Opportunity and the Fraud-Related Interview

In this session, presenter Don Rabon explores the opportunity element of Cressey's fraud triangle and shows how it can serve not only as a lens on how fraud is committed but also as a foundation for conducting more effective fraud-related interviews. Reframing the triangle so that pressure/motive becomes heat, opportunity becomes fuel, and rationalization becomes oxygen, Don walks through the case of the missing platinum — a North Carolina manufacturing company that discovered a $100,000 shortfall in its annual scrap-platinum sale-back — to illustrate how pre-interview preparation can shape interview outcomes.

He shares the preparatory steps he uses before any fraud interview: convening informed stakeholders around a flip chart to surface every possible "way" the fraud could occur, applying the Delphi method to rank those options without one voice dominating the room, and mapping the operation through four elements of inquiry — who, where, what, and temporal occurrences. He then introduces his "question generating machine," a hands-on technique that pairs the four elements of inquiry with "if, then, therefore" conditional logic to produce an endless stream of questions before walking into the room.

The session also addresses attentive listening to verbal, vocal, and non-verbal behavior, the timing of open and amplifying questions, the shifting social mores reshaping the modern fraud interview, and the particular challenges of remote and virtual interviews.

List of Topics

1. Cressey's fraud triangle and its reframing as heat (pressure/motive), fuel (opportunity), and oxygen (rationalization)
2. The case of the missing platinum — a North Carolina manufacturing company with a $100,000 scrap-platinum shortfall
3. Avoiding confirmation bias and the risks of interviewing only a single suspect identified up front
4. Using a flip chart with informed stakeholders to brainstorm "a way" (rather than "the way") fraud could occur
5. Applying the Delphi method to privately rank fraud-opportunity options and reach group consensus
6. The four elements of inquiry: who, where, what, and temporal occurrences
7. Identifying operational vulnerabilities across the workflow — purchase authorization, payment, reconciliation, receipt, inventory, requisition, use, recovery, and sale-back
8. The "question generating machine" — pairing the four elements of inquiry with "if, then, therefore" conditional logic
9. Phatic communication, communication baselines, and attentive listening to verbal, vocal, and non-verbal behavior; the timing of open, closed, and amplifying questions
10. Shifting social mores — narcissism, the sense of entitlement, and the "that's my truth" mindset — and implications for remote and virtual fraud interviews