| An epidemic of white-collar financial crime has resulted | | | | that may have been altered or doctored in some way. |
| in the development of specialized education programs | | | | Terms like "computer forensics and "accounting |
| focused on economic crime investigation and fraud | | | | forensics" have entered the lexicon of crime |
| management. These college-level degree programs | | | | investigators as they begin probing a crime scene that |
| attract students who are interested in law | | | | does not contain blood evidence, signs of violence or |
| enforcement and are attracted by the very unique | | | | even an obvious victim. But these are certainly not |
| nature of these types of crimes and the special | | | | victimless crimes.Hundreds of major corporations, |
| investigative techniques required to solve them.There | | | | government institutions and law enforcement agencies |
| seems to be no end to the greed in the hearts of | | | | are staffing up with economic crime specialists, fraud |
| some professional business people. It isn't enough to | | | | investigators and fraud management specialists. The |
| have fancy cars, vacation homes and other lavish | | | | need for qualified investigators has prompted colleges |
| perks of the highly successful. Many selfish individuals | | | | to develop specialized curricula devoted to the study |
| have decided to play a risky game of | | | | of economic crime prevention. Some schools feature |
| "milk-the-company-for-all-it's-worth" to fuel an unhealthy | | | | Bachelor's and Master's Degree programs in Economic |
| appetite to acquire more "things" for no other reason | | | | Crime. The courses are usually instructed by faculty |
| than to have them. As a result, books are cooked, | | | | members experienced in economic crime investigation |
| balance sheets become unbalanced and finally, as in | | | | and computer crime control. Right now, more than |
| the case of Enron, there is nothing left to share with | | | | 90% of their Bachelor's in Economic Crime |
| the shareholders.Economic crime is a broad category | | | | Investigation graduates are working in professional |
| encompassing a variety of offenses all of which are | | | | positions relevant to their career interests.Graduates |
| focused on bilking a private company, government | | | | with these unique, highly specialized degrees are in |
| agency or other professional institution out of their | | | | great demand. A number of colleges are now making |
| financial resources. Individuals at any level of an | | | | these programs available for online study. That means |
| organization including, as we have seen in recent | | | | that, no matter what your current commitments or |
| years, the most senior management, may perpetrate | | | | time constraints, these very attractive and potentially |
| these crimes. And the methods that they use may be | | | | lucrative and rewarding degree programs are available |
| highly sophisticated including manipulating computer | | | | to almost anyone. Who knows, at some point in the |
| systems or fudging accounting records.A fraud | | | | not-too-distant future you may be instrumental in |
| investigator must be highly educated and well versed | | | | finding, apprehending and convicting economic criminals |
| in the financial and technological systems and practices | | | | that are stealing from us all. |