Carnival of Fraud #36

Welcome to the 36th edition of the Carnival of Fraud! Here we discuss posts from around the blogosphere related to fraud and scams.

Ask the Advisor points out several common IRS audit traps for self-employed people.

Leon Gettler at SoxFirst asks whether insider trading is back? He also has a good post about investment analysts and accounting fraud, and whether or not the analysts are actually good gatekeepers.

Wenchypoo makes a great point about forced fuel-efficiency: The more fuel-efficient cars are, the less gas we buy, the less states collect in gas taxes.

Trusted advisor has a commentary on a study that suggests there is significant billing abuse by attorneys, such as double-billing, overbilling, or billing for services never rendered.

Larry Walker discusses a bogus item on many real estate closing statements: the regulatory compliance fee. Sounds official, right? But Larry tells us that it’s not official and it’s not required. Rather, it’s the equivalent of a “tip” for the real estate agent, who already got a commission.

Debra Moorhead discusses an important reason to keep your credit record clean: employment. She recently ran a credit check on a cleaning woman, and wasn’t able to hire her because of a poor credit history. That credit history showed several delinquent accounts on which payment was never attempted. Who would risk having that person at a business, with the potential that the person could steal ot fulfill debts?

Which brings up an additional point… What does not paying on debts indicate about a person’s character?

I submit that it says a lot. My uncle’s brother is a liar and a cheat who chose not to pay money he owed. Significant money. By doing so, he impacted a lot of lives. There were liens put on houses, medication that couldn’t be bought, insurance policies that lapsed, and lives that couldn’t be lived the way they ought to. Because of his dishonesty. Non-payment of debts is not a victimless crime, and it says a lot about the people who choose not to fulfill their responsiblities.

Related posts:

1. I’m presenting today at the NACVA conference
2. Fraud alerts and identity theft
3. Credit monitoring services doing more harm than good?
4. 31st Edition of the Carnival of Fraud
5. The AICPA’s band-aid to cover their loss of my personally identifying information