I recently read through Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations,[1] the biennial study published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). I always look forward to this report. While some things seem to never change, there are others that surprise us or that show a new trend. One thing that caught my eye in the 2022 report is the evolution of whistleblowers.
The 2022 study is based on 2,110 fraud cases that were investigated between January 2020 and September 2021, so it reflects potential changes that could be attributable to a workforce affected by the pandemic.
Consistent with previous reports, tips continue to be the most common method of detection, at 42% of all cases. Just over half of these tips came from employees.
But the similarities in reporting end there. If we go back to the ACFE’s 2018 report, 42% of tips came in through a telephone hotline.[2] Another 26% came by email, and 23% used a web-based or online reporting system. Two years later, in 2020, these top three methods of reporting were virtually equal, at 33%, 33%, and 32%, respectively[3] (note that when other, far less common, methods of reporting are added in, the total exceeds 100 percent, since in some cases multiple reporting channels were used).
But in 2022 things changed further. Email is now the most common reporting channel used, at 40%. Web-based/online systems are next at 33%, and telephone hotlines have declined all the way to 27%. So, in just...
On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that ...