Benford’s Law Exposes Fake Numbers

Benford’s Law says that in real-world data, roughly 30% of numbers start with "1," whether the data involves stock prices, city populations, or electric bills. Forensic accountants use this pattern because naturally occurring numbers often follow it in ways people do not expect. When someone fabricates numbers, they tend to spread the first digits more evenly or choose digits that feel random. That mismatch can help investigators flag suspicious financial records for deeper fraud checks.

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