According to the ACFE survey, the most common type of occupational fraud scheme is:

• A. Corruption
• B. Fraudulent billing
• C. Illegal gratuities
• D. Asset misappropriation

Answer: (D)

In occupational fraud, the most common type is asset misappropriation—employees stealing or misusing the company’s assets for personal gain. The ACFE reports show this category appears in the vast majority of fraud cases, with schemes like cash skimming, payroll fraud, forged or inflated expense reimbursements, and theft of inventory. It’s the most frequent because many employees have access to cash or tangible assets, creating many opportunities to commit theft, and often with easier concealment when internal controls are weak. Individual losses in these cases may be smaller, but the high frequency makes asset misappropriation the dominant fraud type. By contrast, corruption (bribery and conflicts of interest) and financial-statement fraud occur less often, and illegal gratuities are a narrower subset of corruption.