The behavioural aspects of fraud and embezzlement

Abstract

Someone about to commit fraud is subject to two strong forces, which are internal and external. A series of motivational syndromes that can result in fraud is identified in this article. The author shows that there seems to be nothing definite on which one can generalize about the behavioural relationships related to fraud. The best that research has to offer is a knowledge of the ‘weak spots’ in identifying potential exposure to fraud and, then, on an after‐the‐fact basis, pointers as to the motivations and circumstances that combined to generate the fraud.