Most of the time, forensic accounting is used when someone commits fraud. For this reason, forensic accountants are often referred to as fraud investigators or fraud examiners. Fraud takes many forms, but no matter how you look at it, fraud is theft; it is profiting by deceit or trickery and involves the theft of funds or information or the use of someone's assets without permission.

Ever wonder just how prevalent various crimes are? Or about what you should do if you witness a crime? This Cheat Sheet covers that and more, such as how investigators approach a crime scene and the tools they bring to bear in their search for clues, as well as how the medical examiner or coroner determines the cause, mechanism, and manner of death.

Because forensics is such a hot topic these days, millions of viewers are becoming armchair experts on that subject. But is Hollywood reliable? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The quick death A gun is shot or a knife is thrown and down goes one of the bad guys, perhaps clutching his chest or taking one last dramatic breath, but either way, he's instantly a goner.

In general, all forms of evidence have class or individual characteristics. Class characteristics are not unique to a particular object but place the particular bit of evidence into a group of objects. Individual characteristics narrow down the evidence to a single, individual source. The type of handgun with which a victim is shot is a class characteristic.

Crime scene investigators are called to all types of crime scenes and at all hours. Because they need certain tools and equipment to perform their duties, criminalists usually keep a well-stocked toolbox, which contains the items they most often need. The box may literally be a toolbox or tackle box, but can be anything that is easily carried to the scene.

Staging is when someone who's committed a crime attempts to make the scene look like something that it isn't. The most common staging scenario occurs when someone tries to make a murder look like a suicide or an accident. The suspect may move the body or clean certain areas. Say, for example, a husband strikes his wife in the head with a blunt object, killing her.

If you need to find out how a victim died or identify a piece of a plant found at a crime scene, you call on a forensic scientist trained in pathology or botany, respectively. Professionals who work in the various forensic biological sciences are among the most highly trained and skilled members of the forensics team.

From the moment the first police officer arrives at the crime scene, he follows a strict set of procedural guidelines designed to protect him and everyone else who's present; guard evidence against damage, contamination, or loss; and document everything that occurs at the scene. Following these procedures and maintaining control of the scene until the crime-scene investigators arrive offer the best chance of getting the evidence needed to identify and convict the perpetrator.