Don’t Ever Let Them Take Your Fraud Fighting Spirit

Frank McKenna

May 3, 2022

You were born to do this. You live for it. You’re a fraud fighter and you always have been. Whether you’re an investigator, fraud analyst, fraud manager, or fraud technology creator you love your job.

You bounce up out of bed in the morning ready to make a difference; ready to stop some bad guys and change the world.

You believe everything is possible. You know constant change and energy is essential to stopping fraud so you bring that energy to work every single day.

So you come up with new ideas and ways to stop fraud. You make recommendations for improvements. You identify new risk and trends and raise red flags if you see fraud trends brewing on the horizon. You educate your company, your industry and literally anyone that will listen on how to stop fraud.

And it is that energy and that spirit that drives change around you.

Many Will Fight You. Many Might Not Listen.

You are going to run across a lot of people that want to take your fraud fighting spirit. They are going to try to take away energy, and that enthusiasm away from you.

They won’t believe what you say. They will doubt your recommendations. They will say the risk is just not there. They will say, you’re imagining it. They will say you are wrong.

Whatever. Just know deep inside that you are not.

It might be people in the company you work for. It might even be your boss. Or maybe it’s your bosses boss.

Whatever. Don’t let them stop you.

It might even be the industry you work in. They just don’t want to adopt the changes. They want to stay with the status quo.

Whatever. Don’t let them stop you.

Don’t let the naysayers, the pessimist, the nonbelievers take away your spirit.

It might take months for the truth to be revealed. It might take years, but someday they will realize you are right. You will be proven right in the end. So don’t give up.

You Will Spend 80% Of Your Day Convincing Others To Do The Right Thing

Stopping fraudsters is the easy part of your job. The hardest part of your job is convincing people to let you do it.

In fact, if you’re like most fraud manager you will spend 80% of your day in meetings and conference calls trying to communicate to others in your company to let you do your job.

People will complain that you are blocking too many transactions. People will ask you to turn off fraud strategies. People will tell you why they don’t need fraud controls on a new product. People will tell you there is no budget for a new fraud technology or more staff.

Your job is to convince them all that they are wrong. And that’s why you need to bring your A game to work every day. Not only do you have to be a great fraud manager, but you have to be a great communicator, motivator, and leader too.

Why History Will Prove You Right

History proves fraud fighters and whistleblowers right in the end. And that is what should keep you going.

Every fraud fighter has a story of how they raised the red flag but were ignored.

Here are 4 fraud fighters that I greatly admire. Each had inspiring stories of how they raised the red flag and never wavered even when no one else would listen to them.

What is your story? Can you relate to these fraud fighters and their struggle?

Remember Your 3 SuperPowers

There are 3 superpowers that every fraud manager needs if they are going to be successful. Tenacity. Conviction. Optimism.

If you are a fraud manager you need to have thick skin and you need to wake up every day and remember that these 3 qualities will carry you through the day.

#1 Tenacity

Great fraud managers are tenacious. People tell them no hundreds of times. But they don’t care. It’s because most people hate change. They know that if they are going to change their company, the industry, or the world that they need to be tenacious.

#2 Conviction

Great fraud managers believe in themselves. They believe that fraud prevention is about the greater good – to protect consumers, to protect victims, to protect people around them. They have conviction in that belief and it drives them each and every day.

#3 Optimism

People don’t follow pessimist. The follow optimist. Great fraud managers know that they need perpetual optimism to get people to listen and to follow them. They are not complainers. They are doers. They are agents of positive change.

So when people try to take your fraud spirit away from you. Just remember these 3 traits and embody them. They will carry you through.

Always Remember Who You Are Fighting For

When times get rough. When you start to despair, just remember why you do this job in the first place – for the people you help.

Remember the victims – every time you stop a fraud case you are helping protect someone from the headache of fraud.

Remember the elderly – they are so often the victims of fraud and oftentimes you are the only one that might have their back.

Remember your family and friends – 40% of Americans will be victims of fraud in the next 2-5 years, that means almost everyone will be impacted – including your family and friends.

Remember consumers – when you stop a fraud your helping keep the cost down for everyone, protecting our economy and ensuring a viable financial system for all. That is something to be proud of.

Remember your company – they hired you to do this. So whether they like what you have to say or not, just remember it’s not only your passion, its what you get paid to do!