The Fabricator
The Fabricator invents or produces something that is false to dishonestly gain personal benefits.
This might involve creating false invoices or other types of records for personal gain.
Examples:
- A business fabricates documents to receive a grant.
- A service provider fabricates receipts to receive a rebate.
Case studies
A Brisbane pharmacist charged with defrauding the Commonwealth’s Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme has been ordered to pay $1.9million to the Commonwealth pursuant to section 116(1) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth). The debt will be paid from the sale of restrained assets, including property, shares and cryptocurrency.
A former Western Australian senior public official used an elaborate fake invoicing scheme, in what has been described as Australia's largest public sector fraud.
Countermeasures
Counter the Fabricator using measures that support information sharing and verification:
Make sure requests or claims use a specific form, process or system for consistency.
Make sure forms or system controls require mandatory information to support claims or requests.
Apply limits on requests, claims or processes, such as maximum claim amounts or time periods. Enforce these limits using IT system controls.
Verify any requests or claim information you receive with an independent and credible source.
Automatically match data with another internal or external source to obtain or verify relevant details or supporting evidence. This countermeasure is supported by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's Guidelines on data matching in Australian government administration.
Create lists to quickly compare information to automate or require further actions.
Have processes in place to prevent, identify and correct duplicate records, identities, requests or claims.
Use system workflows to make sure all requests, claims or activities are approved only by the appropriate decision-maker.
Put protections in place to prevent data from being manipulated or misused.
Automatically notify clients or staff about high-risk events or transactions. This can alert them to potential fraud and avoid delays in investigating and responding to fraud.
Reconcile records to make sure that 2 sets of records (usually the balances of 2 accounts) match. Reconciling records and accounts can detect if something is different from what is standard, normal, or expected, which may indicate fraud.
Establish exception reports to identify activities that are different from the standard, normal, or expected process and should be further investigated.
Internal or external audits or reviews evaluate the process, purpose and outcome of activities. Clients, public officials or contractors can take advantage of weaknesses in government programs and systems to commit fraud, act corruptly, and avoid exposure.
Fraud detection software programs automatically analyse data to detect what is different from what is standard, normal or expected and may indicate fraud or corruption.
Capture documents and other evidence for requests, claims and activities to detect, analyse, investigate and disrupt fraudulent activity.