Fraud Cases Research Articles

Storytelling for Social Justice: Reconceptualizing Invisibility, Legitimacy, and Self-Censorship via Stories of Failure

ABSTRACT Building upon scholarship on stories – including oral-history and oral-tradition – this article considers often-silenced narratives in the form of stories of failures. Comparison between empirical research and qualitative methodologies highlight value of fictional storytelling, which has been mobilized by researchers to protect the anonymity of vulnerable groups and the intersectionally marginalized in research. While hierarchies in power lead to self-censorship and self-delegitimization as observed by bell hooks and Paulo Freire, stories of failure may resist social pressures to present successes – which in themselves have led to widely disseminated cases of academic fraud. Additionally, stories of failures may help acknowledge Kemmis and Mezirow’s considerations of negative emotions as valid, toward resolution, resistance, and social change. Stories may help elucidate the hidden curriculum, which confounds efforts toward social justice under Rawlsian theories. Lastly, these stories may elucidate the impacts of interest convergence under critical race theory, towards the promotion of social justice intersectionally.

Shaping the Narrative: Examining News Coverage of Voter ID Laws in the United States

ABSTRACT This study is the first to examine US news coverage of voter ID laws. Voter ID requirements are central to ongoing political debates about voting procedures. Despite rare cases of voter fraud by impersonation and the strong polarization over voter ID among partisan elites, there is a surprising broad bipartisan support for voter ID among the American public. Using a range of inductive computational content analysis methods, we analyse news coverage of voter ID requirements from 2013 to 2023. We find coverage differs by outlets political leaning and demonstrate a link between news media discourse and elite framing on the issue. Donald Trump’s voter fraud allegations, however, appear to have substantially shaped left-leaning media coverage from 2016, raising concerns around whether this might have helped amplify electoral conspiracies, instead of offering the public alternative ways of thinking about voter ID laws.

MORPHIC COMPUTING WITH MACHINE LEARNING FOR ENHANCED FRAUD DETECTION IN FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS

As financial fraud becomes increasingly complex, traditional detection methods struggle to keep pace, resulting in substantial financial losses globally. Morphic computing—a paradigm that emphasizes adaptable, context-aware processing—offers promising advancements for fraud detection in dynamic environments. Integrating morphic computing with machine learning models creates a responsive framework capable of discerning subtle and evolving fraud patterns. The proposed system utilizes a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) enhanced with Morphic Layering, where layers adaptively morph in response to new data patterns. The dataset, sourced from real-time financial transactions, consists of 500,000 records, including 2,000 flagged fraudulent cases. The system was tested on a simulated environment over a six-month period, yielding an accuracy of 98.5% in fraud detection and reducing false positives by 40% compared to traditional machine learning models. Latency for real-time detection was minimized to 200 milliseconds, proving feasible for immediate application in transaction monitoring systems. By offering a flexible structure, this method surpasses existing approaches, as it continuously evolves to detect emerging fraud patterns, thus enhancing financial security.

온라인 무역사기 사례에 관한 연구: 이메일 해킹 무역사기 사례를 중심으로

Purpose: This study focuses on the fact that fraud using email, which is a major means of communication in trade transactions, continues to occur. To raise awareness of the email hacking risks, this study suggests practical countermeasures through analysis of fraud that has caused damage and cases of attempted fraud. Research design, data, and methodology: Along with a literature review, this study focuses on successful and attempted email hacking trade fraud based on recent data from KOTRA. Results: According to the analysis, representative types of email-related trade fraud are mainly “new forms of email account hacking” and “existing forms of similar email alteration fraud cases”. Recently, in response to changes in companies' awareness of email fraud, the number of cases has decreased, but caution is required because fraudsters are becoming more detailed and sophisticated in their approach. Conclusions: This paper encourages step-by-step practical and policy alternatives in order to be suspicious of (and to confirm) account change requests based on the changing perception of fraud by email, which is the main means of communication for traders.

Strengthening Fraud Control Plan For Investigative Audit And Probity Audit In Fraud Detection

The high number of corruption cases in local governments in Indonesia demands increased government attention to fraud cases. Opportunity for fraud can start from the planning stage to follow-up so that appropriate preventive and repressive handling efforts are needed. The Financial and Development Supervisory Agency has developed a fraud control plan and probity audit guidelines that are expected to be a solution to eradicate fraud in local governments. This study aims to analyse the effect of implementing investigative and probity audits on strengthening the fraud control plan in detecting fraud by auditors of the Financial and Development Supervision Agency of South Sulawesi and West Sulawesi. This study used quantitative with multiple linear analysis with Smart PLS 3.0 Software. Results found that investigative and probity audits positively affect fraud detection. Meanwhile, the fraud control plan does not strengthen the relationship between investigative and probity audits to fraud detection.

