Occupational fraud generally refers to employee misuse of the employer for self-benefit. According to an estimate by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, organizations lose about 6 percent of their revenues to fraud and abuse. Fraud is increasingly being committed by the most trusted people in organizations, those at the highest levels, and the median loss inflicted by owners and executives is 16 times greater than that caused by rank-and-file employees. Auditors and forensic accountants report several factors are facilitating the growth of occupational fraud, such as the use of computers to hide or alter information and fallout from downsizing in the early 1990s that often eliminated security and audit functions. The extent of fraud involving financial institutions has grown in recent years. External fraud against banks, such as check and mortgage loan fraud, accounts for more than 60 percent of fraud affecting financial institutions. Other types of fraud include health care fraud, Internet scams, telemarketing fraud, investment fraud, and warranty fraud. While the information age has opened up a world of new fraud opportunities, it is also starting to provide business with solutions. Computer software can now help pinpoint signs of contract and procurement fraud and retrieve hidden files, and an inkless fingerprint system has led to a 70-percent drop in check fraud in States using it. In addition, corporations are becoming more aware of the need for an employee code of ethics. 2 photographs