I was talking to a friend the other day. He told me how his father was defrauded by someone who came to his father’s company promising to take on a partner. The fraud was discovered when this person, who was in the same industry, gave the checks his father had signed to a third party. Their lives were turned upside down, and he was forced to start a new life for himself.
Frankly, what struck me most about these stories was his statement, “This person ruined our lives and is walking around freely. He’s defrauded others before us with similar scams, and he’s perfectly comfortable. He’s destroyed people’s lives, and he doesn’t care. Unfortunately, the bad guys always stay with what they’ve done.”
I told him, “If there’s nothing legally that can be done and you think this guy got away with what he did, believe me, there’s divine justice. He’ll get away with it one way or another. A traffic accident, family problems, bankruptcy, etc., will inevitably happen. Don’t worry.”
My friend responded, “After what I’ve experienced, I’ve come to believe there is no divine justice. Because nothing happens to these evil people. Evil is growing around us.” Finally, I told him, “Be patient. You will see with your own eyes how these evil people collapse in their own lifetimes.”
Cases I’ve personally been defrauded
I’ve had a similar conversation to the one above many times, in different places, with different acquaintances. People who were defrauded by their partners, employees, spouses, relatives, friends, consultants. Everyone I talk to has a story. The list goes on. People complain to each other.
In fact, I’ve experienced it myself, let alone know the people who were defrauded. My former accounting manager transferred money directly to his own account. My business development manager at a renewable energy company committed fraud in land purchases and the purchase of some equipment. I filed lawsuits against both. Among the lawsuits is a criminal case. Filing a lawsuit against my employee was a first for me. Considering that there are other professionals who have worked with me in these positions in the past, I will list the names of those who defrauded me so as not to raise suspicions against them and to protect yourself if you cross paths with these fraudsters. The accounting manager who defrauded me is Nevzat Işık, and the business development manager is İzzet Giray Ablay. For your information.
I also experienced a similar incident within my circle. I won’t go into detail, but I can say that I was defrauded. I took all the cases to court. I did, but there are gaps in the Turkish legal system. Those who perpetrate these frauds are often those who are aware of the gaps in Turkish law and exploit them. It takes time to reach a conclusion, it’s too late, and you suffer serious damage.
You turn on the news and see different scams every day. Not only companies, but also individuals, even those who cannot defend themselves, such as the elderly and disabled, can be targeted. There are all kinds of scams, from scams using the names of non-governmental organizations to those defrauded through easily manipulated commercial instruments like checks and promissory notes. There are all sorts of methods, from those who find loopholes in company operations and defraud their employers, to those employed by banking professionals who exploit the bank’s system to their advantage and embezzle funds.
Mass fraud cases are also on the rise. From those who sell houses based on models and fail to deliver (some even fail to hammer a nail, collecting the money before fleeing the country), to those who deceive people by claiming their farm produce and then fleeing abroad, there are numerous disgraceful examples of mass defrauding the public.
“Wow” Scams
We witness different kinds of cases every week. I’d like to share two fraud cases that caught my attention last week. First, news of Ford Otosan, Turkey’s largest automotive manufacturer, being defrauded broke the media. Ford Otosan, which was defrauded by two of its employees, reportedly lost approximately 250 million Turkish Lira. You read that right. Approximately 250 million Turkish Lira. Ford Otosan released the following statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP):
“As a result of the internal audits conducted at our company, the team leader responsible for dealer receivables and the employee monitoring dealer receivables determined that irregularities were committed by the team leader responsible for dealer receivables and the employee monitoring dealer receivables, including irregularities in dealer current accounts and direct debit system limits, as well as misrepresentation of dealer receivables and risks, were committed. Our investigation into the matter is ongoing.”
You can read this jaw-dropping news at https://www.bugunkocaeli.com.tr/haber/6518086/ford-otosanda-usulsuzluk-iddiasi-2478-milyon-lira-tazminat-davasi-acildi .
