What would you do if you suspected fraud was taking place at your company? You could ignore it and hope it wasn't true. You could investigate it yourself and potentially open the company to liability. You could even report it to law enforcement and hope they investigate it.

The best course of action is to report the suspected fraud to your loss prevention team, gather as many details about the fraud as possible without confronting the suspect(s), and hire a fraud examiner to conduct an investigation.

The outside examiner will be neutral, above internal politics, and not emotionally connected to anyone in the company.

They will conduct a probe, interview witnesses and suspects, obtain a confession and resignation, and often procure restitution. They'll also help you close gaps in your risk prevention program.

Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney believes that people are more likely to lie if they believe they're working toward a noble cause. For example, while Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, knew her product wasn't delivering accurate diagnostic information, "she convinced herself the cause was noble and the ends justified the means."

It's that same attitude Richard Sackler took in arguing that Perdue aggressively peddled Oxycontin to Americans in pain and why Jeff Skilling believed that unfettered markets were a catalyst for social good.

"Most people want to believe that there are good people and there are bad people, and that the fraudsters know they are committing a terrible crime and do it anyway, like the Mafia," says Gibney.

Remote work is making it possible for employees to skirt your traditional internal security measures. Not only are they working outside your offices but also outside your network. This can lead to increased levels of fraud.

"From small acts of theft such as sharing customer contacts with a competitor, to crimes such as embezzlement, remote work can make it easier for managers to miss signals that someone may be likely to act," writes Jay Godse in Security Magazine.

In addition to establishing best practices around reporting potential risks, you should update your training program to help managers stay connected with employees.

IAS can train your managers to identify red flags of fraud, reduce blind spots and gather data about potential frauds and fraudsters.

I've worked with John Capizzi and Internal Audit Services for over 27 years. I have referred many of my clients who have suspected internal theft to IAS. John and his team are responsive and thorough. In many cases, they have obtained conclusive evidence along with confessions that resolve the matter.

IAS can help you identify, deter, investigate and resolve fraud in your company. We can audit your internal controls, create a loss prevention and internal audit program, conduct loss prevention workshops, and most importantly investigate suspected fraud.

Our investigations can obtain signed confessions, restitution and even prosecutions.