The Fraudster who will do anything to be liked

Dr Sheridan (2010)  found that there appeared to be a type of fraudster who flourishes in an organisational environment that she named as the Likeable Fraudster, as this type of fraudster is difficult to find, they are like timebombs – able to detonate at any moment without warning and start their fraudulent activities. With executive fraud you will be unlikely to know about this for a long time, no matter what audits are done or close checking. There was one example in her study, up to 5 years for one company and the trusted fraudster milked over $15M in the process.

The Likeable Fraudster  is friendly and has the support of his or her staff and are generally liked by them very much. So much so, you have to be careful about the termination of this fraudster, as you will most likely lose your key staff when the fraud is uncovered. But let’s start at the investigation of who is the most likely person.

Apart from using Emotive Profiling, most current technologies involving detecting this type of fraudster, unfortunately, work after the event.

Modus Operandii

Likeable fraudsters actually do not like defrauding the company or non-profit organisation. In fact, one fraudster

Revealing the true identity of a Likeable Fraudster

talked about throwing up after each false transaction he put in the books to cover up his fraud. They know that they are doing wrong and it doesn’t sit well with their conscience.

They may wear ‘quiet’ expensive jewellery, such as white gold or platinum jewelley or watches that look like stainless steel or silver, or talk about moving to new homes etc. Some employers, after the frauds were discovered, were shocked to find out that the employee concerned was a member of a high roller section of the local casino, another was stunned to find out that their trusted person was the best horse punter that the betting agency had. This was even after  a number of items appearing at work from the betting agency, such as cases of expensive wine, perfume and holiday travel tickets.

The Likeable Fraudster will have a highly negative emotional profile, which will be kept from others. They feel that they cannot disclose their negativity as people around them will not like them for who they really are. They put on a mask of being likeable as well as forms of appeasement behaviour. This means that they can hide in the company or NPO for years. For instance, one case served 15 years before he started stealing. Many will be long-serving employees who are known for their trustworthiness, and they stay like that until the moment of detonation.

It was found in Dr Sheridan’s research that the detonation is a psychological moment where the person suddenly believes that he or she is wealthy and therefore tremendously happy. This is not true but this rationalisation drives the fraudster to make statements to others and believe it totally themselves. This is the problem moment, as how can they fuel their lifestyle if they are wealthy? And this is where the company’s money comes in, they are absolutely compelled to defraud to solve their inner problem of what is known as cognitive dissonance. They live a different reality where they are wealthy and happy, to the inner sanctum where negativity reigns and stealing begins.

Do not think that these people will crumble with this dissonance reigning in their minds. It may take years for that moment to arrive. There is an implosion effect of realising that they are about to be found out and accordingly they will give themselves up. Sometimes events overtake them and they get to be discovered before that moment, but nevertheless the thinking of wealth and happiness disappears when the reality takes over. They feel utterly worthless at this point.

The warning that was given earlier is now expanded upon. The reality of what they have done, and that others will see them for who they really are, will lead to thoughts of suicide. Some have been successful and have killed themselves. But as an employer, there is a a duty of care to all employees including the fraudster, and it is imperative that this suicide threat is taken seriously. Hand the person over to the Police who will know how to deal with such a risk, as well as prosecute for criminal conviction, immediately.

Offer counselling that is truly helpful for all the staff who worked with the fraudster immediately as well. They have to work through their own feelings of anger around the broken trust that they will feel, due to the careful nurturing of this process over many years. If this stage is not handled correctly your key staff will most likely exit over the next few months.

If you have suspicions you must investigate immediately.

We can do an on the spot assessment with the individual in question and evaluate the potential for being this type of fraudster. Often though, they will hand themselves in when they know the game is up.

Annual Screening

The answer to the Likeable Fraudster is to do annual screening of key employees. You can do this yourself using the typology given above. But be aware, you will suddenly be at odds with a person that you trust, and lead to your own feelings of being unfair. It is often better to hire us to do this for you as you too will be very likely under the influence of the Likeable Fraudster’s mask.

Fees

The cost of annual screens will vary upon number of key personnel and type of screening preferred, please Contact Us for a confidential quotation.

Citi Group lost $19M over a 7 year period through Likeable Fraudster Gary Foster stealing due to personal problems – that’s with internal audits and controls.