ACFE celebrates International Fraud Awareness Week

Since 2000, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) International Fraud Awareness Week has educated organizations and individuals worldwide about the importance of fraud prevention and detection. This year, the ACFE is raising awareness and equipping people with the knowledge they need to protect themselves and their organizations from occupational fraud.

The first-ever campaign, launched in 2000, was known as National Fraud Awareness Week. In just seven years, the week evolved into a global movement, and the ACFE changed the name accordingly to International Fraud Awareness Week. It continues to flourish, and last year, the event set a record with the largest group of global supporters ever: 1,791 from 148 countries. This year’s event runs November 17–23.

“I’m very happy that what started off as a small initiative to remind organizations and individuals to take time to stop and think about how fraud affects all of us now has a worldwide following and continues to grow every year,” says ACFE President John Gill, J.D., CFE. “It’s a testament to our members that they’ve taken the concept and expanded it beyond what we could ever have imagined.”

The need for vigilance and awareness in the fight against fraud is more crucial than ever as financial crimes and scams become increasingly complex. According to Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) estimate that organizations lose 5% of revenue annually to fraud. The report also indicates that training employees, managers and executives about the risks and costs of fraud can help reduce fraud losses and detect fraud faster than organizations that don’t provide training.

Organizations can get involved and stand with others in the global fight against fraud by signing up as a Supporting Organization at FraudWeek.com. Supporting Organizations will be featured on the Fraud Week website. They can promote their planned Fraud Week 2024 events online (FraudWeek.com/Events) and invite others to join. Past Fraud Week Official Supporters have hosted events such as webinars, lectures, and panel discussions with stakeholders and subject-matter experts, film festivals, community outreach events, and interactive fraud investigation scenarios.

Official Supporters have access to free resources such as infographics, videos, reports, posters, social media images and fraud prevention guides. By sharing these free resources with employees, organizations are taking a proactive approach against fraud. Promoting the campaign among stakeholders and local media outlets amplifies Fraud Week’s reach and impact. Visit FraudWeek.com/what-you-can-do for additional ways to get involved in the global campaign.

“To me, one of the most exciting things about Fraud Week is how Supporters make this week all their own, tailored to their groups and communities,” says Stefanie Hallgren, CFE, ACFE public relations specialist and Fraud Week lead. “For this one week, these organizations commit to educating people who may not think about it much. Those people will pass along what they learned. Fraud Week may seem like a fun week with fun activities, but there’s a serious goal: recognizing, preventing and reporting fraud.”

Organizations can keep the momentum going after Fraud Week 2024 by scheduling anti-fraud awareness training for employees, assessing susceptibility to fraud, creating a fraud policy or reviewing the current one, and disseminating the policy to employees. The ACFE offers free training and resources at ACFE.com/FreeTraining to keep you updated on the latest in fraud prevention and detection.

ACFE Board of Regents expels two members

The Board of Regents voted to revoke Kathleen McGuiness’ CFE credential and expel her from the ACFE. In 2022, McGuiness, of Dover, Delaware, was convicted of a conflict of interest related to her position as Delaware State Auditor. Her case was appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court, which affirmed her conviction this year. The Board found that McGuiness’ conviction was a violation of Article II of the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics and Section 5.07 of the ACFE Bylaws.

The Board also voted to expel Mary Bass of Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 2011, Bass was convicted of inducing another to enter an unlawful contract, a felony, and of unauthorized practice of law, a misdemeanor. Because of her convictions, California revoked her real estate license. Bass didn’t disclose her convictions or license revocation when she joined the ACFE and renewed her membership. The Board found that Bass violated Article II of the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics and Section 5.07 of the ACFE Bylaws. She originally joined the ACFE as Mary Margaret Vecchio but legally changed her name to Mary Bass in 2017.

Reporting Disciplinary Cases

Report directly to the ACFE Legal Department at Legal@ACFE.com if you believe an ACFE member has violated the ACFE’s rules of conduct. The ACFE also maintains an anonymous hotline. For more information, visit ACFE’s Rules of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures.

Crystal Zuzek is the assistant editor of Fraud Magazine. Contact her at CZuzek@ACFE.com.