Investigation Flashcards
7 cards from real ACFE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Investigation flashcards as text
In a fraud investigation, what is the purpose of an 'exit interview' or 'admission-seeking interview' at the conclusion of an investigation?
Answer: To present evidence to the suspect and obtain an admission or explanation
An admission-seeking interview presents evidence to the suspect in a structured way to elicit a confession, explanation, or denial that can be evaluated.
What does the term 'money laundering' specifically describe in the context of fraud investigations?
Answer: The process of making illegally obtained funds appear legitimate
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of illegally obtained money by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions.
Which digital forensics concept ensures that a forensic copy is an exact bit-for-bit duplicate of the original storage media?
Answer: Hash value verification
Hash values (MD5, SHA-256) generated before and after copying verify that the forensic image is an exact duplicate and has not been altered.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), financial institutions are required to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for cash transactions exceeding what threshold?
Answer: $10,000
The BSA requires financial institutions to file a CTR for any cash transaction exceeding $10,000 in a single business day.
What is 'structuring' (also known as 'smurfing') in the context of financial fraud?
Answer: Breaking large cash transactions into smaller amounts to avoid CTR reporting requirements
Structuring involves deliberately breaking up cash transactions into amounts below $10,000 to avoid triggering Currency Transaction Report requirements, which is itself a federal crime.
Which investigative technique involves analyzing check digit anomalies and sequence gaps in invoice or check numbers to detect fraud?
Answer: Sequence gap analysis
Sequence gap analysis examines numbering sequences for missing, duplicated, or out-of-order documents that may indicate fraudulent additions or removals.
When a fraud examiner prepares a written investigative report, which content should generally be EXCLUDED to maintain professional standards?
Answer: Personal opinions about the subject's character or morality
ACFE professional standards require fraud examiners to exclude personal opinions about a subject's character, limiting reports to factual findings and objective conclusions.