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Embezzlement and fraud schemes

Each fraud scheme leaves a different trail in the bank statements and the books. This category explains the schemes one at a time: check kiting, lapping, skimming and cash larceny, ghost vendors and ghost employees, check tampering and washing, expense and card abuse, payment diversion by email, and theft hidden inside the bank reconciliation itself. It also covers the settings where embezzlement is common. Start with Signs of Embezzlement in a Small Business, then read the scheme that matches what you see.

  1. Elder Financial Abuse: Patterns in Bank Statements

    Elder financial abuse patterns in bank statements: new payees, cash withdrawals, changed addresses and transfers to caregivers, and how to respond.

    Published October 12, 2026elder exploitationfamily financescaregivers

  2. Employee Credit Card Misuse: Patterns and Proof

    Employee credit card misuse patterns: personal merchants, split charges, weekend use and missing receipts, and how to build proof from card statements.

    Published August 20, 2026corporate cardscard misuseexpense fraud

  3. What to Do If You Suspect Embezzlement at Work

    What to do if you suspect embezzlement: secure access and records, avoid confronting too early, review bank statements and call counsel and insurers.

    Published August 9, 2026embezzlementfirst stepsowners

  4. Duplicate Payment Fraud: When Repeats Are Deliberate

    How duplicate payment fraud works when an insider pays an invoice twice and diverts the refund, and the tests that separate it from honest duplicates.

    Published July 30, 2026duplicate paymentsaccounts payablerefunds

  5. Business Email Compromise Payment Fraud Explained

    How business email compromise payment fraud redirects real payments, what the emails look like and what to do in the first hours after a wire goes out.

    Published July 8, 2026BECwire fraudvendor payments

  6. Petty Cash Fraud: Small Thefts That Add Up

    Petty cash fraud schemes: altered receipts, reused vouchers, borrowed cash and inflated replenishments, and how surprise counts and reviews catch them.

    Published July 4, 2026petty cashcash countsvouchers

  7. Check Washing: How Mailed Checks Get Rewritten

    How check washing rewrites stolen mailed checks, how it appears on the statement and reconciliation, and the controls that cut the risk.

    Published June 22, 2026check washingmail theftcheck fraud

  8. Direct Deposit Fraud: Payroll Diverted by Email

    How direct deposit fraud diverts paychecks through fake change requests, how it shows in the payroll register and bank, and the checks that stop it.

    Published June 17, 2026payrolldirect depositchange requests

  9. Ghost Employee Fraud in Payroll Bank Debits

    How ghost employee fraud shows in payroll: shared bank accounts, no tax withholding changes, no time off and pay continuing after termination.

    Published April 3, 2026payrollghost employeesfraud schemes

  10. Accounts Payable Fraud: Schemes and Detection Tests

    Accounts payable fraud schemes from fake vendors to altered bank details, and the detection tests on vendor files and bank payments that find them.

    Published February 27, 2026accounts payablevendor masterpayment fraud

  11. Church Embezzlement: How It Happens and Is Found

    How church embezzlement happens through offerings, credit cards and payroll, why trust makes it easy, and how a review of bank statements finds it.

    Published February 12, 2026churchesembezzlementofferings

  12. Check Kiting: How It Shows in Bank Statements

    How check kiting works and how it shows in bank statements: circular transfers, rising float, the interbank schedule test and what banks look for.

    Published January 16, 2026check kitingfloatinterbank transfers

  13. Fraudulent Refunds at the Register and Online

    How fraudulent refunds are issued at the register and online, refunds to an employee's own card, and the reports and bank data that reveal them.

    Published September 17, 2025refund fraudpoint of saleretail

  14. Ghost Vendor Fraud: Signs in the Vendor File and Bank

    Ghost vendor fraud signs: vendor addresses matching employees, round invoices, missing tax IDs and payments landing in personal bank accounts.

    Published September 10, 2025ghost vendorsaccounts payablevendor master file

  15. Signs of Embezzlement in a Small Business

    Signs of embezzlement in a small business: behavior, records and bank activity that point to theft, and which warning signs are often harmless.

