Nov. 13, 2023
Internal Audit
In honor of International Fraud Awareness Week, which takes place Nov. 12-18 this year, Chesterfield is bringing awareness to its Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline (804-318-8000) and is encouraging county residents and employees to report wrongdoing involving fraud, waste, and abuse of Chesterfield government and school assets or resources.
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), organizations worldwide lose an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenues to fraud.
Tips are consistently the most common way to detect fraud. In fact, according to the 2022 ACFE, organizational fraud is more likely to be detected through hotline tips than any other method because employees and citizens have an anonymous way to report concerns.
The Chesterfield County Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and callers can remain anonymous as caller ID and call back features have been disabled to maintain confidentiality.
“Internal Audit takes all legitimate reports of fraud, waste and abuse seriously and make every effort to properly investigate issues,” said Khara Durden, Chesterfield County Internal Audit director. “We appreciate the participation of Chesterfield government and school employees as well as the community in our fraud, waste and abuse program because they bring attention to areas that may not be reviewed during our normal auditing procedures.”
Anyone who suspects wrongdoing involving fraud, waste, or abuse of Chesterfield government and school assets or resources is encouraged to report it. The county defines fraud as intentional deception that could result in a tangible benefit or cause detriment. Waste is the intentional or unintentional, thoughtless or careless expenditure, consumption, mismanagement, use or squandering of resources.
Some examples of violations may include, but are not limited to:
- Falsification of records
- Serious abuse of time or excessive use of time
- Theft of funds
Filing a fraud, waste, or abuse complaint with Chesterfield is easy and can be submitted in one of six ways:
Internal Audit
P.O. Box 40
Chesterfield, VA 23832
The county has other fraud hotlines specific to certain topics or services. The chart below will help connect residents to the appropriate complaint line.
Social Services | Social Security Benefits Fraud (i.e. food stamp fraud) | 804-748-1100 |
Police | Personal Fraud (i.e. identity theft) | Emergency: 911
24-Hour Non-Emergency: 804-748-1251
Online Crime Report |
| Crime Solvers | 804-748-0660 |
For more information about reporting fraud, waste and abuse in Chesterfield, visit chesterfield.gov/reportfraud.
According to ACFE, Fraud Week was established in 2000 as a dedicated time to raise awareness about fraud. The week-long campaign encourages business leaders and employees to proactively take steps to minimize the impact of fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education.
Throughout the week, the county will be sharing Fraud Week information on social media and through the county’s e-newsletter, Happening in Chesterfield, and other channels.
For more Fraud Week resources, visit https://fraudweek.com/fraudweek/resources.