Successfully Perpetrating Fraud
Have you daydreamed about committing fraud at your company? There is a right and a wrong way to engage in fraud, and if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly.
Fear not… I’m not really recommending that you perpetrate fraud against your company. I’m simply putting a humorous spin on this serious topic. This piece is really meant to help business owners and executives detect some of the most common fraud red flags.
Remembering that… Here are a few good tips to increase your chances of pulling off a fraud at work.
Don’t Act Suspicious
Don’t protest a lot at work. Don’t blatantly battle against the workpolicies. Make it seem as if you are adhering to the policies and procedures, and do not cause trouble for your co-workers or bosses. You never want to seem like a troublesome employee. These types of employees cause distrust.
Do not discuss or exhibit any dishonest behavior. Do not talk about tricking your associate out of money. Do not brag about how you swindled the drycleaner. Don’t disclose that you filed a false insurance claim. Dishonest behavior in your personal life can make supervisors suspicious about the likelihood that you will commit fraud at work. You don’t want to give them any hints.
Financial issues in your personal life may also cause your supervisor to get suspicious. Saying that you’re underpaid isn’t smart either. Equally as troubling is bragging that you do more work than you’re paid for. The simple rule of thumb is to not give anyone a reason to believe that you need money or would be motivated to steal.
Cooperate With Management
Be helpful at work, but don’t overdo it. While you want to make sure that you’re completing all your job requirements without calling attention to your work. It’s especially imperative that you not volunteer to do projects that give you access to out-of-the ordinary documents, information, or funds. This access could make you look suspect.
If your records are being examined by someone, be as cooperative as possible. It’s important to produce all requested documentation in a orderly fashion. Try to fulfill every request for materials and not give the auditors any reason to believe that you’re concealing anything.
Never Take a Vacation
Of course, when you go on vacation or get sick, one of two things happens. An irate client or supplier calls your workplace, someone starts investigating, and they find out that you’ve been stealing and you are the reason the caller’s account is wrong.
The other option is that all goes well while you’re gone, but when your boss later finds out you are stealing, they compare the suspect records to those from your time off. Of course, management finds that while you were on vacation, all the funds are intact. When you’re around, money goes missing — proof of your guilt.
Other telltale things can happen while you’re on vacation. The IRS can arrive and demand those missing payroll taxes — the ones you’ve been stealing instead of sending in. Or a check from your company could unexpectedly bounce, leading a co-worker to look more closely at the bank account, thereby uncovering your theft. There is always the chance that an overdue notice from a vendor might arrive in the mail while you’re gone, also revealing your theft. You don’t want to take any chances with these types of things, so show up to work every day.
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE is an author, fraud investigator, and entreprenuer at Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting in Milwaukee and Chicago. She is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud, a book that guides executives, attorneys, and accountants through the topics of fraud detection, investigation, and prevention.
Tags: Finances