Fraud Week, officially known as International Fraud Awareness Week, is an annual event dedicated to raising awareness about fraud and promoting anti-fraud practices.
Organized by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), it involves activities and campaigns to educate individuals and organizations on how to identify, prevent, and combat fraud effectively.
The event encourages businesses, governments, and communities worldwide to engage in discussions and initiatives to reduce fraud’s impact.ARIDAN is an official supporter of International Fraud Awareness Week 2024 to continue to help Shine a Spotlight on Fraud and raise anti-fraud awareness.
ABOUT FRAUD
Organizations worldwide lose an estimated 5% of their annual revenues to fraud, according to “Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations.” Despite advancements in digital payments, remote work, and technology, the methods used by fraudsters remain consistent.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) defines fraud as any deceptive activity for personal gain. It becomes a crime when it involves a knowing misrepresentation of the truth or the concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to their detriment.
Fraud can take many forms, including corporate fraud, consumer fraud, tax fraud, and identity theft. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the top three fraud schemes are corruption, financial statement fraud, and noncash schemes. The most common ways occupational fraud is detected in these regions are through tips (often anonymous), internal audits, and management reviews.
SUPPORTING FRAUD WEEK 2024
Fraud is like a virus that flourishes in environments weakened by corruption and the absence of checks and balances. It’s a persistent threat that demands continuous vigilance and action. Lowering defenses or becoming more lenient only strengthens its grip. Citizens have to raise these issues in the court of public opinion, especially when our representatives seem compromised.
Last year we participated with “HELP CATCH THE BAD GUYS”, by sharing the Fraud Week adventure-style interactive game of the same name, this year, taking inspiration from the game, the fight continues as we learn from “THE CURIOUS CASE of SUNTOURS”. It’s a short exploration of a fictional fraud case, written in a novel style and available as an audio drama.
The audio conversion of the script was possible thanks to SIM Caribbean and ReadSpeaker. SIM Caribbean, a locally based and owned company, is the regional representative of ReadSpeaker. ReadSpeaker is a global voice specialist providing dozens of languages and lifelike voices. Using its own industry-leading Deep Neural Network (DNN) technology, the company delivers some of the most natural-sounding synthesized voices on the market.
ReadSpeaker is a subsidiary of the Memory Disk Division (MD) of the HOYA Corporation, with offices in 15 countries, and over 10,000 customers in 70 countries, providing a complete text-to-speech (TTS) offering, both as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and as licensed solutions.
What exactly happened with SunTours, and what lessons can we take away? You can choose to read the case below or listen to the audio version.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF SUNTOURS
In the heart of the vibrant Blue Ocean city, Poirot & Christie Consulting Services is known for its stellar reputation in the financial industry.
Specializing in fraud detection and prevention, the firm is a beacon of integrity and trust.
The team, led by the sharp-eyed senior consultant Christie Parker, had just been handed a high-profile case that promised to test their skills to the limit.
The client is Wayne Johnson. He is a supervisory board member of a well-established tourism and retail conglomerate called SunTours Inc. The board detected irregularities in the financial statements. Suspecting money laundering, he reached out to Christie to investigate and uncover the truth.
CHAPTER 1: THE MYSTERIOUS DISCREPANCIES
Christie Parker gathered her team in the sleek, glass-walled conference room overlooking the cityscape. Present with her were Poirot Montclair, her business partner and founder of the firm, a forensic accountant with a knack for spotting hidden patterns; Gina Stark, an IT expert with an unparalleled ability to trace digital trails; and Danny Jones, the information collector and OSINT specialist.
“SunTours Inc. has unexplained discrepancies in their cash flows,” Christie began, tapping on the screen to project the financial statements. “Our task is to find out if these are mere accounting errors or something more sinister.”
Poirot scanned the figures, his eyes narrowing. “These discrepancies aren’t random. They appear systematically at the end of each quarter.”
Gina nodded. “I’ve been looking into their digital transactions. There are multiple large sums transferred to offshore accounts, but the destinations seem to change frequently.”
“Looks like the CEO has been busy attending investment seminars after his long vacation and has been communicating with several important figures from the investment world through his social media” noted Danny.
CHAPTER 2: FOLLOWING THE MONEY
The team decided to follow the money trail. Poirot and Gina worked tirelessly, poring over transaction records and cross-referencing them with SunTours’ operational data. Christie coordinated with SunTours’ internal audit team, ensuring they had full access to all necessary documents.
After days of analysis, a pattern began to emerge. Large sums of money were being funneled through SunTours’ retail outlets, particularly those in popular tourist destinations. These funds were then transferred to seemingly unrelated offshore accounts, often masked as legitimate business expenses. The CEO appears to lead an extremely wealthy lifestyle and takes great pride in showcasing it on social media.
Christie’s suspicion grew. “This looks like classic money laundering. Whoever is behind this is using the high cash flow from the tourism sector to disguise illegal transactions.”
