Loss Prevention: The Importance of Understanding the Fraud Triangle

Domain III: Loss Prevention – Internal Theft and Fraud

In loss prevention, the importance of understanding and being able to apply the fraud triangle is of the utmost importance for the prevention, detection, and investigation of internal theft and fraud. The fraud triangle states that individuals are motivated to commit crime when three elements come: (1) perceived pressure, (2) perceived opportunity, and (3) some way to rationalize the theft or fraud as not being inconsistent with one’s values.

As surveillance and security professionals we see the fraud triangle in action every day, but we often don’t recognize that using it to identify the elements prior to an event will aid us in deterring the crime from occurring at all or detecting it before it becomes costly.

This session will address understanding the fraud triangle and using it to protect your property.