Bookkeeping, and Sanitize. This article on fraud terminology appeared in the newsletter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Arizona Chapter.

January 10, 2006, Tuesday:
"Fraud in the ACH (Automated ClearingHouse) Network"
Guest speaker: Kim A. Bruck, AAP, Vice President, Risk Management, for Payments Resource One (PRO), headquartered in Phoenix. Monthly meeting of the Arizona Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. More details about the topic and speaker. Arizona Industrial Commission Building, 5^th Floor Conference Room, 800 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona. Sign-in and networking 11:30 am – 12:00 pm. Seminar 12:00 pm - 1:00pm. (1 hour CPE) Members: Free. Guests and students: Free. Please use the free parking on the top level of the garage.

More Colleges Offer Fraud Education:
Principles of Fraud Examination (ACC 298T1) is offered at the Pima Community College, Downtown Campus, in Tucson, Arizona. Spring Semester 2006, Monday and Wednesday evenings. Janet Farler is the instructor.

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