Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts

In the late 1930s, the term "white-collar crime" became a popular description of the criminal activities of business and government officials. These activities were scams that were financially motivated, with the aim to increase or hold onto money or property. Fraud continues today, and as described by the FBI, it is "characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust."

Fraudulent activities have the potential to cause devastating financial losses to families and businesses. They may be singular scams by one individual, or fraudulent activities enacted on a local, national, or international scale by a group of criminals. The types of fraud that fraud examiners, investigators, and analysts focus on may be corporate fraud, financial institution fraud, bank fraud and embezzlement, mortgage fraud, health care fraud, fraud against the government, money laundering, or consumer fraud.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) was established in 1988 by an FBI agent who had previously worked as an accountant. Since then, the ACFE has become a central reference for education and training in fraud investigation. It has a mission to reduce fraud activities and white-collar crime and to provide assistance to its members in detecting and deterring fraud. Today approximately 85,000 certified fraud examiners are members of the ACFE.