WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |White collar crimes; temptation at work
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LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) -- People who work with financial data with access to company or customer accounts may face more temptations for wrongdoing than most.
Professor Kimberly Vogt studies the criminal mind and says to some, there's temptation at the workplace.
"They often seek out money in places where they can get access to it. And they use that, usually in their minds, with the thought of paying back at some point later on. So they often think of it as a loan," she says.
These crimes often center around issues in the personal realm, like financial hardship or possibly pride. But once the criminal act starts, it's hard to stop.
"What happens in a lot of criminal activity, whether we're talking about white collar crimes or more typical crimes, is that you and I start out with something small, and we become successful at that. There's some sort of reward that comes to us, whether it's not getting caught or some kind of financial reward that might happen. Then we get comfortable," she says.
"Because it's easy, because you didn't get caught, you think the same the next time and do it again," says attorney Ellen Frantz.
Frantz imagines workplace crimes happen more often than reported but still says it's not extremely common.
"Most people are honest. Most of us are not going to do something that blatant," Frantz says.
But Frantz says victims of crimes most likely do not expect the crime to happen.
Both Frantz and Vogt advise a system of checks and balances for employers on those handling finances.
That will lower the temptation by raising the odds of getting caught, and in turn, help keep business dollars in the right hands.
For employers, it's not always worth the hassle to drag an employee through the criminal procedure.
The person may be fired. The employer may choose to provide bad references or even try to stop unemployment benefits instead.
