Certified Fraud Examiner CFE- Fraud-Schemes-and-Financial-Crimes Book

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: W. Steve Albrecht’s Fraud Scale introduced the relationship between pressure, opportunity, and integrity. He and his colleagues identified 81 red flags or behavioral indicators of occupational fraud and abuse based on these three dimensions. Therefore, the correct answer is A. 81 .

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

B. 82 / C. 83 / D. 84 – Distractors; none match the number identified in the fraud scale research.

Key Concept: Fraud Scale — Red Flags of occupational fraud.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: According to ACFE’s Report to the Nations and the Fraud Examiners Manual, tips are the most common method of detecting corruption cases. Employees, vendors, or customers often report suspicious activity via hotlines or whistleblowing mechanisms.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Internal audits – Helpful but less common as the initial detection method.

B. Internal controls – Preventive, not the primary detection source.

D. By accident – Can occur, but far less common than tips.

Key Concept: Tips/whistleblowing as the primary detection method for corruption.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: This is True . When an employee has significant authority or discretion in the procurement process (e.g., drafting specifications, approving vendors, or evaluating bids), they are more capable of steering contracts toward favored suppliers. This increases the risk of corruption schemes like kickbacks or bid-rigging .

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

B. False – Incorrect; influence grows with authority over procurement.

Key Concept: Procurement authority is a key risk factor for corruption.

Maria and Annie’s actions are a fraudulent death claim scheme. In life insurance fraud, a fraudulent death claim occurs when a person falsely represents that the insured has died to obtain policy proceeds. The scheme can involve a fabricated death, a phony death certificate, staged disappearance, or collusion between the insured and beneficiary. Here, Annie is alive, and Maria submits a false claim supported by a phony death certificate. A tombstone policy claim generally involves policies or claims connected to deceased persons or fraudulent use of death information, but the facts here involve a living insured falsely reported as dead. Premium theft concerns misappropriation of premiums, and beneficiary extortion is not the scheme described.

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