Fraud was the main course at the 2008 ACFI (Association of Forensic Investigators) annual conference. Each year, the event attracts hundreds of forensic investigators from across Canada and around the world. Forensic auditing is a crucial part of fraud detection and investigation across many industries, as well as in government. You might say that forensic investigators are like the CSIs of the financial world, collecting and analysing evidence using powerful computer technologies in order to identify fraud schemes, and then providing expert testimony in civil and criminal cases against the perpetrators.

This was the 10th annual ACFI conference. It featured a wide range of topics, from forensic document examination to interviewing techniques like elicitation. Carie Fargey-Scott of Alberta Blue Cross gave a spirited presentation about the value of health care provider audits and some of the types of fraud they uncover.

Provider audits will also be one of the exciting subjects that appears on the 2008 CHCAA Conference roster. This year’s conference will be held in beautiful Vancouver BC at the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside on September 25th and 26th. The two-day event offers incredible learning and networking opportunities for anyone that has a professional interest in fraud prevention, including government, law enforcement, insurers, plan administrators, and plan sponsors. For more information and registration, visit www.chcaa.org/conference2008.

The American identity protection firm LifeLock is in some hot water over claims that its system is able to guarantee the security of its clients’ identity. The LifeLock product, like many others, is designed to guard against identity theft by allowing customers to set-up an automated alert system with credit bureaus. Clients receive electronic notifications of any attempts to utilize their identity for opening bank accounts, taking out credit cards, or many other types of financial transactions. In fact, the product comes with what amounts to a million dollar insurance policy in the event that your identity is compromised due to a failure in the system/service.

In a brazen attempt to prove their product, LifeLock’s CEO, Todd Davis, publicized his own social security number in television ads and on the company website. Unfortunately for Mr. Davis, many thieves embraced this foolhardy challenge, and one recently succeeded in securing a $500 loan using his identity. Apparently there are also a number of state driver’s licenses bearing his name and social security number.

As a result of these security breaches, some LifeLock customers have filed a class action suit against the company, citing its failure to deliver on its fraud prevention guarantees.

Surprisingly, this is not the first time an ill-conceived challenge like this had been made. In January, Jeremy Clarkson, a well-known British television presenter, was dismissive of the risks and repercussions of identity theft after a CD went missing that contained bank records for 7 million British families. He decried the ensuing public furore over the incident, referring to it as a “storm in a teacup.” In an abortive act of defiance, Mr. Clarkson published his own bank details in the British news, and like Mr. Davis, learned his lesson the hard way after 500 pounds ($1000) was stolen from his account.

So what’s the point of all this? Quite simply, identity theft is a serious threat and no product or service can guarantee its prevention. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all consumers to treat their personal information with the utmost care and immediately report any instances where their identity may have been compromised.

Over 4 million Canadians currently live and work outside of Canada. Many of them only pay taxes in their country of residence. What’s troubling is that some of these individuals continue to access Canadian social services like health care, free of charge. Although Canadian law prohibits this type of activity there is a paucity of active measures in place to prevent this sort of abuse or in some instances fraud.

A number of critics recommend that all Canadian passport holders living abroad should be made to file an annual tax return in order to better track their whereabouts and the amount of tax, if any, they are paying in Canada. Others have suggested applying a mandatory re-entry fee for Canadian expatriates who wish to use social services in Canada. The question still remains how would the government track whether a Canadian is in fact living abroad? And once this is established how would you limit their access to social services while they are visiting Canada? In Ontario, you must fill out and sign a form confirming your current address and residency status* to renew your health card (*eligibility is contingent on having a principle residence in Ontario or living in the province for a minimum of 153 days per year). But the veracity of this information is never confirmed and relies totally on the integrity of the individual.

It seems odd that while Revenue Canada may be aware that a person is living abroad and not paying taxes, the provincial health authority would have no idea unless they were informed by the individual. Stricter and more integrated forms of identification documents would dramatically enhance the governments ability to make certain that public services like health care are being protected from abuse.