Could you ever imagine perpetrating fraud at your job? There is a right and a wrong way to perpetrate fraud, and if you’re going to try it, you might as well do it right.

Rest easy… I’m not actually proposing that you commit fraud against your employer. I’m just putting a humorous twist on this serious topic. This piece is really intended to help business owners and executives detect some of the most common fraud red flags.

Keeping that in mind… Here are some valuable guidelines to increase your chances of getting away with a fraud at work.

Don’t Act Suspicious
Don’t complain a lot at work. Don’t obviously battle against the workrules. Make it appear as if you are adhering to the policies and procedures, and do not cause trouble for your co-workers or managers. You never want to seem like a problem employee. These types of employees cause distrust.

Do not discuss or exhibit any dishonest behavior. Do not talk about cheating your neighbor out of money. Do not boast about how you swindled the drycleaner. Don’t admit that you filed a false insurance claim. Deceitful behavior in your personal life can make bosses suspicious about the chances that you will engage in fraud at work. You don’t want to offer them any clues.

Financial issues in your personal life may also cause your boss to get concerned. Saying that you’re underpaid isn’t wise 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 your co-workers a reason to believe that you need money or would be motivated to commit fraud.

Cooperate With Management
Be cooperative at work, but don’t exaggerate it. While you want to make certain that you’re doing all your job responsibilities without calling attention to your work. It’s especially important that you not volunteer to do things that give you access to unusual documents, information, or funds. This access could make you look suspicious.

If your records are being examined by anyone, be as compliant as possible. It’s important to produce all required documentation in a timely fashion. Try to fulfill every request for documents and not give them any reason to think that you’re hiding something.

Never Take a Vacation
Of course, when you go on vacation or get sick, one of two things happens. An irate client or vendor calls your workplace, someone starts looking into it, and they find out that you’ve been stealing and you are the reason the caller’s account is incorrect.

The other option is that all goes fine while you’re gone, but when your boss later finds out you are stealing, they compare the suspicious records to those from your vacation time. Of course, they find that while you were on vacation, all the funds are intact. When you’re around, funds go missing — proof of your guilt.

Other telltale things can happen while you’re on vacation. The IRS can show up 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 someone to look carefully at the checking account, thereby revealing your theft. There is always the possibility that an overdue notice from a vendor might arrive in the mail while you’re off, also revealing your theft. You don’t want to take any chances with these types of things, so come 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.

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