Preventing Corruption in Bali’s Customary Villages: How Do Regional Institutions Play a Role?

Customary villages are traditional institutions in Bali that have existed for centuries. The village has autonomy when it comes to managing its customary arrangements based on local traditions and wisdom, meaning that it does not have a hierarchical relationship with the government based on the state structure of the Republic of Indonesia. The Bali Province Government, a second-layer hierarchical government structure in Indonesia, applies a unique approach to performing relationships with customary villages in Bali as it has regularly supported the existence and activities of customary villages, including providing funding assistance. Unfortunately, several cases have shown the misuse of government funds. This article, therefore, identifies the practice of fraud and corruption in customary villages in Bali. Second, it analyses the role of the Customary Community Development Agency (DPMA) of the Bali Province Government in supervising the financial management of Bali's customary villages. Lastly, it supports the synergy between DPMA and the Representative Office of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) of Bali Province in preventing corruption cases in the customary villages. The article applies empirical legal research, which involves collecting primary and secondary data and analyzing them using statutory, factual, and legal concept analysis approaches. The research suggests that fraud and corruption cases in customary villages cause a loss of government funds, harming the financial management of Village Credit Institutions (LPD), and involving the misuse of power. The provincial regulation authorizes DPMA to address this issue by monitoring how customary villages use the Bali Province Government grants. This paper then argues that the DPMA’s role would be more effective if it adopted a more formal collaboration with the Representative BPKP in Bali Province through various joint programs that support the comprehensive efforts to prevent corruption in customary villages in Bali.

An assessment of convicted cryptocurrency fraudsters

ABSTRACT We examine cryptocurrency fraud cases prosecuted by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). We considered the lens of the Space Transition Theory (STT) in exploring the dynamics of these digital crimes. Our data analysis reveals common types of fraud, including cryptocurrency investment schemes. The results show an exclusive male demographic (100%), with the majority under 30 years old and only a quarter possessing a degree, providing insights into the socio-demographic characteristics of cryptocurrency fraudsters. Additionally, while most fraudsters (55%) targeted victims in the United States, Bitcoin, leveraging blockchain technology, was the most commonly used method (46%) for cryptocurrency fraud. Our examination of the methods and mediums used for cryptocurrency fraud supports some aspects of STT, while others do not. We advocate for a multifaceted strategy that prioritises stringent regulation, implementation, and heightened scrutiny of digital currency ecosystems in Nigeria and beyond. This study contributes to the broader discourse on cybercrime prevention and enforcement by emphasising the novel methodological approach utilised.

Factors influencing asset misappropriation in financial institutions: The application of fraud diamond theory

Fraud cases in financial institutions have increased globally in recent years and Malaysia is no exception. Internal actors committed the most frauds, causing 69% of organisations to suffer from their actions, as compared to only 17% organisations dealing with frauds caused by external actors. Moving towards the future, a greatest concern of fraud in Malaysia revolves around asset misappropriations. It is necessary to understand why people commit fraud to reduce the number of asset misappropriation occurrences. Thus, the research aims to investigate factors influencing asset misappropriation in financial institutions. The research suggested elements in the Fraud Diamond Theory as influencing factors, namely pressure, opportunity, rationalization, and capability. Data for the research was obtained from a survey questionnaire that polled public attitudes with regards to the selected factors influencing asset misappropriation occurrences. 111 respondents participated in the survey, for which the findings showed that only pressure and capability had a significant relationship with asset misappropriation. Opportunity and rationalisation were found to have no significant relationship with asset misappropriation. This implies that personal integrity is a more critical issue, as compared to rationalisation. The research is hoped to help financial institutions by assisting banking and financial sectors, as well as policymakers in managing risks of fraud and developing policies to reduce operational risk.

