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Some readers have recently been surprised to hear our telephones answered “Alikim Media.” A few have even hung up, thinking they reached a wrong number.
Alikim Media is the parent company of The John Cooke Fraud Report. Effective immediately, the JCFR is changing to the JCIFR (the “I” is for insurance). The modification is necessary because we’re branching out—we will soon be distributing the Premiere Issue of The John Cooke Financial Fraud Report. The JCFFR will be aimed at the banking and financial industries, covering topics of interest to fraud fighters in those arenas. There is a great deal of cross-over information and we believe that sharing between industries will be beneficial to both. And if the two JCFRs aren’t enough to keep us busy, we’re also launching Fraud Prevention magazine early this fall.
Statement of fact: THERE ARE NO SINGLE LINE CRIMINALS.
I’ve never heard of a doctor yet who would only overbill Blue Cross. If the particular trick is upcoding, (s)he’s doing it to every carrier. And it’s probable the same health care provider is cooperating in bogus workers’ compensation claims and inflated auto injury claims, massively cheating on his income tax and forgetting to license his two dogs. Think about it, what kind of a doctor would say, “I think I’ll be upright and honest in all of my dealings except when it comes to billing The Travelers.”
And what kind of a person dishonest enough to file fraudulent slip/fall claims is not also exagerating injuries from minor fender-benders, changing his K-Mart $19.95 painting to a Picasso when it comes to a homeowners loss and kiting checks when money is short?
Nope, a crook is a crook is a crook is a crook.
No matter what the specific line of business (insurance, banking, mortgage, etc.), we enforcement types are dealing with the same enemies. And that’s the bottom line in our decision to expand our fraud-fighting operations here at Alikim Media. We believe that the readers and writers from The John Cooke Financial Fraud Report have valuable information for the readers and writers of The John Cooke Insurance Fraud Report—and vice versa.
And we believe, too, that the fraud-fighting industry has an obligation to start pounding a message home to the public at large. Fraud, in any form, is ultimately paid for by every John and Jane Doe in America. Why is auto insurance so high? Fraud! Why is the APR on a MasterCard or Visa so high? Fraud! Why is phone service so expensive? Fraud! Why is health care so costly? Fraud! Why does a can of peas cost 69 cents? Fraud!
And that’s the reasoning behind introducing Fraud Prevention magazine. We intend this new publication to be one more tool in the fraud-fighting arsenal. This magazine will be directed into the households of America and will educate the potential victims on the recognition and avoidance of scams. Fraud Prevention will warn the elderly about swoop & squats and sweetheart scams, it will warn the small business owner about the telemarketers who just happen to have a supply of copy paper or toner that just happens to be available at a low, low price and it will explain some of the real secrets of the stock market to wary buyers.
To further educate the public, Alikim Media is beginning work on one more project. Television! We’ll soon be pitching a TV show to syndicated programmers and networks. We’re busy on the pilot and collecting future story ideas. Stay tuned—when it happens, you’ll be among the first to know.
And that’s what Alikim Media is going to do to try to make America a nicer place. What are you going to do? Register with your local speakers bureau? Volunteer to be interviewed on talk-radio? Share a few stories with Uncle Sidney and Aunt Rose? There is an immense job to be done and the job is way beyond the ability of just John Cooke.
We need you.
“Alikim Media … fighting fraud through communication and education.
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