Crooked

The seduction of fraud is just too much. We have been confronted with brazen fraud at work involving (of course) money poached from services to clients and total disregard of systems designed to forestall these indecent intentions.  Last week, we heard about famous speeches being plagiarized with specific ideas being passed on as original thoughts by an esteemed personality. Another perfect form of fraud.

When money is at the center of fraud, we think that the crime shall naturally resolve itself as long as control measures are operational to eventually reveal deviations from norms.Intellectual fraud is akin but has severe moral dimensions. If fraud finds its resolution in legal systems, why is it that we are too horrified to discover it and even wish that it may as well not occur. Even if the system provides for the resolution of fraud, I do not think that anybody wishes to deal with it least of which the legal prosecutors. The act leaves a scar and to a great extent ruins the personality of the criminal. Even the offended party finds it uncomfortable if not difficult to recover from the experience and furthermore runs deep when the experience takes place at a personal level.

To say however that fraud is here to stay is dismissive and defeatist. I'd say that to be keenly aware that it may happen anytime anywhere puts us in a prepared state and gears us to prevent it from happening. That way, we feel less disappointed, not destroyed, and immediately able to recover.