There are more fraud schemes than you can imagine, as fraudsters constantly think up new angles and find new targets. There are fourteen different categories of fraud. Some we know well, like cyberfraud and identity theft. Other lesser-known types of fraud are corruption, financial institution fraud, and healthcare fraud. In the following posts, I will explain each type and provide examples.
Let’s start with cyberfraud. This is often referred to as cybercrime. Cyberfrauds are criminal activities committed through the internet or a computer. Cyberfraud is often perpetrated to gain personal identifying information (i.e., name, social insurance number, bank information). Other times, cyberfraud is committed to gain control of computers for ransom or man-in-the-middle attacks, like the Equifax breach in 2017. There are many types of cyberfraud, too many to describe in this post. I will explain the differences and how to recognize them later.
Cyberfraud is constantly changing as bad actors find different ways, or combine known access methods, to gain entrance to the computer networks of individuals and businesses. We need to be aware that cybercriminals can infiltrate personal internet systems the same way that they infiltrate business networks.
Strong cybersecurity is essential in fraud prevention.
Most of us are aware of basic cybersecurity, particularly passwords. Some general comments on passwords. Whether using a password at home or work, make the password as long as possible, with at least ten characters. Use different letter cases, characters and numbers whenever possible. Studies show that passwords that are longer than ten characters and use a combination of characters take longer to break.
Do not use the default password that comes with digital equipment, including baby monitors and security cameras – always change the password. In April 2016, a woman in Texas contacted the Calgary police department and advised them that she could see live feeds of Calgarians who had not changed the default password. (Nerman, D, (2016, April 25) “Home security camera default usernames and passwords may invite peeping Toms, Calgary police warn,” CBC News, https://www.cbc.ca/news).
I recommend using a password manager like KeyPass, Norton Password Manager, or Avast Password Manager. The benefit of a password manager is that you only need to remember the password to the app, which should meet the standards noted above. All the usernames, URLs, and passwords are stored in the program.
Use two-factor, or multi-factor, authentication (2FA, MFA) whenever possible. Some programs can be installed on your phone and are dynamic, meaning the codes change frequently. Websites do not require internet connections to generate a code; they can use other methods like text messaging.
Two common authentication apps are Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator. Do your research and choose the one that works best for you.
Kathleen O’Donoghue, CFE
Leave a Reply