3
The Global Scene
We have already said that fraud is ever present as a threat to any organization. This chapter adds the dimension that fraud also has an international dimension that knows no borders. Companies are increasingly doing business with partners, other organizations and customers across the world, often linked through online communications.
As we have seen, the book is based around a Fraud Smart cycle that covers five key aspects of helping non-specialists get to grips with fraud at work. This is repeated in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1 The Fraud Smart cycle.
This chapter sits within the first part of the Fraud Smart cycle, Understanding the Threat, and covers the international dimension of some fraud, which makes it even harder to identify the source.
WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
Global fraud creates many problems, especially since the company, its stakeholders, the customers, fraudsters and law enforcement agencies may be based in different countries with different legal or regulatory regimes. Complex frauds can arise when the perpetrator knows that there is poor communication between the country they reside in and the country in which the victim organization is based. Most jurisdictions are loath to abide by rules created by other jurisdictions and there may well be some friction between countries that are not used to cooperating with each other. If we fail to recognize the global ...
