Social media is conduit of choice for digital fraudsters
“The changing environments influenced by rapid technology and digital growth are the emerging challenges of the modern world. Cyber security is a great concern across the world for nations, its businesses and its people,” said Mubeen Khan, Adviser at the Capital Market Authority (CMA), at a CPE event hosted by the Oman Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).
Speaking on emerging challenges in digital fraud, Khan warned that social media is ‘vulnerable to evil minds who could have your personal data in no time and corrupt the minds of our young population who are mostly lured by free entertainment’.
Earlier, welcoming the participants, Davis Kallukaran, President of the Oman Chapter of ACFE, cited a recent study conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners which revealed that a typical organisation loses 5 per cent of revenues in a given year as a result of fraud. Out of the 2410 cases examined in 2016 across 114 countries it was found out that the total loss was about $6.3 billion.
“The challenges of arriving at the true total cost of fraud are numerous. We do not know the millions of fraud cases that go undetected or unreported, potentially costing billions. But attempts to determine the cost of fraud are important since it helps to understand the size of the problem and its impact. It enables organisations to quantify their fraud risk and helps the management to take educated decisions about investing in antifraud resources and programs.”
From embezzlement to fraud, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners are an important resource for insight into why these frauds occur, With more than 80,000 members, the ACFE has experts on six continents that have investigated millions of suspected cases of fraud. Their expertise includes occupational fraud, data breaches, corruption, insider trading, consumer fraud, insurance fraud, charity fraud or any variety of concerns.
According to Davis, forensic accounting is a comparatively new profession and is in high demand. Professionals can give their careers an instant boost with the globally recognized CFE certification.
Based in Austin, Texas, the ACFE was founded in 1988 by preeminent fraud expert and author, Dr Joseph T Wells. Dr Wells’ insight as an accountant-turned-FBI agent led to the formation of a common body of knowledge known today as fraud examination. The event was held under the auspices of Dr Ahmed al Ghassani, Dean of the College of Banking and Financial Studies, and was attended by over 100 professionals from the ROP, State audit, CMA, financial institutions, banks and colleges.