CHAPTER 3: A DEEPER DIVE
The next step was to dive deeper into the offshore accounts. Gina’s expertise was crucial here. She hacked into the encrypted servers where the offshore transactions were recorded, uncovering a web of shell companies, each more intricate than the last.
“These shell companies are registered in tax havens and have no real business operations,” Gina explained. “They’re perfect for hiding the true origin and destination of the funds.”
Christie nodded. “We need to find a link between these shell companies and the people behind SunTours.”
CHAPTER 4: THE HIDDEN CONNECTION
Poirot, always the meticulous researcher, dug into the ownership structures of the shell companies. After hours of sifting through legal documents and corporate records, he found a breakthrough.
“Got it!” he exclaimed. “These shell companies are all linked to a single entity – a private investment firm called Oceanic Investments. And guess who owns a significant share in Oceanic Investments? The CEO of SunTours, Marcus Lang.”
Christie’s eyes widened. “So, Marcus Lang is behind this. He’s using his position to launder money through SunTours’ retail operations.”
CHAPTER 5: THE CONFRONTATION
Christie and her team shared their findings with the Supervisory Board. The board then decided it was time to confront Marcus Lang. Wayne arranged a meeting at SunTours’ headquarters, bringing along Christie and Poirot for support.
Marcus, a suave and confident man in his late forties, greeted them with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Johnson?”
Wayne didn’t waste time. “Mr. Lang, we’ve uncovered significant evidence linking you to a series of money laundering activities through SunTours’ operations. Your association with Oceanic Investments and the offshore accounts are damning.”
For a moment, Marcus’s composure faltered. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Poirot interjected, “The evidence is irrefutable. We have records of the transactions and the connections to your shell companies.”
“And you are?” Markus asked
CHAPTER 6: THE UNRAVELING
“Let me make the introduction,” Wayne said. This is Poirot Montclair and Christy Parker from Poirot & Christie Consulting Services.
Realizing he was cornered, Marcus tried to negotiate. “Look, this doesn’t have to go public. We can make a deal.”
“Absolutely Not!” Wayne exclaimed.
Christie stood firm. “This isn’t just about money. It’s about justice and the integrity of the financial system. We will report our findings to the authorities.”
Meanwhile Gina had already sent a report to the local Financial Intelligence Unit.
CHAPTER 7: LOOKING FOR JUSTICE
The subsequent investigation by law enforcement corroborated their findings. Marcus Lang was arrested the next day, and charged with multiple counts of money laundering and fraud. SunTours Inc. initiated internal reforms and cooperated fully with the investigation to restore its reputation.
Poirot & Christie Consulting Services had once again proven their fortitude. They knew that their work was not done yet; they would have to appear in court and testify, but they were well prepared.
As they wrapped up the case for now, Christie addressed her team.
“Great work, everyone. This case shows that no matter how sophisticated the scheme, the truth will always come to light with determination and expertise.”
As they prepared to move on to their next assignment which seemed less exciting, Gina received an encrypted email alert. “Hey guys, you might want to take a look at this,” she said, her voice tinged with concern. Christie read the message, her expression growing serious.
“It looks like we have another case,” Poirot said, smirking.
“This time, it’s a potential fraud in the healthcare sector,” Danny said, surprised.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Gina asked enthusiastically.
Christie smiled at her and said, “Let’s get to work!”
And this is how the “The curious case of SunTours” ends leaving us with the message that fraud never stops and the fight against fraud must continue.
“The Curious Case of SunTours is a work of fiction. The story was inspired by the adventure-style interactive game “HELP CATCH THE BAD GUYS – The curious case at Poirot & Christie Consulting Services” prepared by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners for the International Fraud Awareness Week. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.”
ASPIRING FOR BETTER
We are grateful to SIM Caribbean and ReadSpeaker for their generous support in helping us bring something new this year, free of charge. A lot of effort went into this project, and we truly appreciate it.
The case was written to inspire. While we know we don’t live in this fictional world, we can aspire to make our world better. The hope for a justice system that works, for individuals to stand by their morals and values without fear of being canceled or silenced, and for companies and organizations to maintain proper checks and balances should be more present in people’s minds.
But we’re not finished with “The Curious Case of SunTours” yet—if you enjoyed the audio version, check the video version on our YouTube page!
PROTECT YOURSELF
Fraud affects people around the world regardless of age, race, gender, religion, or any other factor and justice doesn’t show up for everyone. Most people have been victims of fraud or know someone who has.
In reality, we know many stories where integrity goes out the window when people are confronted with situations like our heroes did because they have been threatened or simply don’t have a moral compass to stand their ground. If you find yourself a victim of fraud, it is important to report it to at least have a voice in the court of public opinion.
You can contact a CFE in your area for assistance, or report fraud to the appropriate institutions. Visit the ACFE for more information: Protect Yourself from Fraud and Help Catch the Bad Guys. The fight never stops.
This year there are many coordinated events during International Fraud Awareness Week for people to attend. Make sure not to miss out on the events taking place online (some of which are free to attend) during International Fraud Awareness Week. Explore this year’s events on Fraudweek.com!
