ABSTRACT
Many organizations are woefully unprepared when they discover the symptoms of corporate fraud. Within hours of suspicions being aroused, the investigation is irreparably compromised through incompetence, panic, disbelief, ignorance or, because the managers put in charge of getting the money back were preoccupied with protecting their own backsides. Putting inexperienced, ignorant, possibly culpable and sometimes crooked employees in charge of an investigation that could result in their own shortcomings being exposed is like asking the monkeys to distribute peanuts equally. The Head of Security for a pharmaceuticals company was concerned that its products were being counterfeited, and he retained a small firm of private investigators to look into some competitors based in the Eastern Mediterranean. Good planning and an effective policy are the answers to fraud's deadly sins. Fidelity insurance should be the final safety net against major fraud, yet it is more often a trampoline.
