International Fraud Awareness Week

International Fraud Awareness Week is an annual observance focused on recognizing, preventing, and reporting fraud. It takes place during the week that includes November 15; the date marks the start in some years, rather than a fixed one-day observance. The week encourages individuals, businesses, and community groups to learn how scams work and to take practical steps to protect money and personal information.

How the week started

International Fraud Awareness Week is organized by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), a professional association for people who work to detect and prevent fraud. The ACFE established the campaign to raise awareness and help people understand the harm fraud can cause. Its activities are shared by organizations and communities in many countries.

The campaign’s focus is broad. Fraud can involve forged documents, false claims, identity theft, or schemes that pressure someone into sending money or sharing sensitive details. Awareness efforts aim to make it easier to spot warning signs and to encourage responsible reporting, rather than leaving people to handle suspected fraud alone.

Why fraud awareness matters

Fraud can affect people at home, at work, and online. A message may pretend to come from a bank, delivery company, government office, or someone a recipient knows. Other schemes rely on fake investment offers, misleading invoices, or requests to change payment details. The details vary, but many scams try to create urgency, secrecy, or confusion so the target acts before checking the facts.

Businesses face risks too. Clear payment procedures, careful review of financial records, and a safe way for employees to raise concerns can help catch suspicious activity. For individuals, a pause can be useful: verify an unexpected request through a trusted contact method, not through a phone number or link supplied in the message itself. No single precaution prevents every kind of fraud, but thoughtful checks can make deception harder.

International Fraud Awareness Week also helps reduce the stigma that can surround being targeted. Scams are designed to persuade and manipulate; people from different backgrounds and levels of experience can be affected. Reporting a suspected incident promptly may help a bank, employer, platform, or relevant authority take action and warn others.

Ways to take part

• Review recent messages and account activity. Flag transactions or requests you don’t recognize, and contact your bank using its official website, app, or the number on your card.
• Check the security settings on important accounts. Use unique passwords where possible, turn on multifactor authentication, and keep devices and software updated.
• Before paying an unexpected invoice or changing payment details, confirm the request with the person or organization using a contact method you already trust.
• Talk with family, coworkers, or neighbors about common warning signs, such as pressure to act immediately, requests for gift cards or unusual transfers, and demands to keep a transaction secret.
• If you suspect fraud, save relevant emails, texts, receipts, or screenshots. Report the incident to the affected bank or company and follow local guidance for contacting law enforcement or consumer-protection agencies.
• At work, ask whether your organization has clear procedures for approving payments and reporting concerns. Share concerns through the designated channel rather than investigating a coworker on your own.
• Share reliable fraud-prevention information during the week, including resources from the ACFE, financial institutions, and public agencies in your area.

Last updated November 10, 2026.

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