Fraud is a generic category of crime involving an individual or group of individuals dishonestly obtaining property or some financial advantage by means of deception. Fraud prevention involves a complex and sensitive process of balancing an organization's diverse interests and limited resources. Some solutions may be effective in reducing fraud but may result in stifling commerce and making everyday business transactions so unwieldy and costly to manage that no one would be willing to use them. The paper examines eight areas that may be described as "best practices in fraud prevention": fraud awareness and education; management of fraud control; personnel monitoring; transaction monitoring; improvements in personal identification; counterfeiting prevention; computer systems monitoring; and legally based deterrence. References