International Fraud Awareness Week is an annual observance that is held in the third week of November. This year, the week-long event takes place from November 13 to November 19. Fraud Week is the perfect time to take a step further and act as an anti-fraud professional to bring a change in the world. The aim of this day is to raise awareness of fraud through fraud prevention campaigns and education. Online Fraud Prevention: Government Shares Security Tips To Keep Bank Accounts Safe; Watch Video.

On this International Fraud Awareness Week, you can also initiate discussions amongst co-workers, your family and friends about how important fraud prevention is to society. By this, you can join the global effort to minimize the impact of fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education.

History of International Fraud Awareness Week

Fraud is not a modern invention as several types of frauds have been happening for a long time now, like people deceiving each other for personal gains even before money was a thing. As per historical records, the first recorded fraud was carried out by a Greek merchant, Hegestratos, in 300 B.C. where he tried to perform an insurance fraud, which would allow him to get a loan using his ship’s floating keel and hull. However, the fraud had a clause that made the loan void if the ship sinks during the voyage. Hegestratos made a plan and tried to drown his ship. However, he was caught by his crew and passengers. He later drowned as he was trying to escape trying to save himself from them.

Fraud was also prevalent during the ancient Roman era when officials indulged in thefts and fraudulent tax collection. A famous fraud scheme belonging to that era was the Praetorian Guard in 193 A.D. As per history, big fraud cases were reported in the 18 and 19 centuries which included the Mississippi Bubble, the William Duer fraud bubble, and the 1929 stock market crash, among others. These fraud cases led the U.S. government to create the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Significance of International Fraud Awareness Week

According to Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations, organizations worldwide lose an estimated 5 per cent of their annual revenues to fraud. Several events and activities are planned to show that people won’t stand for fraud. Twitter chats, podcasts to webinars are held to educate people against fraud.

Fraud is not just financial but also includes identity theft, voter fraud, corporate fraud, consumer fraud, tax fraud, and healthcare fraud, among others. The significance of this day is that it helps in proper intervention and education that helps remove such activities from society, thus in turn helping in building a secure future for you and your loved ones. On this International Fraud Awareness Week, let’s educate and train ourselves and our close ones on the types and causes of fraud and ways to mitigate its impact.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2022 08:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).