Priority Planning

There are many signs, that often go unnoticed, until a fraud is discovered. These could be changes in lifestyle, changes in the level of secrecy and changes in how finances are handled. Looking back, my clients often notice blaring signs of financial infidelity. Mailing addresses could be changed, bills are no longer appearing, passwords are changed on accounts, their spouse has more (less) money than they did before or is behaving differently.  We all need to be more tuned into changes in other people and not ignore or just not care until it’s too late. Finances in families should be “transparent” and subject to the open-book test. If you feel you are being shoved aside and not allowed into the finances, you need to stop and ask yourself “why?” It could be that bad behavior is present in the other party and they do not want to be discovered.

This is the first blog in a series dedicated to uncovering  and preventing fraud within families and businesses. As a Certified Fraud Examiner, I will be posting weekly tips and techniques on how to detect and prevent fraud.