Fraud comes in many shapes and sizes. Fraud affects everyone, regardless of the color of their skin or the language they speak. There are different types of fraud in international trade. Criminals can access your business bank account, hack your website, make phone calls or send emails while trying to steal your assets or launder money. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Money laundering and terrorist financing also exists. “Money laundering is the process by which funds derived from illicit conduct are given apparent legitimacy – in essence, the cleansing of criminal proceeds. Terrorist financing is the process by which funds are raised and used for terrorist activities.” International fraud is very common and occurs all the time. We need to become more aware of fraud and how to recognize it, as well as take precautions to prevent it. Fraud is much more than just the theft of money or products. Fraud can also be committed through international contracts. Some ways to prevent fraud in international business contracts include: acquiring skills, using letters of credit and securing payment methods, including binding clauses in contracts, becoming aware of current trends, and limiting the amount of security access within the company . If fraud is not your area of expertise, it may be helpful to look for someone who is experienced in that field. A lawyer who has experience in the market you are investing in and who also has experience in international trade would be a good person to ask for advice. It is also important to make sure that the terms of the contract are stated very clearly and confidently. Letters of credit are advantageous because the bank guarantees that the seller will receive the money from the buyer. These letters of credit do not completely eliminate fraud, but they help prevent it. Including binding clauses in contracts is helpful because you know you are doing business with legitimate parties. It is important to make sure you are aware of current trends. There are several organizations out there that help you keep up to date with trends. The National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) is an organisation. The NAFN is established to protect the public interest. This organization offers a lot of information such as data from a wide range of suppliers, practical examples of processes, forms and procedures, etc. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also publishes the most up-to-date fraud schemes and tips to prevent them from happening. It is also important to limit access to security, both physical and technical. It is important to remember to follow all of these steps when writing contracts for international trade and business. This is one of the easiest ways to prevent fraud from occurring as well. Other countries also have organizations to help prevent fraud. There are several organizations set up to help combat these crimes in the UK. The National Crime Agency (NCA) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are two such organizations set up to help reduce the amount of fraud that occurs. The NCA's role is to protect the public from major threats and to engage the people who pose those major threats. HM Revenue & Customs is an organization responsible for several taxes including: environmental tax, income tax, insurance tax, corporation tax, etc. These organizations have legal obligations that arise from money laundering regulationsof Money Act 2007 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). For terrorist financing there is the Terrorism Act 2000, which is an act put in place to prevent terrorism (nibusinessinfo.co.uk). If you hear about fraud or know of fraud happening in your workplace, there is a number you can call and report anonymously. You can also report fraud online. The United States has several organizations to help reduce international fraud. The best-known organization is the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is an organization established to “protect consumers by preventing anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices, improving informed consumer choice and public understanding of the competitive process, and accomplishing all of this without unduly burdening legitimate businesses. “They provide information to consumers to help them notice, stop and avoid fraudulent activity. Their primary objectives are to protect their consumers, maintain competition and improve organizational performance. The Artists Against 419 organization is a group of international individuals determined to combat advance payment fraud, also known as "419" fraud and many other online scams. Advance payment fraud, or 419 fraud, is where a scammer attempts to convince a victim that they will receive a large sum of money or. another reward for a small payment The most important part of this scam is that they trick the victim into accepting an illegal transaction, so when they are scammed they will be reluctant to go to law enforcement to talk about the deal victim to meet them in a foreign country, the victim feels vulnerable and hesitant to contact the authorities. The Artists Against 419 organization helps the public become more aware and educated about online scams and how to notice, avoid and report them. Artists Against 419 has a database used for automated bank fraud recovery. The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is an association focused on extinguishing identity theft and fraud caused by email spoofing and phishing. Email spoofing is “the falsification of an email header so that the message appears to come from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. “ This is an easy way to scam people because people are likely to open emails and links when they think they are from someone legitimate (search. security. techtarget. com). This group allows the public to discuss phishing issues and spoofing in a public forum It also allows them to report any spoofing or phishing scams they may come across (apwg.com). There is also an organization based in Japan called the Japan Company Trust Organization (JCTO). an anti-fraud organization designed to protect buyers and sellers from Internet fraud All buyers should verify that the Japanese company has passed JTCO inspections to avoid fraud. To register a company with the JTCO, the company must submit an application and the JTCO will decide if it is legitimate before accepting it. Companies with criminal records will not be approved by the JTCO. SCAMwatch is another organization used to educate consumers and small businesses to recognize, avoid and report scams. This website provides resources such as the latest news and alerts about different scams happening around the world. SCAMwatch has a form where you can report scams you have come across. It also provides information on the different types of scams that exist and what you should watch out for (scamwatch. gov. au). International FraudAwareness Week is an organization that travels around the world hosting events such as conferences and seminars on different fraud-related topics. They have several organizations, companies, and government agencies that support them, including General Mills and Microsoft. It also provides you with resources to get started with Fraud Week (fraudweek.com). This is a great organization to be involved with. In the United States of America, any publicly traded company, i.e. one that has issued shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to have an independent accounting firm audit your books at least once a year and write a letter certifying that your books are in order and your financial statements are accurate. This is done to somehow ensure that the accounting books are accurate and that no fraud is committed and to make sure that the company adheres to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). GAAP is a group of accounting principles used to organize financial information in accounting records appropriately, summarizing accounting records in financial statements and disclosing any supporting information. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) “was enacted for the purpose of making it unlawful for certain categories of persons and entities to make payments to foreign government officials to assist them in obtaining or retaining business. The anti-corruption provisions of the FCPA are in effect and apply to all citizens of the United States and to specified foreign issuers of securities. When it went into effect in 1998, the FCPA's anti-corruption provisions targeted foreign companies as well as anyone involved in corrupt payments in the United States. There are accounting provisions that companies must comply with to be FCPA compliant. The provisions are intended to "(a) create and maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the company's transactions and (b) design and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls" (justice.gov). Another threat that contributes to fraud problems is cybersecurity threats. Companies must have systems in place to prevent fraudsters from stealing data. Cyber security is important because it prevents the theft of important data, identity theft, extortion attempts, etc. There are different types of cybersecurity threats. These include: ransomware, malware, social engineering and phishing. Ransomware is software created with the intention of extorting money. This is done by blocking access to the computer system until payment is made. However, there is no guarantee that access will be gained by paying the ransom. Malware is another type of software created to access a computer without authorization. It can also cause a lot of damage to a computer. Social engineering is another scheme designed to trick an individual into providing sensitive information. Social engineering is often used with ransomware and malware. When social engineering and malware or ransomware work together, an individual is more likely to succumb to the scam by clicking on links or downloading malicious programs or software. In a case study conducted on the Target credit card breach, Teri Radichel gives us some insight into what happened and some critical controls that could have prevented this breach. In December 2013, Target suffered a cybersecurity breach. Over 40 million credit cards have been stolen from Target stores nationwide. The target was attacked in many different ways. They had malware in them-36032
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