Another news story surfaced regarding Bursa İskender Kebap Şirketi, a renowned İskender Kebap restaurant known throughout Turkey. I am sharing an excerpt from the news: It was determined that they were canceling their opened bills, opening single bills for multiple tables, and selling thousands of kilos of kebabs straight from the grill without even opening a bill. It was learned that the employees who defrauded the company of millions of lira in this way were vacationing in European cities like Paris and Rome. You can read the detailed news at https://www.msn.com/tr-tr/haber/gundem/%C3%BCnl%C3%BC-firmaya-doland%C4%B1r%C4%B1c%C4%B1l%C4%B1k-%C5%9Foku-%C3%A7al%C4%B1%C5%9Fanlar-vurgun-yapt%C4%B1/ar-BB1e44bM?ocid=entnewsntp .
It makes you want to say “Boo!”, doesn’t it? We’re sick and tired of reading news like this every day. In an increasingly corrupt environment, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do your job properly and maintain a quality life. In my articles, I usually identify the problem and then suggest solutions. There are many ways to proactively prevent and minimize fraud. I’d like to share my thoughts with you:
1) Abolishing the check/promissory note system
I believe that the use of checks/promissory notes, which are the easiest to commit fraud, should be abolished. The only solution to problems such as easy signature forgery, people being tricked into signing checks/promissory notes and then being seized, and the classic scourge of the check/promissory note mafia, is to eliminate them completely. The easily manipulated check/promissory note system can be eliminated and replaced with fintech technologies that operate entirely on blockchain technology and absolutely prevent manipulation.
2) Blockchain technology
Blockchain technologies, which are impervious to manipulation and become operational after receiving confirmation from all parties—buyer, seller, service provider, and service user—should be incorporated into every aspect of our lives. For example, agreements should also be made on blockchain. In other words, an agreement should not be considered valid without the confirmation of the elements in the agreement terms by the other party and the agreement’s stakeholders. The use of this technology will prevent many frauds. In other words, the classic phrase “Brother, don’t you trust me?” uttered in the language of a fraudster should be eliminated, and no transaction will be processed without the confirmation of the relevant parties and the terms of the contract.
3) Legal Infrastructure
The legal infrastructure needs to be completely overhauled. Judges’ inability to keep up with cases, resulting in each case taking much longer than necessary, fraudsters’ ability to easily manipulate the seizure system, and the lack of swift decision-making mechanisms to immediately end the suffering of citizens victimized by fraud, all make everyone’s job very difficult. Even our judges and prosecutors, who do their best in good faith, are often left hand and foot tied. The very logic of the legal system needs to be changed. For example, the burden of proof should be on the fraudster, not the victim. If someone is defrauded, swift decision-making mechanisms must be established to immediately end their suffering.
4) Penalties should be made harsher and implemented without compromise.
Fraudsters must be punished in the most severe way. In fact, I believe that fraudsters who commit serious crimes, defraud large sums of money, and victimize numerous people should be imprisoned for life. Penalties should be a deterrent. Currently, there are many fraudsters out there who calculate, “I’ll multiply this much money, and if necessary, I’ll serve two years in prison,” and then continue their activities at full speed. You need to impose penalties and enforce them rigorously to prevent those with the inclination to engage in such activities.
5) Identity Transparency and Digital Representation Verification
The general trend is against transparency. I, on the contrary, am in favor of transparency in everything. If you ensure transparency in every aspect, you prevent many problems before they even begin. I’d like to give you an example to illustrate:
If someone finds you and says something like, “I’m calling on behalf of such-and-such NGO, my name is something else, and we’re receiving donations for this campaign,” you need to develop a mechanism to verify that person’s identity. So, who is that person? Does that person have the authority to represent them? Have they committed a crime? Is all the information they provide accurate? There needs to be a mechanism to verify all this. This means if they reach you on your cell phone, it should be done through their cell phone (if you can’t get verification, they’ll disconnect the call and you won’t be able to contact them at all), if they reach you on your computer, it should be done through your computer, etc. Even if someone you encounter on the street tries to contact you in this way, you should be able to verify from their cell phone to yours (via Bluetooth technology).
In addition to a verification mechanism with full transparency of identities and records, a mechanism must also be created to verify power of attorney, or now, the classic notarized power of attorney, in a digital system.
