A Fraudster’s Mask

Halloween is such a fun time. I love decorating the house and yard with spooky skeletons and scary ghosts. I also enjoy dressing up in a costume, but sometimes I struggle with making a decision. This year I am torn between being a rodeo clown or a scarecrow. Neither one of these options requires a mask because I don’t really like wearing masks. As the title suggests, this blog post is about masks. 

When I was a kid, I had a hairy werewolf mask. Whenever I wore it, I was pretty effective at scaring people, even when it wasn’t Halloween. This was a lot of fun for a while, but the mask was really hot. And, the hotter I got, the more the mask bothered me. The rough interior was scratchy and eventually, I would have to take it off. Adding to the unpleasantness, I really didn’t enjoy scaring people, especially the little kids.

Some masks are scary, others are silly, but a person wearing a mask to work every day isn’t a joke. Fraudsters wear masks to cover up who they really are inside. Their mask reflects an honest, hard-working employee. The world sees them as trustworthy because the mask hides the truth.

So what is the truth? Although there are some exceptions to this explanation, most fraudsters are similar—they are normal people and something(s) in their life or work situation changes. Below is a series of events that explains a fraudster’s mask:

• An employee realizes there is a weakness in the controls that would allow them to take company funds. This is the point when the employee discovers a mask that they could wear.
• The same employee has a significant personal event (e.g., sick relative, spouse loses job, need to buy an expensive car) that requires money. The employee remembers the mask and thinks about trying it on to see if it fits.
• The next event requires the employee to rationalize their behavior (e.g., canceling their vacation, working overtime or weekends, bonus reduction or cut) to steal from the company. This is the point when the employee puts the mask on and doesn’t take it off.
• At first the mask isn’t a burden, but more of a tool to help cover up the fraud. But the longer the mask stays on, the harder it is to take off. Then one day, the mask starts to irritate the fraudster, making them itchy and hot. This comes from the stress of covering up their actions, and it makes the fraudster want to remove the mask by telling the truth.

Once the mask comes off, either voluntarily or through discovery of the scheme, it is like the ending of a Scooby Doo episode when someone pulls off the mask to reveal the true villain. In the example above, we wouldn’t literally pull off a mask, but as the truth is revealed, the itchy, hot mask of dishonesty is removed. This is the turning point for every fraudster because they realize the true impact of their actions. At this point, everyone involved should understand that everyone is on an emotional rollercoaster. I caution all involved against making big decisions during this time because some can be life threatening (a blog for another day).

On a happier note, what do you think—rodeo clown or scarecrow? I wish you and your families a happy and safe Halloween.

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