Customer Reviews

The New Forensics: Investigating Corporate Fraud and the Theft of Intellectual Property

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4 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The New Forensics is a fascinating account of the ways in which some unlikely and unsung heroes of the digital age  forensic accounting specialists  ferret out evidence of crimes ranging from corporate fraud to homicide, from intellectual property piracy to secretion of assets from Holocaust victims in Swiss banks. This is no dry textbook: the author obviously has a deep passion for his subject matter and a natural gift for storytelling, both of which come across in an easily readable, almost breezy prose style. In an interwoven series of stories of greed, arrogance and shady dealings  some well known, like Enron and WorldCom, others not so well known - the author gives even the novice a comprehensible education in computer forensics and accounting concepts without "dumbing down" or oversimplifying these topics. Though the techniques used by the investigators and described in this book reflect the state of the art at the time the investigations were conducted, the human weaknesses and strengths that underlie the use of technology both to perpetrate and uncover misconduct are timeless, and they are ultimately the real subject matter of this fine book. For what it has to say, and for way in which the author tells these stories, this book ought to be required introductory reading on college campuses and in business and law schools. In fact, anyone who is interested in real-life crime drama, in computer and software technology and high-tech sleuthing, or in the rise and fall of the "dot-com/dot-gone" economy, will enjoy this book. Highly recommended.

A must read for everybody in the corrupt world we live in today. It influences everyone of us.

The book gave me, the man on the street, an insight into the investigation of forensic auditors into corporate criminal activities. It was a real eye-opener to see to what extremes mankind will go to satisfies his greed. The way in which it is done is not only clever, it really is brilliant in its simplicity. But for the forensic investigators to reveal these frauds are even more brilliant.

Joe Anastasi explains how the forensic investigators use modern technology to uncover corporate fraud in a way even I, an illiterate in this field of work, can understand. For the first time I comprehend some of the work, pressure and ultimate excitement of tracking down the criminals.

The book reads like a suspense thriller, the most scary part is, it is real life and not fiction!

A real page turner! I loved this book! I thought it would be dry and technical, but it was surprisingly accessible. It was very breezy. A fun and very informative read.

Thanks to Joe Anastasi for writing this book. I hope that he has another book in the works detailing more investigations because this book ended too soon!

From start to finish, Joe Anastasi rivets the reader through the intimate discovery of modern day computer forensics. This timely narrative captures the real life world of high stakes forensic investigators as they try to unravel webs of corporate deceit. This is a must read for any one curious about today's financial headlines, what they really mean and the excesses of the Board Room.

Security literature is filled with titles on procedures, processes, and details of performing forensic investigations. Despite its title, this book is not another one. Equal parts autobiography, mystery, biography, and action thriller, the book is an overview of the cases and characters with which the author, a forensic investigator at Deloitte and Touche, has been involved.

In chapter after chapter, the reader receives a high-level view of the tools and technologies used in forensic investigations, then learns the inner workings of specific corporate frauds. These cases range from garden-variety frauds to cybercrime.

One fascinating chapter explores the disposition of a bank account dormant since the Holocaust and how forensic investigators cracked the case 60 years after the fact. It describes how a large group of investigators went to Switzerland to determine the beneficiaries of dormant World War II-era Swiss bank accounts. The chapter details methodology used to retrieve documents and to discover what was hidden and who was entitled to it.

Geared for management-level readers without much technical background, the book spares the reader byte-by-byte details on forensic evidence gathering and handling. Story after story gives readers a very accessible account of how investigators detected fraud, misuse, and a wide range of other corporate criminality. With its real-life drama, the book is both an enjoyable and instructive read.

I found this a very good book, strong in fact and obviously fictionalised for legal reasons in others. The way computers are ingrained in everyday life today everybody should be aware of the dangers of computer memory, Anastasi shows and explains for the layperson and expert alike the do's and dont's of computer use or misuse! and gives a preview of how in the future it will only get to be a more invasive machine.

This book is fascinating. The style of writing allows you to go inside the minds of corporate fraud offenders. In order to do the crime it fosters accomplices along the way. The amazing thread is that the criminals have their scheme planned out but they forget one critical element, there's always someone that can find the trail that's left behind. Computer fingerprints. I thought that the book was eloquently written and I walked away with a clear understanding of corporate criminal fraud and what criminals will do for greed.

This book was recommended to me by a coworker when I was working at one of the big four in the area of data mining. I was at first skeptical of the depth of its IT specifics but quickly realized that between the gripping lines of adventure the author skillfully embedded vital knowledge that's critical for anyone who wants to get the insight of corporate systems, IT infrastructures, and how they work together. In the format for a novel, the author took me on an exciting and informative ride in the world of corporate forensic investigation.

I loved this book! I knew absolutely nothing about forensic accounting, and never thought I'd want to. But this book is not only informative, but wonderfully written with plenty of excitement and a healthy dose of humor. I wish Joe would write another book now that a few years have passed. I really wonder whether he'd think, as I do, that things have gotten lots worse.

there's some interesting stuff in here, particularly in the area of computer forensics. but the book jumps all over the place. it starts with an good story of a real forensic raid (i beleive just the names were changed to protect the innocent), but abruptly switches to entirely unrelated situations. it eventually drops the storyline altogether, leaving you wondering how it ended and what the aftermath was.