Assessing Mobile Network Fraud Threats and Prevention Strategies in Kenya

Background: Mobile network technology has exponentially advanced in the last decade and with this development, fraud activities have risen in equal measure resulting in companies and customers losing huge amounts of money as a result of, especially in developing economies that lag in the regulatory frameworks when it comes to Mobile network fraud. The purpose of the study was to explore Mobile network fraud in Kenya identifying the most common types of fraud, ways which service providers and regulators are employing to prevent or reduce fraud, methods currently used to detect fraud, and gaps thereof. Finally, the effect of concept drift in the automated fraud detection process. Method: A qualitative research method was adopted for the study and using a semi-structured question guide, four focus group discussions composed of 23 participants were conducted. The criteria used for selecting and placing participants into focus groups considered the following: The expert area of the participant, years of experience in the fraud ecosystem of the participant, and the organization to which the participant is attached. The availability and willingness of the participants were also considered in the selection process. The focus group approach was selected as it facilitated balanced discussion amongst all the players in the Kenyan fraud ecosystem, harnessing the power of group dynamics as it involved the regulators and the service providers who were drawn from different organizations. Results: The mobile network fraud ecosystem was stratified into three dimensions namely Fraud prevention which looked at the policies and methods used by both regulators and service providers to reduce fraud, Fraud categorization which aimed at categorizing different types of mobile frauds, and finally the Fraud detection which looked at the current tools being used to detect fraud. From the study, it emerged that although the regulators have provided strict guidelines on the customer onboarding process, not all service providers are currently using biometric approaches while onboarding new customers as this was highlighted as the entry point of most fraud cases. The study established five major types of Mobile network fraud in Kenya: SIM swap, SIM boxing, Wangiri, Commission arbitrage, and Hoax SMS and scams. Most of this fraud is committed using either SMS or voice channels; in some cases, both channels are used. Different matrixes derived from multiple factors are used by service providers while evaluating the criticality of fraud cases though not enforced by the regulators. The study also revealed that most of the fraud detection processes amongst the service providers still use manual tools that constantly require human input. While some of the detection processes are automated, concept drift is a major challenge for automated classification models due to the constant evolution of fraud patterns. Conclusion: The study revealed gaps in Mobile Network fraud prevention processes in Kenya as service providers still use non-biometric customer validation processes that are open to forgery and exploitation. A strict customer onboarding process that is fully automated and integrated should be used to address this gap. In the fraud categorization, there is no clear universal categorization matrix to guide the service providers while assessing the criticality of fraud and in this regard, a qualitative scientific model should be developed and used by all the stakeholders as a reference point. When it comes to fraud detection, concept drift is a major challenge, and service providers in Kenya still rely on manual processes due to the dynamic nature of mobile fraud. This exposes a huge gap in the detection process and there is a need to address this by developing systems and processes that will automatically detect and react to concept drift while automating the detection processes.

Analyzing the fraud tendency in the Indian Banking sector

At present, the Indian banking sector is having of worldwide importance for a few years due to its robust regulatory measures and least bank failures during recession and other difficult situations. Banking plays a prominent role in providing required monetary resources for every sector to meet their objectives. At the same time, the banking sector has been facing major challenges like increasing fraudulent cases as Indian banks lost Rs.5.22 lakh crores public money by a way of fraud reporting during the last twelve years, which dents our country’s economy badly. The current study is to analyze the fraud trend and nature wise frauds in Indian public and private sector banks during the period 2012-2023 and further, the current research aims to study the measures taken by Reserve Bank of India and individual banks to curtail the frauds during the said period. Primary data was obtained from bank employees and secondary data from authenticated sources was taken for this study. Our finding revealed that several bank frauds do not differ significantly between the public and private sector banks in terms of amount under cheating & forgery and fraudulent encashment nature. Further, it was observed that fraud amount reporting by public sector banks and private sector banks has been decreasing in trend since 2020 due to the preventive steps initiated by RBI and individual banks.

Valeant pharmaceuticals fraud

Purpose The aim of this study is to examine the patterns of fraud present in Valeant’s 2014 and 2015 financial statements and determine through a risk management analysis whether these frauds could have been prevented. This analysis provides the opportunity to more effectively prevent financial statement fraud. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from Valeant pharmaceuticals annual reports, financial statements reports and financial authority documentation. Based on these documents, this paper analyzes the different fraud schemes and investigate whether fraud could have been detected earlier by governance actors. In particular, this paper examines the firm’s financial statements three years before the fraud was detected by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Findings The analysis of financial statements reveals few clues and no alarming red flags three years before detection of the fraud. However, financial statement analyses were complex because of the many acquisitions the firm made in the years before. Originality/value This paper aims to contribute to the literature on fraud by investigating a case of financial statement fraud.

