Profiling the White-Collar Criminal: Hiding in Plain Sight
White-collar criminals share many characteristics but their two dominating traits are that they are high risk tolerant and have an extraordinary ability to blend into their environment. This is because they don’t wear their criminal intentions openly (physically, professionally, socially, or even within their family) which makes them nearly impossible to detect.
Most people tend to think of criminals as thugs who reside in a negative social environment, talk tough, live on the fringe of society, run with the “wrong” crowd, are unapproachable, wear sloppy attire, and are people to steer clear of. But white-collar criminals can think and act like a neurotypical person which gives them the ability to blend well in polite society. They are highly approachable, family and community oriented, are excellent at their job, and most people unknowingly hangout with these criminals on a regular basis. Hiding in plain sight is what makes white-collar criminals so dangerous.
Because most white-collar crimes are committed by those with socio-economic privilege, in many cases, even perps don’t see themselves as criminally minded. This is because not only can they easily manipulate others, but due to compartmentalizing their ethics they develop low functioning internal controls which also leads to self-manipulation that results in skewed rationalizations. Along those lines, unlike the hardened criminal, most people (including perps) don’t see white-collar criminals as being threatening to them or to others (unless they themselves were victims of the crime) and are more shocked by the behavior than the crime itself.
There have been many books, white-papers, and academic dissertations on the behavior analysis of white-collar criminals and the motivations behind their actions. Although these studies are a valid endeavor, they are obviously based on interviews of perps who have previously committed a white-collar crime and ended up in prison, rather than those who only have intent. In other words, a perp who has been (or is) incarcerated for performing an occupational crime and suffered the dire consequences has insights on their behavior that are very different than those who have only contemplated a crime. While the data compiled for these studies gives us some insights into the white-collar criminal, they provide no worthwhile data that would prevent these crimes from occurring.
As a white-collar innocent spouse advocate, over the past eight years I have interviewed over two hundred white-collar innocent spouses from around the globe which has provided me with a front row seat behind the scenes of as many occupational crimes, many of which have made national and global headlines. Between a billion-dollar civil judgement and a $250,000 mortgage scam, I’ve seen it all. The sad fact is that I am so accustomed to dealing with cases into the millions of dollars (and all of the horrific issues that high-dollar financial crimes bring), that when wives contact me about crimes that are under $100,000, it’s a walk in the park to guide them through it. But regardless of the dollar amount, my unique vantage point into the inner workings of white-collar criminals is through the lens of those who trusted the men behind these crimes the most, and goes far beyond the sensational headlines that these crimes generate.
For those who are interested in taking a deeper look into the inner workings of the white-collar criminal, the WCWP offers a 45 minute webinar titled Profiling the White-Collar Criminal which is part of a first of its kind six module anti-fraud course titled A New Perspective on Deterrence. This course can be presented in its entirety or as stand alone 45 minute webinars. The Introduction to the course is available upon request. Please contact Lisa Lawler at lawlerlisa1@gmail.com or visit thewhitecollarwivesproject.org for more information.