6) A Complete Focus on Specialization/Professionalism in the Private Sector and a Reduction in the Number of Companies
The structure of the private sector needs to be completely transformed. Everyone should be able to establish and operate companies in their own field of expertise. This is because it’s crucial to prevent a company from going bankrupt before reaching expert level, increasing negligence, and thus triggering fraud/fraud.
I can give you this example to illustrate: Imagine a primary school graduate, driven by ample funds, using their connections to establish a construction company and profiting significantly. To increase the profit margin of their construction projects (as if the potential profit wasn’t enough), or due to a lack of capital, that primary school graduate might steal materials and fail to build a building up to standards. Then, in a major earthquake, the building could collapse, and the occupants could lose their lives. This is a form of fraud, and one of the most serious frauds that threatens human life. Thousands of people have lost their lives in past earthquakes because of this. We still haven’t caught on, and unfortunately, the same broken system persists.
And imagine that non-civil engineers aren’t allowed to establish or become partners in construction companies. This immediately disqualifies those with primary school degrees. If a civil engineer is honest (and there are many fraudsters among them) and wants to do their job properly, they would never steal materials even if you held a gun to their head. Because they know the consequences. You automatically eliminate the risk that comes from incompetence and ignorance.
Furthermore, if you ensure that everyone works in their area of expertise, you will significantly reduce the number of companies. This way, not everyone can jump into every field, and you will also reduce the risk of fraud and scams to some extent.
7) Creating Industry Blacklists
In every industry, there are people who defraud people, whose actions have been documented by court orders. A blacklist needs to be created to eliminate these people. Because even if they are penalized by court orders, they continue to do business with ease.
I wrote to you about a project development manager in the renewable energy sector defrauding me. I debated whether to expose this person and spoke with certain industry figures. Ultimately, everyone I spoke to told me, “This will be misunderstood; don’t do this.”
Let me tell you what happened next. While the lawsuit against this person was ongoing, he joined other companies in our sector (I don’t know which ones, but if I knew, I would have called and warned them), and I received word indirectly that those companies had also been defrauded, and that they were even searching everywhere for him.
If there were a blacklist system, every serious company in the sector would look at this list before hiring someone and make their decision accordingly. This way, you can weed out the bad apples in the industry and prevent others from getting hurt.
I’ve raised this issue at many industry meetings, but I haven’t received much support. I’m writing this here for the record. Even if there’s no support, I will establish this system one day. Transparency is transparency. It’s important to ensure that those who are inclined think twice before committing fraud, and that those who do wrong are weeded out of the industry.
8) Preventing Fraud in Fintech
Working in fintech, I’ve seen firsthand how widespread fraud can be. The situation is dire. You need to prepare your systems for all kinds of risks. Those who are defrauded blame fintech companies because they don’t know their business. Fintech companies need to be able to analyze their clients at least as effectively as banks. They also need to constantly update their systems. Different fraud methods and software programs emerge from time to time. Professionals with a deep understanding of these matters must be at the helm.
9) Education
- a) Educating the public about fraudsters: Public service announcements should be broadcast on TV on these topics, and citizens should be regularly informed about emerging scams. This can be done via email or mobile phone text messages.
- b) Education of young people: Starting in high school, when they begin to understand, young people should be educated about various scams (so that they can keep their eyes open). We should also strive to ensure that young people who are prone to deception or fraud understand that it’s no joke and that penalties are severe, and that they are raised as honest individuals.
- c) Education of parents: Honesty should be instilled as a fundamental principle in children’s upbringing. As the number of children raised with honesty increases, fraud will naturally decrease. To achieve this, parents must be educated and ensured they take the necessary steps. If necessary, children in all families should be monitored by relevant psychologists. This effort may take generations; it requires patience and long-term planning. Only by raising children with strict parenting and honesty can you minimize the future of social corruption.
In conclusion, events such as deceiving another person, dishonesty, fraud, or extortion have been etched in the dark pages of human history since the very beginning. However, due to the challenges, current climate, and the corruption of humanity in our time, these disgraceful events have reached their peak. I hope the solutions I mentioned above will be implemented one by one, preventing further harm to people, institutions, and organizations.
Above all, may God protect well-intentioned and innocent people from evil people, and may they always encounter good people.
Tag: economy
