CFE-Financial-Transactions-and-Fraud-Schemes Exam Dumps - ACFE Certified Fraud Examiner Questions and Answers

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:Ransomware is malware that encrypts or locks an operating system and prevents access to data until a ransom is paid. This definition is correct.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Spyware – Monitors user activity, keystrokes, or data, not a startup instruction program.

B. Trojan horse – Appears legitimate but contains malicious code; adware is different.

C. Worm – Self-replicating program spreading across networks; not a keystroke logger.

Key Concept: Cyber fraud and malware types.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:The statement is false. Cressey’s fraud triangle and Albrecht’s fraud scale both emphasize that fraud is more likely when pressures are high, opportunities are present, and integrity is low. Conversely, when pressure and opportunity are low and integrity is high, the likelihood of fraud is greatly reduced.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. True – Incorrect, it directly contradicts the fraud triangle and fraud scale models.

B. False – Correct, because under the conditions stated, fraud occurrence is less likely.

Key Concept:Fraud Scale Variables — Pressure, Opportunity, Integrity.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:New account fraud occurs when fraudsters open accounts with false or stolen identities to exploit financial institutions before controls detect suspicious activity. Mobile deposits are particularly vulnerable because criminals can use counterfeit or altered images to deposit fraudulent checks quickly. This aligns with the Fraud Examiners Manual (2020) discussion of high-risk delivery channels for new account fraud.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Established accounts – Incorrect; fraud risk is higher in new accounts due to limited history and weaker controls.

C. Six months definition – Not an ACFE standard; there is no fixed six-month definition.

D. ATMs rarely targeted – Incorrect; ATMs are frequently exploited in new account fraud schemes.

Key Concept: New account fraud in identity theft and corruption-related schemes.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:This statement is False. According to ACFE studies, asset misappropriation is the most common but least costly category of occupational fraud. Fraudulent statements are the least common but most costly, while corruption falls in the middle in both frequency and cost.

Key Concept:Fraud Tree Statistics — frequency and cost comparison of asset misappropriation, corruption, and financial statement fraud.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:Bribery prevention policies often include:

Reporting gifts (disclosure of items received from vendors),

Discounts (rules about vendor concessions),

Business meetings (clear rules on vendor-sponsored events).Resource diversions is not a standard bribery prevention policy but a form of fraud.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A, B, C – Legitimate examples of prevention policies.

D. Resource diversions – Not a preventive measure.

Key Concept:Anti-bribery policies — clear rules on gifts, discounts, and vendor relationships.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:ACFE’s occupational fraud surveys consistently show that males are more often the primary perpetrators than females, accounting for approximately 62% of cases compared to 37% for females. This is attributed to higher representation of males in positions of authority and access. Therefore, C. 62 versus 37 is correct.

Key Concept:Demographics of Fraud Perpetrators — gender-based survey findings.

Rationale for Correct Answer:Rationalization is the cognitive process by which fraud perpetrators justify their unethical conduct so they can commit fraud without feeling like criminals. A common way is to “invent a good reason” for their actions (e.g., “I deserve it,” “I’ll pay it back,” “Everyone else is doing it”). Thus, the correct completion is “one’s actions” or more precisely, Rationalization.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:Since this is a fill-in-the-blank, the distractors are implied. The only correct concept here is rationalization of one’s actions.

Key Concept:Rationalization — one leg of the fraud triangle.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:This scheme is known as a Turnaround Sale or Flip. The employee secretly purchases an asset their employer needs and then resells it to the employer at a markup, thereby profiting at the employer’s expense.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Conflict of interest in sale – Too general; does not describe the flipping mechanism.

C. Unauthorized sale – Not an ACFE fraud category in this context.

D. Written sale of unique assets – Not a recognized scheme.

Key Concept: Conflict of Interest scheme — Turnaround Sales/Flips.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:The Asset Turnover Ratio measures how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate revenue. It is calculated as Net Sales ÷ Average Total Assets. Higher ratios indicate better efficiency.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Quick ratio – Liquidity ratio, not asset efficiency.

B. Receivable turnover ratio – Measures efficiency in collecting receivables, not overall asset use.

C. Debt-to-equity ratio – Capital structure metric, not efficiency.

Key Concept: Financial ratio analysis — asset utilization efficiency.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:Skimming is difficult to detect because the stolen cash is never recorded (“off-book”). Therefore, it is often discovered by accident — such as customer complaints, discovery of missing deposits, or unexpected reconciliations — rather than through audits or routine controls.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Internal audits – Effective for many frauds but weak at uncovering skimming because records appear normal.

C. Internal controls – Preventive controls may deter but cannot detect unrecorded theft.

D. Occupational frauds – Too broad and not a detection method.

Key Concept:Detection of Skimming — most often accidental.