Microfinance in Nepal: An Overview

This paper aims to explore the current challenges and opportunities of the microfinance sector in Nepal. The secondary data and descriptive research with a critical approach are adopted to explain the study. The data were mainly collected from Nepal Rastra Bank's (NRB) annual Reports, and other available literature. The result shows that the center numbers (numbers of microfinance user group) change ratio was reduced from 17.11% to 1.30%, the total group numbers were 13% to 2.88%, the borrower 7.51% to (-9.66%), staff progress 9.75% to (-3.48%), loan outstanding 41.18% to (-5.06), profit 150.53% to (-7238), active loan 40.26 to (-7.94), and saving 22.87 to 3.91 between 2020/2021 to 2022/2023. Similarly, the Overdue member change ratio increased upto 53.66%, the passive loan from 79.47% to 104.3%, and the NPL increased continuously from 2.56% to 5.52%. So, all microfinance institutions are in a critical situation in Nepal. However, microfinance is an important concept to reduce poverty and unemployment. Further, it enhances easy access to financial institutions in rural where large banking institutions are merely available. However, microfinance in Nepal is facing critical challenges as many fraud cases are emerging. The policy implication is crucial as policymakers should formulate both long-term and short-term policies and implement those policies immediately in microfinance to revive the critical current situation.

Developing Surveys on Questionable Research Practices: Four Challenging Design Problems

AbstractThe exposure of scientific scandals and the increase of dubious research practices have generated a stream of studies on Questionable Research Practices (QRPs), such as failure to acknowledge co-authors, selective presentation of findings, or removal of data not supporting desired outcomes. In contrast to high-profile fraud cases, QRPs can be investigated using quantitative, survey-based methods. However, several design issues remain to be solved. This paper starts with a review of four problems in the QRP research: the problem of precision and prevalence, the problem of social desirability bias, the problem of incomplete coverage, and the problem of controversiality, sensitivity and missing responses. Various ways to handle these problems are discussed based on a case study of the design of a large, cross-field QRP survey in the social and medical sciences in Sweden. The paper describes the key steps in the design process, including technical and cognitive testing and repeated test versions to arrive at reliable survey items on the prevalence of QRPs and hypothesized associated factors in the organizational and normative environments. Partial solutions to the four problems are assessed, unresolved issues are discussed, and tradeoffs that resist simple solutions are articulated. The paper ends with a call for systematic comparisons of survey designs and item quality to build a much-needed cumulative knowledge trajectory in the field of integrity studies.

Fraud in genetic testing: Swindling the system

PurposeHealth care fraud comprises a sizable portion of US health care expenditure and inflicts undue burden on payers, patients, and the health care system overall. The genetic testing industry is rapidly growing, which propagates opportunities for health care fraud. Although federal organizations have highlighted it as an issue, there is limited research exploring genetic testing fraud. MethodsA retrospective review of federal websites, news articles, and a legal database resulted in 42 cases of fraud involving outpatient genetic testing published between February 2019 and December 2023. These cases were analyzed for themes via inductive conventional content analysis. ResultsThemes of fraudulent activity included submission of fraudulent claims, kickback or bribe payments, minimal or no contact with patients for whom testing was ordered for, inappropriate billing and documentation practices, and further actions to conceal fraud. Repercussions imposed on defendants included monetary penalty, imprisonment, business restrictions, and seizure of property. ConclusionHigh rates of medically inappropriate testing in fraud cases highlight the value of genetics experts in ordering or reviewing claims for genetic testing. Examining fraudulent activity in genetic testing can help providers identify and report fraud and provide awareness of optimal health care allocation in the genetic testing industry.

Research on Financial Fraud Based on Changyuan Group's Acquisition of Changyuan and Eagle

In recent years, with the development of the China’s economy, in order to seek business growth points, the number of mergers and acquisitions of enterprises has increased rapidly. In the process of mergers and acquisitions, there are often some financial fraud behaviors, such as fictitious income and false statements, to push up the merger and acquisition premium, which will greatly damage the stability of the financial market and the legitimate rights and interests of investors. This paper adopts the financial fraud case of Changyuan Group's acquisition of Shanghai Heying Electromechanical Technology Co., LTD. in 2016 as an example, and combines the fraud triangle theory to analyze the motivation of financial fraud. According to the punishment announcement and other information, this paper analyzes the identification of financial fraud information with a three-dimensional model, analyzes and presents the consequences of financial fraud, and proposes the suggestions and enlightenment for subsequent M&A cases.

An intelligent approach to detect and predict online fraud transaction using XGBoost algorithm

The most popular payment method in recent years is the credit card. Due to the E-commerce industry’s explosive growth, the usage of credit cards for online purchases have been greatly increased as a result frauds has increased. Banks have been facing challenges to detect the credit card system fraud in recent years. Credit card fraud happens when the card was stolen for any unauthorized purposes or if the fraudster utilizes the credit card information for his own use. In order to prevent credit card fraud, it is essential to build detection measures. While detecting credit card theft with machine learning (ML), the features of credit card frauds play an important and they must be carefully selected. A fraud detection algorithm must be created in order to correctly locate and stop fraudulent activity as technology advances along with the amount of fraud cases. ML methods are essential for identifying fraudulent transactions. The implementation of fraud detection models is particularly difficult because of the sensitive nature of the data, the unbalanced class distributions, and the lack of data. In this work, an intelligent approach to detect and predict online fraud transaction using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm is described. The XGBoost model predicts whether a transaction is fraud or not. This model will achieve better performance interarm of recall, precision, accuracy and F1-score for credit card fraud detection.

