1. Introduction
1.1. What Is Fraud?
Fraud is a worldwide phenomenon that affects all conti- nents and all sectors of the economy. Fraud encompasses a wide-range of illicit practices and illegal acts involving intentional deception, or misrepresentation. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), fraud is “a deception or misrepresentation that an indi- vidual or entity makes knowing that misrepresentation could result in some unauthorized benefit to the individ- ual or to the entity or some other party” [1]. In other words, mistakes are not fraud. Indeed, in fraud, groups of unscrupulous individuals manipulate, or influence the activities of a target business with the intention of mak- ing money, or obtaining goods through illegal or unfair means. Fraud cheats the target organization of its legiti- mate income and results in a loss of goods, money, and even goodwill and reputation. Fraud often employs ille- gal and immoral, or unfair means. It is essential that or-
ganizations build processes, procedures and controls that do not needlessly put employees in a position to commit fraud and that effectively detect fraudulent activity if it occurs. The fraud involving persons from the leadership level is known under the name “managerial fraud” and the one involving only entity’s employees is named “fraud by employees’ association”.