BFA #002| "It'll Never Happen To Us"

Hey hey Fraud Fighters! - Brian here

In today's edition, we break down the Holy Grail of Bad Fraud Advice.

You know you work in fraud if you've heard this one before...

Read Time: 2 Minutes

"It'll never happen to us"

If you overheard leadership saying, “It'll never happen to us”, what would your reaction be?

Would you think anything of it? Would you cringe? Would you correct them?

What would you think of your “boss”?

When we're talking about fraud and abuse, this is the gold standard for pushback.

We might be quick to call this toxic

But is it?

Or is it just ignorance?

I don't think we have enough info at this point

So as a true investigator, we need to well... investigate.

The Problem

We all know it isn't a "will it" or "won't it" situation

It's a "when" and "how bad"?

The challenge is there is no standard of when it'll actually happen

It get's even more confusing when we talk about the nuances and different types of fraud attacks

As much as we would love to break out the crystal ball... or ask ChatGPT

Neither will have an accurate answer for us.

And if leadership hasn't been truly visible of what fraud is

They haven't had a reason to care yet

Yet is the keyword here.

We want them to care before the "when" happens

​What Now?

You have three choices. Choose wisely.

1. Challenge

2. Accept

3. Align

Reading this you probably have an obvious answer that comes to mind.

But the reality is most fraud fighters, take a different path.

Option 1: "What do you mean it'll never happen!? There's no way you believe that."

No one likes to be challenged. Even if they need to be challenged.

This is going to make it very hard to work with you.

Sometimes you just want to shake the sense into them.

But strongly advised you don't literally shake the sense into them.

Option 2: Accept the pushback and go back to your job,

Honestly, this is the easiest option out of them all.

That's why this is the default response.

But how do you actually feel as the fraud fighting expert just going back to your desk (or bedroom) to just do your job.

You sit there knowing you can't actually do your job because you need to get around this obstacle.

You're torn.

But the other options are scary.

Option 3. Be the investigator you are.

Do they actually believe this?

Why do they think this?

What happened for them to feel that way?

What motivates them?

What impacts their day?

What is the exact language they use to describe fraud?​

Figure out how they think, be observant and it'll be much easier to align with their goals.

In other words, you'll talk with them not at them.

The more you can answer the easier it'll be to position yourself as the expert and become their trusted partner.

So where do we go with this...?

The goal is to have a fraud fighter with a permanent seat at "The Table".

2023 is the year of the Chief Trust Officer

I can't do this alone.

I can show you the way.

But I need your help.

We've got a lot to accomplish this year.

See you again next Friday in your inbox.

​Brian