The criminal mind of a fraudster

On his blog, Sam E. Antar warns that white-collar criminals see the world around them as opportunities. According to Antar, white-collar criminals consider other people’s humanity, ethics and good intentions as qualities to exploit. He writes, “We measure our effectiveness by the comfort level of our victims, and we increase our victim’s comfort level by building walls of false integrity around ourselves.”

“It’s a paradox,” says Antar. “The more humane society is, the easier it is to commit crimes. Humanity limits your behavior, but it doesn’t limit our behavior because we’re immoral human beings. One’s humanity might consist of one’s morals, standards of conduct, goodwill, ethics, sense of fairness, giving one the benefit of the doubt, and belief in the rule of law. The things that make you a good person make me a more capable criminal.” (See “A Convicted Felon’s View of White-Collar Crime,” White Collar Fraud, updated Nov. 21, 2023.)