    Published August 27, 2025embezzlementwarning signsowner review

  16. Nonprofit Embezzlement: Schemes and Warning Signs

    Nonprofit embezzlement schemes: diverted donations, fake vendors, personal card use and grant misuse, with the warning signs boards often miss.

    Published August 23, 2025nonprofitsembezzlementboard oversight

  17. Bookkeeper Embezzlement: How Trusted Staff Steal

    How bookkeeper embezzlement usually happens: extra pay, personal bills paid from the account, altered records, and how the owner can check quietly.

    Published June 19, 2025embezzlementbookkeeperssmall business

  18. Payroll Tax Embezzlement: Withheld but Never Paid

    How payroll tax embezzlement works when withheld taxes are never paid, why it surfaces late through notices, and how to check tax debits in the bank.

    Published May 30, 2025payroll taxembezzlementtax deposits

  19. Expense Reimbursement Fraud: Four Common Schemes

    Expense reimbursement fraud schemes: mischaracterized, overstated, fictitious and duplicate expenses, and the tests that catch them in payments.

    Published May 28, 2025expense claimsreimbursementfraud schemes

  20. Bank Reconciliation Fraud: How Theft Hides in the Rec

    How bank reconciliation fraud hides theft: fake reconciling items, altered statements and plugs, and how a reviewer re-performs the rec to find them.

    Published May 22, 2025bank reconciliationconcealmentreview

  21. Skimming Fraud: Cash Taken Before It Is Recorded

    How skimming fraud takes cash before it reaches the books, why the bank reconciliation still balances and the sales-to-deposit tests that find it.

    Published May 17, 2025skimmingcash receiptssales testing

  22. Lapping Fraud: Spotting Delayed Customer Payments

    How lapping fraud hides stolen receipts by applying later payments to older invoices, and the deposit and remittance tests that expose the pattern.

    Published May 5, 2025lappingaccounts receivablecash receipts

  23. How Embezzlement Is Discovered, Usually by Accident

    How embezzlement is discovered in practice: tips, absences, vendor calls and bank notices, and why reconciliations reviewed by the owner find it sooner.

    Published March 30, 2025embezzlementfraud detectionowner review

  24. Vendor Kickbacks: Signs in Purchasing and Payments

    Vendor kickbacks signs: rising prices from one supplier, steered contracts and lifestyle changes, and what payment data can and can't show.

    Published March 25, 2025kickbackspurchasingvendor fraud

  25. Cash Larceny: Theft After Cash Is Recorded

    How cash larceny differs from skimming, why it leaves a gap between recorded receipts and the bank deposit, and how reconciliations expose it.

    Published March 18, 2025cash larcenydepositscash receipts

  26. Personal Expenses Through Business Account: Find Them

    How to find personal expenses run through a business account: merchant types, timing, round transfers and how to separate perks from theft.

    Published March 16, 2025personal expensesbusiness cardscommingling

  27. Check Tampering: Forged, Altered and Concealed Checks

    Check tampering schemes: forged makers, altered payees, concealed checks and authorized-maker fraud, with the check image tests that reveal each.

    Published February 13, 2025check frauddisbursementscheck images

  28. Accounts Receivable Write Off Fraud and Concealment

    How accounts receivable write off fraud conceals stolen payments, which write-offs deserve a second look and how to confirm balances with customers.

    Published January 3, 2025accounts receivablewrite-offsconcealment

  29. Mobile Deposit Fraud: Checks Deposited Twice

    How mobile deposit fraud works when the same check is deposited twice or a fake check is scanned, and how it shows up as a returned deposit.

    Published November 23, 2024mobile depositreturned itemscheck fraud

  30. Split Purchases to Avoid Approval: How to Find Them

    How to find split purchases made to avoid approval limits: same vendor, same day, amounts just under the threshold, and when a split is legitimate.

    Published November 9, 2024split purchasesapproval limitsprocurement