Free Practice Questions for ACFE CFE-Investigation Exam

“Records obtained from financial institutions are perhaps the single most important financial source available to a fraud examiner for tracing purposes. They can be used as evidence for fraud, uncover criminal profits, identify criminal assets, and locate assets”.

“Internal sources will sometimes be the only resource for certain types of documents—such as… employee personnel files—unless the fraud examiner has the subject’s consent or a legal order”.

External searches may reveal addresses, assets, or competitor ownership, butpersonnel files require internal/non-public access.

The Fraud Examiners Manual defines compliance verification as:

“Compliance verification determines whether company policies are met by employee transactions. For example, when employees are out of town, do they adhere to the company policy of not spending more than $30 a day for meals?” .

Thus, the correct function iscompliance verification.

In admission-seeking interviews, one rationalization technique is todepersonalize the victim(e.g., shifting the perception so the harm was against a company, not individuals). The example in the question—“It isn’t like you took something from a friend or neighbor”—is exactly this technique.

TheFraud Examiners Manualstresses that interview notes should be kept separately for each interview, even if the session is electronically recorded, because recordings can fail or be challenged. Verbatim transcripts are not expected, and impressions of guilt should never be included. Best practice is to keep clear, accurate,separate recordsfor every interview .

The manual and CFE Prep list the main limitations:

Coverage varies by jurisdiction.

Searches are limited in area.

Records are often abstracts.

Information may be inaccurate or outdated.

Searches can be erratic.

Nowhere is “difficulty in finding database companies” mentioned.

“Once a suspect utters a denial, it becomes extremely difficult… therefore, the interviewer mustprevent an outright denial. Fraud examiners can use several techniques to stop or interrupt denials, includingdelays, repeated interruptions, and reasoning”.

Thus, the correct answer isD.

TheFraud Examiners ManualandCFE Prepemphasize:

“Generally, documentary evidence, including digital evidence, will not be admitted in a legal proceeding unless it is established as authentic… Consequently, fraud examiners who collect evidence from social media must capture, download, and preserve any useful information as soon as they discover it, and they must memorialize each step of the collection process”.

Thus, preservation for authenticity is the key.

Signs of stress (e.g., shallow breathing, stuttering, shifting posture) do not automatically equal deception. TheFraud Examiners Manualstates:

“Signs of stress do not always mean a subject is lying. An honest subject might feel stress simply by being questioned. Conclusions must be based on clusters of behavior and corroborating evidence, not a single indicator”.