Skip to content

B.S. in Fraud and Financial Crime Investigation: Fraud Prevention and Detection Concentration

Stand Firm Against a Wave of Financial Crime

Transfer Up to 90 Credits

Build Skills to Investigate Economic Crime

Industry-Experienced Faculty

Learn More Today

Complete the form to learn more about this program.

  • Duration 4 years
  • Cost per Credit $450
  • Credit Hours 120

Program Benefits

  • Learn the latest tools and technologies to combat financial crime
  • Gain real-world experience
  • 100% online instruction
  • 6 start dates per year

Prevent and Detect Fraud

As economic crime and criminals get more sophisticated, fraud investigators need the most up-to-date tools and knowledge to root out perpetrators and identify the vulnerabilities they’ll strike next.

According to Kroll’s 2017–2018 Global Fraud & Risk Report, incidents of fraud continued to climb in 2017.1 Plus, 84 percent of surveyed executives reported that their company had suffered at least one instance of fraud in the past year, up from 82 percent in 2016.1 Crimes reported included information theft, loss, or attack; theft of physical assets or stock; internal financial fraud; and corruption and bribery.1

Among respondents who reported fraud, 81 percent cited insiders as the perpetrators.1 Companies nationwide and across the world need specially trained professionals to work from within to uncover insider fraud and other economic crimes, including corruption and money laundering, regulatory breaches, misappropriation of funds, and theft of intellectual property.

Utica University’s online Bachelor of Science in Fraud and Financial Crime Investigation gives you the specialized skills in Fraud Prevention and Detection you need to counter this wave of financial crime.

Career Outlook

An Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) report estimates organizations worldwide lose 5 percent of their revenue to fraud annually, translating to losses of $3.5 trillion.2 Utica University’s concentration in fraud prevention and detection gets you on the path to helping companies reverse a trend that’s costing them trillions of dollars a year.

CAREER SPOTLIGHT: RISK ANALYST

$97,740 average annual salary

As a risk analyst, you’d likely work for a bank or other financial firm monitoring transactions for risky behavior and looking for suspicious activity in company records. You’d also pore through evidence, statements, and testimony to identify and analyze past fraud to prevent further incidents.

Generally, risk analysts examine all the risk involved in opening a business. However, as a graduate of this program, you’d offer specialized knowledge in preventing and detecting fraud and financial crime.3

CAREER SPOTLIGHT: CLAIMS INVESTIGATOR

$75,975 average annual salary

As a claims investigator (also known as a claims adjuster or examiner), you’d play an extremely important role in your business, ensuring that people’s requests for financial compensation and other benefits are not fraudulent. You’d ensure that only legitimate claims receive payment and financially protect your employer. With enough experience, you could become a supervising claims investigator with a team working under you.4

More potential job titles for those skilled in preventing and detecting fraud:

  • Fraud Detection Specialist
  • SIU (Special Investigations Unit) Consultant
  • Counter Fraud Consultant
  • Compliance Specialist
  • Fraud Solutions Manager
  • Compliance Audit Manager
Jobs and Income
“Having a bachelor’s degree [in fraud and financial crime investigation] has opened doors that would not have otherwise opened and has made me more competitive in the career field when it comes to promotions and other job openings.”
– Bruce Justice, Utica graduate

Curriculum: Skills to Stop Deception

The Fraud Prevention and Detection concentration of the online bachelor’s in Fraud and Financial Crime Investigation prepares you to spot potential deception and help organizations protect themselves from internal economic crimes.

You’ll learn to identify suspicious behavior and patterns, collect and analyze evidence, interrogate suspects, compile and preserve evidence, and build your understanding of government regulations and laws on economic and financial crimes.

Course Spotlight: CRJ 347 – Fraud Prevention and Detection Technologies

Explore the tools you’ll use to investigate financial crimes, including those used for fraud examination and detection, data mining, like analysis, statistical analysis, pattern recognition, and more.

Explore Courses

Course Spotlight: CRJ 365 – Advanced Issues in Economic Crimes

Examine theories and methodologies for preventing, detecting and investigating institutional economic crime. You’ll focus on crimes in regulated programs, including environmental crime and public assistance fraud, as well as timely economic crime issues such as identity theft, synthetic identity fraud, and retail theft.

More Options for Your Degree

B.S. in Fraud and Financial Crime Investigation: Financial Investigation

Learn accounting skills to pinpoint and document potential financial misdeeds with coursework that emphasizes accounting concepts and procedures, data analysis, methods of detecting fraud and damage assessment.

View Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Advancing your life and career with an online fraud and financial crime investigation degree comes with lots of questions, and we want to ensure your search for answers is effortless. If you have a question we haven’t covered, call (866) 295-3106 to speak with an enrollment counselor.

Study as a full-time student to complete this online program in 2-4 years. Utica University also allows you to transfer up to 90 credits to this program, helping you graduate even faster. To review the curriculum details, visit our courses page.

Utica University does not generally offer scholarships for the online B.S. in Fraud and Financial Crime Investigation program. However, non-traditional students can pursue numerous third-party scholarships. You can also consider these financing options:

  • Complete the FAFSA® to determine your financial aid eligibility. Utica University’s FAFSA® code is 002883.
  • Apply for a Sallie Mae loan.
  • If you’re a military veteran, a member of the reserves, or currently serving in the U.S. military, you and any dependents are eligible for several financial assistance options. Utica University also offers a 10-percent tuition discount for you and your spouse.

To explore these options, call 1-866-295-3106 or request more information.

U.S. News & World Report named Utica University (formerly Utica College) a Top 200 Regional University in 2020. Additionally, our programs have been recognized by numerous organizations, including the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, SR Education Group, BestDegreePrograms.org, and TheBestSchools.org.

Click here to learn how you can apply in four simple steps. If you would like assistance from a Utica University enrollment counselor, call 1-866-295-3106 or email uticaonline@utica.edu.

Yes. Select a Financial Investigation or Fraud Prevention and Detection concentration to prepare for an in-demand criminal investigation field. Plus, choose from various electives to tailor the program for your professional goals. Visit the courses page to explore curriculum details for this program.

Once you earn this degree, you will have the skills to counter fraud in banking, government, healthcare, and many other industries. Career opportunities include these positions:

  • Financial examiner, a position with a median annual salary of $81,430 in 2020 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Fraud investigator, a position with an average annual salary of $62,465 according to PayScale
  • Forensic accountant, a position with an average annual salary of $71,464 according to PayScale

To explore additional job opportunities that you can pursue after completing this online program, visit our careers page.

Visit our FAQ page

Sources and Disclaimer

  1. Kroll Global Fraud & Risk Report – Forging New Paths in Times of Uncertainty (10th Annual ed., pp. 4-20, Rep.). (2017/2018). New York City, NY: Kroll. PDF downloaded from https://www.kroll.com/en/insights/publications/global-fraud-and-risk-report-2018
  2. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. (2018). ACFE Report Estimates Organizations Worldwide Lose 5 Percent of Revenues to Fraud [Press release]. Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://www.acfe.com/press-release.aspx?id=4294973129
  3. Average Risk Analyst Salary. (2018). Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Risk_Analyst/Salary
  4. Average Claims Adjuster/Examiner/Investigatory Salary. (2018). Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Claims_Adjuster_%2F_Examiner_%2F_Investigator/Salary