Restorative Justice Settlement of Fraud Crime Case (A Case Study in The North Kuta Badung Police Sector)

Restorative justice is an approach in law enforcement that focuses more on recovery and reconciliation between perpetrators, victims, and the community rather than just imposing penalties to repair the social and emotional impact of criminal acts and rebuild damaged relationships. Settlement through restorative justice in its application there is still a conflict of legal norms between the Criminal Code and Perkap Number 8 of 2021 concerning handling criminal acts based on restorative justice in criminal law enforcement in Indonesia, this is because the article to ensnare the perpetrators of fraud is already available and only needs to be implemented, but the reality in the field is that there is still a vital justice approach, even though there have been peace efforts that should have stopped the investigation but the investigators are continuing because settlement through restorative justice cannot necessarily eliminate investigations and or investigations. The problem in this study is the settlement of restorative justice against fraud cases in the North Kuta Sector Police and the obstacles faced in the settlement through restorative justice against fraud cases

The bright side of controlling owners in emerging markets: the case of corporate fraud

ABSTRACT This paper sheds light on the monitoring effects of controlling ownership on shareholders’ fraud activities. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms for 2004–2019, our results indicate that the absence of controlling owners increases corporate fraud activities by non-controlling shareholders, but not by managers. The findings remain consistent when using bivariate probit model that incorporates undetected fraud. To establish causality, we conduct difference-in-difference analyses that rely on the ownership variation generated by the exogenous loss of controlling owners and M&A deregulation shocks, respectively. The 2SLS regression employing the collectivist culture as an instrument for control absence confirms our results. To explore the reasons for the increase in fraud due to the absence of controlling owners, we show that shareholders are not motivated to participate and vote in the general meetings when controlling owners are absent, resulting in lower corporate governance quality. However, analysts and short-sellers act effectively as external control mechanisms to prevent corporate fraud when controlling owners are absent.

Identifying Key Markers for Monofloral (Eucalyptus, Rosemary, and Orange Blossom) and Multifloral Honey Differentiation in the Spanish Market by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Fingerprinting and Chemometrics.

Honey differentiation based on the botanical origin is crucial to guarantee product authenticity, especially considering the increasing number of fraud cases. This study assessed the metabolomic differences arising from various botanical origins in honey products sold in Spanish markets, focusing on two goals: (1) discrimination within monofloral samples (eucalyptus, rosemary, and orange blossom honey) and (2) differentiation between multifloral vs. monofloral honey samples. An omics strategy based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-Orbitrap-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS) was applied for the reliable identification of specific honey markers selected by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) (R2Y = 0.929-0.981 and Q2 = 0.868-0.952), followed by the variable importance in projection (VIP) approach. Key amino acid, alkaloid, and trisaccharide markers were identified to distinguish between honey samples. Some Amadori compounds were highlighted as eucalyptus honey markers, suggesting their potential use for honey aging and botanical origin differentiation. L-phenylalanine and raffinose were markers of rosemary honey. Four markers (e.g., trigonelline, L-isoleucine, and N-(1-deoxy-1-fructosyl)isoleucine) were found in higher levels in multifloral samples, indicating a greater availability of amino acids, potentially increasing the Maillard reaction. This research is the first to address the botanical origin's impact on honey by identifying novel markers not previously described.

The influence of village financial system (Siskeudes application), transparency, and internal control on fraud prevention

Fraud is rampant in Indonesia, especially in the public sector, including regional governments. Fraud cases have touched both the central and the lowest levels in the villages, which ensnare many people in the village. This study aims to analyze the influence of the village financial system (Siskeudes application), transparency, and internal control on fraud prevention in village governance in Pinrang District, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The sample includes village heads, treasurers, and village representative bodies, and it has a total of 51 people. The primary data are obtained from questionnaires using a quantitative approach and a multiple linear regression with the Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) application. The research results show that the coefficient of determination (R2) is 0.657. Thus, the magnitude of the influence of village financial system, transparency, and internal government control on fraud prevention amounts to 65.7%. The results of the study show that the village financial system has a significant positive effect on fraud prevention (p-value = 0.025 < 0.05), transparency has a significant positive effect on fraud prevention (p-value = 0.031 < 0.05), and internal control has a significant positive effect on fraud prevention (p-value = 0.035 < 0.05).