Identity theft is a serious crime that occurs when your personal information is stolen and used without your knowledge to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity thieves rob more than 500,000 Americans every year and can result in devastating losses for the victims. Credit can be damaged, and fixing it can cost you hundreds of dollars and take hundreds of hours of your time, so it is very important to take as many precautions as you can to protect sensitive data about yourself. WBS outlinessimple steps to help protect yourself fromidentity theft:

As is often true, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. Devising ways to deter fraud in all its forms will go a long way toward mitigating your risks.

Detecting fraud can be difficult because so much transactional information is handled by sophisticated software. There may be no "paper trail" because all the information is stored in databases, spreadsheets, online, or other electronic solutions. As a result, numerous companies have developed tools to compile and analyze financial information in an effort to detect and deter fraud. Here is a sampling of some of the available software tools.

In the event that you run up against problems involving financial institutions, debt collection, credit reporting, identity theft, online scams or any of the multitude of ever-proliferating frauds and abuses, check out your state's consumer protection resources for a helping hand. The map below will get you started on the right path.

It's imperative that you seriously plan for disaster, whether man-made or natural. A little effort in preparing for a range of potential threats will go a long way in the recovery of your business and your ability to quickly rebound and serve customers' needs in a time of crisis.

The periodic destruction of old records and the safe retention of important documents are key to the security of your business.

Getting the right people is the first step. But then follow these guidelines:

As is often true, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. Devising ways to deter fraud in all its forms will go a long way toward mitigating your risks.

Fraudsters in civil litigations are judged on the preponderance of evidence, a lesser standard than criminal prosecutions.

Criminals must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, so evidence of guilt must be preserved to achieve a successful prosecution.

For the majority of this module on fraud, we've concentrated on raising awareness about schemes that can impact small businesses. As a result we've emphasized occupational frauds which are invariably perpetrated by individuals, such as bribery or embezzlement. In future months, we plan to add more sections covering organizational frauds, which are generally perpetrated by businesses or governments in areas such as antitrust and procurement (government contracting) frauds.

This section will give you some ideas, tools and strategies for detecting, deterring and prosecuting fraud from whatever source.

The Fraud

Computers, like so many things in life, can be a blessing and a curse. They can be used to commit crimes, and they can also be used to solve crimes and sometimes even prevent them.

Cooking the books to pacify or please investors and/or lenders is an age-old practice, generally perpetrated by business owners or managers, not accountants.

The Fraud

Prepaid credit cards are found everywhere. By the checkout counter at your grocery store and deli, at your bank and pharmacy, and even on websites. They are increasingly a popular alternative to cash or paper checks, and a nice option for the "unbanked" segment of the population. Payrolls are being disbursed by these cards as are some government entitlement programs.

Money laundering is one of the most destructive frauds on every level, so we'll take a little extra time and space to cover it here.

The Fraud

Bankruptcy is tried in civil court, but bankruptcy fraud comes under the criminal court system. The consequences can be severe.

Stock market manipulation through deceptive practices has been rampant of late.

The Fraud

The Fraud

Here are just a few types of the many investment frauds in use today:

The Fraud