Beyond Fraud

Cloud Computing, Cyber Crime, and Continued Increased Exposure

Here we go again.  Another massive cyber crime exposing millions of Americans to global identify theft, at a cost to taxpayers to now provide fraud monitoring to those victims. This week’s target – South Carolina’s Department of Revenue database.  The breach, reportedly perpetrated by an individual operating out of the Soviet Union, exposed the personal information, including names, addresses, social security …

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The Ultimate Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Visiting Arizona recently, I toured a cryogenics facility, where individuals subscribe to have their bodies maintained in a frozen state upon their death.  Over one hundred clients were currently maintained, with another one thousand clients on the list when their day comes.

I learned planning to have your body frozen (suspended) is quite involved, much like any estate planning.  Individuals seeking this potentially life-extending option must not only complete forms, they must also have the means (funds) to pay for the service.  Family is often well aware of their loved ones’ desire to be maintained post death.

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Cold Case and Forensic Accounting: Awesome Exposure For Our Field!

Cold Case – my favorite show (not that I watch much television) Tonight’s episode – The team probes the death of a woman whose dot.com company crashed. Sitting around the table, reviewing a table covered in financial documents relating to potential insider trading (short selling) of the victim company’s stock Investigator Danny Pino (Scotty Valens) says, “can’t we call some …

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Cloud Computing: Serious Considerations In Externalizing Your Data

Access and security – two major considerations when contemplating moving your systems and information from internally-maintained systems onto platforms and solutions hosted through the Internet.  Company files, patents, trademarks, proposals, customer lists, vendor lists, price and cost arrangements – this type of data arguably comprises the most valuable components of any business or organization.  How and where this critically sensitive information is accessed and stored is vital to ensuring their value.  Prior to “cloud”computing, the migration to Internet-based systems and storage of information, every company internalized their systems and data.  Access, security, safeguarding… were all directly addressed by the business mainly through in-house systems and solutions.  Physical safeguards could be as simple as maintaining a secure area within one of your own buildings.  In the end each business had a direct connection to their systems and information, housed mainly in-house.  Fortunately or unfortunately, more and more IT has been, and continues to be, shifted to external on-line solutions, relying on the controls, policies and procedures of other third-party outside entities established by contract to ensure the security and safeguarding of your information.

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Debit Card Monthly Fee – Reversal of Plans To Charge $5 Monthly

A little late with my post, but passing along the news story that Bank of America, the first to publicly announce plans to charge debit card users a monthly fee of $5, decided November 1st to reverse its decision.  One compelling reason may have had something to do with the over 300,000 signatures obtained on a petition protesting Bank of …

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