Researchers report statistical features of a European Union international trading market in which the Newcomb-Benford Law, a law of the likely distribution of digit occurrence, is expected to hold, as well as conditions in which the law does not hold; according to the authors, the findings may lead to the development of an automated method for flagging suspicious patterns of transactions in international trade.
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Article #18-06617: "Newcomb-Benford law and the detection of frauds in international trade," by Andrea Cerioli, Lucio Barabesi, Andrea Cerasa, Mario Menegatti, and Domenico Perrotta.
MEDIA CONTACT: Andrea Cerioli, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Isptra, ITALY; email: JRC-PRESS@ec.europa.eu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences