by Tim Lemieux

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According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners companies lose 5% of their annual revenues to fraud, with a median loss amount of $145,000. And law firms are not immune to this.

The Lawyers Mutual of North Carolina blog has posted a “profile of a fraudster“, that can help firms learn to spot the red flags of lawyers or staff who might be engaged in fraud. Do they seem to live beyond their means? Have instability in their personal lives? Complain about inadequate pay or excessive workloads? Reluctant to take a vacation or leave the office for extended periods? Obviously any of those things on their own are not indications of fraud, but if several of the red flags described in the blog are present it might be worth looking closer at that person.

LAWPRO has also written on the topic of “fraud on the inside“, in the Fall 2008 issue of LAWPRO Magazine.

Categories: Fraud Prevention