CFE-Fraud-Schemes-and-Financial-Crimes ACFE Certified Fraud Examiner -Fraud Schemes and Financial Crimes Free Practice Exam Questions (2026 Updated)

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: This is a Pass-through scheme , a type of Conflict of Interest under the corruption category. In this scheme, the employee sets up a shell company to act as a vendor. The shell purchases goods from legitimate suppliers and resells them to the employer at inflated prices. Pilar’s actions align perfectly with this definition.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Need recognition scheme – Involves manipulating an employer’s need to justify a purchase, not reselling via a shell.

B. Pay and return scheme – A fraudulent disbursement scheme where overpayments are made and refunds diverted. Not applicable here.

D. Cash larceny scheme – Involves theft of incoming cash, unrelated to vendor fraud.

Key Concept: Pass-through scheme (Conflict of Interest within Corruption).

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: Credits decrease assets and expenses while increasing liabilities and equity. They are recorded on the right-hand side of ledger accounts, forming the counterbalance to debits.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Journal Entries – Too general; not a directional effect.

B. Debit – Opposite effect of credits.

D. None of all – Incorrect because “credit” is the precise answer.

Key Concept: Credit rules in double-entry accounting.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: A draw request is used by construction developers to obtain loan funds for work completed. If lien releases are missing, it suggests subcontractors may not have been paid, and the developer might be misrepresenting completed work—an indicator of loan fraud.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A – Omission of personal account statements isn’t unusual for a draw request.

B – Change orders are common in construction projects.

D – Multiple inspection reports support validity, not fraud.

Key Concept: Loan fraud detection through supporting documentation review.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: Card skimming/shimming occurs when a fraudster captures payment card data with a hidden device. In this case, the employee secretly scans the customer’s card with a small device — a textbook example of skimming.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Server keeps the card – This is theft of the card, not skimming.

B. Imitation website – This is phishing , not skimming.

D. None of the above – Incorrect since option C is correct.

Key Concept: Payment card fraud — skimming/shimming devices.

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: The matching principle under GAAP requires that revenues and the corresponding expenses incurred to generate those revenues be recorded in the same period. Failing to do so misstates income and violates accrual accounting.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

B. Revenue and Income statement – The income statement is a report, not an item to be matched.

C. Income statement and Long-term contracts – Long-term contracts follow special rules (percentage of completion, completed contract), not the general matching principle.

D. Capitalized expenses and Liabilities – Not part of the matching principle.

Key Concept: Matching Principle — recording related revenues and expenses in the same period.

The correct answer is A. A tax haven is a jurisdiction with low or no tax rates that individuals or entities use to reduce tax obligations. Moving a company’s headquarters to another jurisdiction specifically to benefit from a lower tax rate fits the concept of using a tax haven. A secrecy jurisdiction emphasizes financial secrecy, bank secrecy, or laws that limit disclosure of ownership or account information; it might overlap with tax haven activity, but the question focuses on lower tax rates. A tax shelter is an investment or arrangement designed to create tax benefits, such as deductions or deferrals. A jurisdictional deduction is not the best ACFE concept here. The ACFE tax fraud materials discuss tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions, and tax shelters in international tax avoidance and evasion.

================

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: Per generally accepted accounting principles, changes in accounting principles must be disclosed in the financial statements to ensure comparability and transparency. The ACFE notes that disclosures are critical to prevent misleading users of financial statements.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Subsequent events – Material subsequent events must be disclosed; this statement is false.

B. Contingent losses – Only probable and reasonably estimable losses must be disclosed. If unlikely, no disclosure is required.

C. All information – Only material information requires disclosure.

Key Concept: Disclosure requirements in financial reporting .

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: The journal is specifically the chronological record of transactions. Each entry captures date, accounts affected, amounts, and explanation, making it the foundational record before posting to the ledger.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Asset – Not a record, but a resource.

C. Checkbook – Only records cash movements, not all transactions.

D. Ledger – Summarizes accounts, but not in chronological order.

Key Concept: Chronological recording of transactions via the journal.

The ACFE Fraud Examiners Manual includes Kickback Schemes in the corruption section and specifically identifies Diverting Business to Vendors as a type of kickback scheme.

This question states that Bob, a purchasing agent , directed business to Oak Company, and in return Oak’s sales manager agreed to pay Bob a percentage of the extra profits . That is a classic kickback arrangement : the employee steers company business to a favored vendor in exchange for a personal financial benefit. The Manual’s examples of corruption also discuss a vendor bribing or paying a purchasing agent to receive more business.

Why the other options are incorrect

A. Economic extortion scheme

The Manual defines economic extortion as obtaining money, property, or services through coercion or threatened adverse action. That is not what happened here; Bob was paid for steering business, not coercing payment through threats.

