While businesses struggle to survive amidst the pandemic and economic crisis, fraud is becoming more prevalent worldwide. Even though there is no arguing just how illegal and damaging fraud is, if you have decided to blow the whistle on illicit fraud operations at your place of work, you need to be aware of your legal rights before doing so. There’s no doubt you are doing your moral duty by calling out individuals involved in fraud, even if your employer is involved. However, you also want to protect your best interests when doing so, as whistleblowing can get ugly.
How To Choose The Right Lawyer
Before you start confronting those involved and put your career in jeopardy, your best first approach is to consult a lawyer. And with that, you will need to know which is the best lawyer for your case. More often than not, when reporting fraud, you will need to find a whistleblower lawyer. This legal expert specializes in whistleblower cases and will know how to handle the situation without harming your professional reputation. Just as you would choose the right personal injury lawyer with caution after experiencing an injury, it is vital to ensure you have the right lawyer on your side when whistleblowing.
Knowing When To Act
Your lawyer will likely advise that you gather evidence to hand over before you take the next step of the process. And time is a crucial element in any whistleblower case. Because whistleblower cases are pretty sensitive, you will likely have a time frame to report the fraudulent activity to authorities. If you stall the case for too long, the outcome could be put in jeopardy.
Knowing How To Be Safe
While there are specific protections in place to protect whistleblowers, you should still know how to blow the whistle in a way that you are safe from implications. For this reason, you should be cautious before reporting fraud internally and instead seek out a professional lawyer to handle the case for you.
Rewards And Protections
In most cases, you will be entitled to a whistleblower reward, which is generally about thirty percent of your report leading to recovery. Most reporting programs also provide protections, such as allowing you to remain anonymous while reporting fraud. Be sure to do your research to determine what rewards and protections are made available to you when whistleblowing on fraudulent activity. Your lawyer will also help you understand these details if you aren’t too sure.
Understand What Defines Fraud
It may sound like a complete no-brainer, although you can’t report fraud if you are not entirely sure what defines fraud. So before you start searching for a lawyer or determining how much reward you are entitled to, you should first research to determine what fraud is. If you have witnessed suspicious activity and aren’t entirely sure if it is a fraud, you should consult a lawyer to help you iron out the situation. It is crucial to understand what fraud is, as you may have witnessed something that isn’t defined as fraud. A bit of research can go a long way when blowing the whistle on crimes within your place of work.
