Open letter to would-be fraudster

Dear Mr/Mrs Would-Be Fraudster:

I know you read this blog… I can see the search engine terms that you used to find “Fraud Happens”.

So, you want to commit fraud and don’t want your employer to catch you? I am glad that I can help! What have you learned from reading this blog?

Well, you’ve probably learned that committing fraud really isn’t that hard to do, and you may end up with millions of dollars. You may have also learned that working with a co-conspirator has its downside. If you work at a large company, you probably know that they respond to fraud losses differently than small companies. If you’re a government employee, you found out that fraud in the public sector can be just as damaging as fraud in the private sector. Finally, you may now know what could happen if you are caught. I guess that you are trying to determine if you would serve time, or merely receive a “slap on the wrist”. I hope you also learned that fraud destroys lives.

So what have you decided to do? Is the probability of getting caught so low that are willing to take the risk? Have you thought about how you’ll spend the money? Maybe you want to punish your employer? After all, you really don’t get paid enough…

Before you make the leap and begin stealing, do this for me… Close your eyes and begin to envision what your world would look like if you ended up getting caught. Will your significant other stay with you? How about the kids, will they understand why the new toys you just bought have to go back to the store? Will they want to visit your new “home” – the one with all the other “bad people” wearing the same clothes? What about your parents? How do explain your decision to embezzle money from your employer? After all they have tried to teach you, if only you had listened…

I understand why you are tempted to commit fraud. You and I both know that there is a chance that you’ll steal just enough to pay off overdue bills or buy that fancy car you’ve always wanted and not get caught.

Just remember this… there are people just like me all over the world that have dedicated their careers to fighting fraud. We’re not always perfect and we do make mistakes. However, for the most part, we’re really good at what we do. I hope you learned a great deal from reading my blog. If you’ve learned anything, I hope you’ve decided not to commit fraud. Contrary to what many would like to believe, fraud doesn’t have to happen. Ball’s in your court…

Paul McCormack

Need a writer that understands fraud? When you hire me to write an article, blog post, newsletter or white paper you get an accomplished writer that is also an expert in fraud.

paul@mccormackwrites.com