C. Illegal gratuity scheme

The Manual explains that illegal gratuities are items of value given to reward a decision, often after the recipient has already made the decision, and this concept is primarily discussed in the public-sector context. Here, the payment is part of an agreement to direct business and share in profits, which is more accurately a kickback .

D. Diversion scheme

The relevant Manual terminology is Diverting Business to Vendors , but that appears as a subtype under Kickback Schemes . Therefore, the best answer among the options is the broader and correct classification: kickback scheme .

References

ACFE Fraud Examiners Manual, 2020 International Edition

Corruption — Kickback Schemes

Corruption — Diverting Business to Vendors

Example involving a purchasing agent receiving improper payments to steer business to a vendor

Economic Extortion definition

Illegal Gratuities definition

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: Horizontal analysis evaluates financial statement items over multiple periods, highlighting percentage changes from one period to another . This helps detect unusual trends or anomalies.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A – Describes vertical analysis (common-size statements).

B – Describes ratio analysis .

D – Describes benchmarking/comparative analysis across companies.

Key Concept: Analytical procedures – horizontal vs. vertical and ratio analysis.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: Fraudsters often use write-offs to remove stolen inventory or assets from the books. By recording items as obsolete, damaged, or uncollectible, they eliminate them from records, concealing theft.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Altered – Too broad, not a standard concealment term.

B. Perpetual – A system, not a concealment method.

C. False shipping slip – Used to divert assets, not write them off.

Key Concept: Write-offs as a method of concealing noncash asset theft.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: This is third-party fraud , where someone uses another person’s identity (often a relative or acquaintance) to obtain services or benefits they are not entitled to, such as medical treatment under another’s insurance.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Misrepresentations fraud – Usually involves false information by a legitimate patient or provider.

B. Fictitious claims fraud – Involves billing for services that never occurred.

D. Multiple claims fraud – Involves submitting duplicate claims for the same service.

Key Concept: Health care fraud typologies – patient third-party impersonation.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: Fraudsters conceal inventory shrinkage through multiple methods, including unrecorded sales, false write-offs, or manipulating perpetual records. The ACFE manual notes that concealment is a common theme in inventory fraud. Hence, all of the above are valid.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A, B, C – Each is correct individually, but the most comprehensive answer is D.

Key Concept: Concealment methods for inventory theft.

Option A describes a card skimming or shimming scheme. Skimming involves using a hidden device to capture payment card information, often from a magnetic stripe, while shimming commonly involves a device inserted into a card reader to capture chip-card data. A small camera can also be used to record PIN entry. Automated teller machines and point-of-sale terminals are common targets because customers insert or swipe cards and enter authentication data. Option B involves theft or sale of card information but not skimming or shimming through a reader. Option C describes physical card theft or retention. Option D does not clearly show capture of card credentials. The ACFE material discusses ATM fraud, including skimming and shimming, as financial institution fraud risks.

================

Jay committed a purchasing and receiving scheme because the theft occurred during the receiving process and was concealed by falsifying receiving documentation. In this type of inventory misappropriation, an employee involved in receiving goods can steal part of an incoming shipment and manipulate records so the shortage is not detected. The ACFE material identifies purchasing and receiving schemes, falsifying incoming shipments, and altered inventory records as inventory theft methods. This is not a false sale because no fictitious customer sale is created. It is not a register disbursement scheme because no refund, void, or cash register transaction is involved. It is also not skimming because no unrecorded cash receipt is stolen.

================

The correct answer is B. Misrepresentation in health care or insurance fraud occurs when an applicant or insured person provides false information to obtain coverage, reduce premiums, or receive benefits that would not otherwise be available. Marco falsely states that he is a nonsmoker to obtain full insurance coverage, making the application materially misleading. Option A is a fictitious claim because the procedure was canceled. Option C involves improper use of another person’s policy or coverage. Option D is closer to multiple-claim or duplicate reimbursement fraud. The ACFE health care fraud materials specifically identify misrepresentation on applications as an insured or beneficiary fraud scheme, making Marco’s false smoking status the best example.

================

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: The accounts receivable journal (also called the sales journal) records all sales transactions, whether on credit or cash. It provides a detailed subsidiary record of customer accounts and sales activity.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Disbursement journal – Records cash outflows, not sales.

C. Accounts payable journal – Records amounts owed to vendors, not sales.

D. General journal – Records miscellaneous entries not suited to specialized journals.

Key Concept: Special journals — sales activity recorded in the accounts receivable journal.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer: Kickbacks are undisclosed payments made by vendors to employees of purchasing companies to secure favorable treatment. They are a classic form of bribery under the corruption classification of the Fraud Tree.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Bid-rigging – Involves collusion among bidders, not secret payments.

C. Presolicitation – A phase in procurement fraud, not the scheme itself.

D. None of the above – Incorrect, as kickbacks are the precise answer.

Key Concept: Kickbacks — secret vendor payments for favorable purchasing treatment.