Government investigators work hard every day to identify fraud for an obvious reason. By removing employees who commit fraud and seeking the return of illegally gained money, they are protecting taxpayer dollars. The results of these efforts (along with efforts to reduce waste) are available for any citizen to see, in dollars and cents, on oversight.gov.
But the amount of fraud stopped by catching one bad apple is actually heavily under-reported by these numbers. Fraud adds up – a fraudster who isn’t caught is likely to commit fraud over and over again. But it also multiplies if it’s left unchecked. Here’s how.
- A co-worker observes fraud: While you might assume the most dangerous fraud is one that flies under the radar, the most dangerous ones are actually the ones that are witnessed by co-workers. Some of this fraud, goes unreported, but according to The Anti-Fraud Coalition, three quarters of people in the US who see behavior they consider misconduct report it.
- The crime goes unpunished: Whether the case goes unreported or cannot be fully substantiated, the employee involved in the fraud goes unpunished.
Tip providers are likely to face retaliation whether or not their tip was substantiated, however. In fact, 53% of all people who report misconduct report facing retaliation. This extremely high number points to the potential danger employees face when reporting misconduct. Retaliation can come in many forms – including actions that are never known by anyone outside of the team and sometimes only by the perpetrator and the victim. - If they can get away with it…: After witnessing this series of events, some other team members may begin to siphon money for themselves as well. In fact, the Harvard Business Review reports that each instance of misconduct leads to an additional 0.59 cases of misconduct due to peer effects.
To learn how CMTS can help your team close cases and increase tips, call us at 855-636-5361 or email us at Team_CMTS@SecureCaseManagement.com.