Common Signs of Internal Fraud in the Workplace

May 3, 2017

Recent statistics show that employee theft is the single biggest loss to retailers in the US. This is an alarming insight into the criminal activity that is happening in workplaces across the country. However, fraud is not confined to the retail industry, and many cases of fraud are reported in businesses of all kinds on a regular basis.

Furthermore, internal fraud can be so well planned that it is difficult to spot. It is often made harder by the fact that the person committing the crime is someone that is trusted, and they may even be seen as a friend by many people in the company.

Unfortunately, for different reasons, people are tempted to commit internal fraud from taking a small amount of cash from the till and intending to replace it to stealing large sums of money. If you have been involved in or falsely accused of internal fraud, then you should seek the advice of a Dallas criminal defense attorney.

If you are running a business, then internal fraud can be a huge problem for your company. That is why it is important to set up policies and practices that will limit your vulnerability to be targeted by an act of internal fraud. There are so many shapes and forms of internal fraud that it is hard to know exactly what to look out for. However, there are some signs that you should take into account and be wary of:

Changes in lifestyle that are unusual for their level of income. For example, buying expensive cars or clothes. That is not to say that it is a clear sign as people may have received an inheritance, saved up, taken out a loan or have a partner that can afford the items.
Unusual behavior, especially if they are staying late or arriving early when no one else is in the office, and this is out of character, or you are not seeing any work output from the early/late hours.
Unwillingness to take holidays. If someone is committing a regular type of fraud, they are worried that they will get found out when they take a holiday.
Unusual expense claims. If your company doesn’t have a strict review process for any personal expense claims, then you might want to invest into it. People can submit over-exaggerated or completely false expense claims whether it is fuel costs that didn’t exist or other expenses that they didn’t pay out.

Internal fraud is not always a case of people stealing money or equipment. Some criminals make money out of stealing data, for example; selling on details of a motor claim to injury claim management companies. Therefore, there are many different forms of internal fraud that you need to be aware of.

Make sure that you have enough IT security processes and other preventions in place to avoid internal fraud in your business. Developing a Code of Conduct is a good way of making employees aware of what is classed as internal fraud and the potential consequences.