Computer Fraud Casebook: The Bytes That Bite Hardcover - 2009 - 1st Edition

Computer Fraud Casebook

In 1995, computer fraud took down England's oldest bank. In 1996, Omega Engineering Company lost over $10 million to one disgruntled employee's computer fraud. In 2001, two Cisco Systems employees stole $8 million in computer stock option refunds through computer fraud. And technology experts and professional crime fighters predict that computer crime will continue to explode in the coming years. Brimming with these and other astonishing real-life case studies written by the ACFE members who investigated them, Computer Fraud Casebook reveals how vulnerable all businesses are to fraud and offers investigation and prevention guidance to stop cyber-thieves in their virtual tracks.

Gone are the days when a small business might lose only a few thousand dollars to fraud. Today, computer fraud costs companies and consumers billions of dollars. In cyberspace, the fraudster has morphed from a hapless rip-off artist into a clever, diabolical techno-thief with the ability to steal and destroy on a grand scale around the world. High-tech criminals can obliterate records, bankrupt companies, steal money, cheat consumers, rob identities, and cause unprecedented havoc, often with a single click of the mouse.

Author Joseph Wells, founder and Chairman of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners--the world's leading anti-fraud organization--provides readers with an understanding of the scope and complexity of computer crime. Focusing on cases committed in the workplace, Wells introduces the scam methods and techniques that were unheard of just a few years ago. His comprehensive compilation forms a clear picture of the many types of computer fraud out there--including e-mail fraud, online auction fraud, security breaches, and counterfeiting--and how they were investigated across industries and throughout the world. Once fraud occurs, recovering the victim's money is difficult, if not impossible. The forty-two case studies in Computer Fraud Casebook reveal how and why prevention is the number-one goal of theanti-fraud specialist.

From their rise to success through their cunning and diabolical schemes to their eventual capture and downfall, Computer Fraud Casebook is full of amazing stories of the investigators' dedication, skill, and intelligence to uncover fraudsters and put an end to corruption. From these stories, auditors, controllers, IT managers, investigators, law enforcement professionals, fraud examiners, clients, employers, managers, consumers, students--virtually anyone with a computer--will discover a wealth of resources available to snare criminals and, even more importantly, prevent fraud from happening in the first place.