International Fraud Awareness Week is here, and the ACFE Pacific Northwest Chapter is marking Fraud Week with three high-impact virtual Lunch & Learn sessions designed to inform, inspire, and equip fraud fighters across the region.

As we celebrate Fraud Week 2025 and look ahead to Fraud Week 2026, this year’s lineup focuses on three essentials for every fraud professional: building your practice, understanding modern digital threats, and strengthening fraud program management.

Three Days, Three Powerful Topics

All three sessions are virtual (Zoom) and scheduled from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (PT), making it easy to join over lunch from anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. 

Tuesday, November 18 – Private Investigator or Forensic Accountant: Starting Your Own Business

Fraud Week Lunch & Learn

Presenter: James S. Peet, PhD, CFE 

Ever wondered what it takes to turn your fraud-fighting skills into a private practice?

In this session, James Peet, principal manager of Peet & Associates, LLC, shares insights from nearly 15 years of investigating fraud for governments, businesses, and individuals as a CFE. He draws on his experience as a licensed private investigator, seasoned author, former PNW ACFE Training Director, and educator in white collar and business crime investigations. 

Key themes include:

• Deciding whether to position yourself as a private investigator, forensic accountant, or hybrid

• Building a sustainable client base and reputation in a highly specialized niche

• Lessons learned from real-world financial investigations

• Practical considerations: licensing, marketing, workload, and work–life balance

This is an excellent session for CFEs considering a transition into consulting or launching their own investigative or forensic practice.

Wednesday, November 19 – Digital Deception: Unmasking Modern Fraud Tactics and Defenses

Fraud Week Lunch & Learn

Presenter: John R. Fick III, MLS, CFE, CFCI, CECFE 

Digital channels have transformed how fraudsters operate—and how quickly losses can escalate.

In this session, John Fick, Director of Fraud for Northwest Bank, walks participants through today’s most prevalent digital fraud threats, including identity theft, phishing (email, SMS, voice, spear phishing), SIM swap scams, and injection attacks such as SQL and code injection. 

By the end of the hour, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand identity theft and common methods used to steal personal information

2. Identify different phishing attacks and how criminals tailor them to exploit victims

3. Recognize SIM swap fraud and the red flags that indicate an attack in progress

4. Analyze injection attacks, including how they exploit vulnerabilities in digital systems

5. Implement prevention and response strategies to protect sensitive data and systems at both the personal and organizational level 

With over 20 years of experience in fraud operations, detection, investigations, and physical security across institutions of all sizes, John brings a practical, operations-focused perspective to these emerging threats. 

Thursday, November 20 – Fraud Program Management

Fraud Week Lunch & Learn

Presenter: John Snodgrass, Director of Fraud, WSECU 

Most trainings spotlight individual fraud schemes. This session zooms out to focus on something just as critical: how to design, build, and manage an effective fraud program.

John Snodgrass, Director of Fraud for WSECU, draws on decades of leadership experience, including his time as Director of Financial Crimes and BSA/AML Compliance Officer for BECU and service as Fraud Chief for the Washington State Employment Security Department. 

This Lunch & Learn explores:

• Core components of a fraud program framework

• How to stand up or mature a fraud function in a financial institution or public sector agency

• Aligning fraud work with BSA/AML, risk management, and organizational strategy

• Practical guidance on staffing, reporting, metrics, and continuous improvement 

If you’re responsible for building or influencing fraud strategy, this session offers timely, real-world guidance.

Registration, Sales Tax & Annual Subscribers

All three events are hosted via Zoom. If you’re an annual training subscription holder, you’ll automatically receive the Zoom link by email and do not need to register separately. 

As a reminder, effective October 1, 2025, all ACFE PNW webinars and events are subject to Washington State sales tax. For webinars, tax is based on the address in your member profile. If sales tax isn’t applied at the time of registration, a separate charge may be initiated to your payment method on file. If you update your address, please email info@pnwacfe.org so the chapter can update your sales tax location code. 

Making Fraud Week Count – and Looking Ahead to 2026

Fraud Week is more than a date on the calendar—it’s an opportunity to:

• Refresh your knowledge of current fraud trends

• Strengthen your organization’s programs, controls, and training

• Connect with peers who are facing similar challenges across the Pacific Northwest

The insights from these 2025 Fraud Week Lunch & Learns will help set the stage for an even stronger Fraud Week 2026, as our chapter continues to deliver training on emerging threats, practical investigations, and effective fraud program design.

We invite you to join us for one, two, or all three sessions—and to carry what you learn back to your teams, organizations, and communities.

Register today through the ACFE PNW Events page and be part of Fraud Week.