Eliminating Escape Routes for Deceptive Interviewees

photo: Victor Goodpasture photography

Daniel Porter, CFE, speaker and investigative fraud consultant at D. Porter Solutions, led the “Closing the Door on Deception: Advanced Fraud Interview Strategies to Identify and Eliminate Escape Routes for Deceptive Interviewees” session at the 36th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

In this session, Porter focused on fraud interview strategies and offered insights into identifying and preparing for escape routes that deceptive employees might use to avoid being caught. He delved into how to conduct a great interview, stating that, “Better interviews are like a dance.”

To effectively gather information, it is essential to understand how we communicate and, more importantly, how we receive communication. Porter referenced the work of Albert Mehrabian, who famously suggested that only 7% of communication is verbal, with 55% being nonverbal (body language) and 38% being paralinguistic (nonverbal behavior with a verbal response).

Two Types of Verbal Deception

When someone is being verbally deceptive, they are either concealing the truth or falsifying the truth. Falsification is easy to do because it is a direct lie, whereas concealment is more complex, said Porter. It involves carefully crafting a response that avoids telling the truth without directly lying.

Five Verbal Signs of Deception

Porter discussed the power of verbal cues, listing the verbal signs to watch out for:

1. Reinforcers:

These are words or phrases people use to bolster a statement they know is shaky. They are attempts to add credibility to a statement that the speaker subconsciously knows is false. As Porter pointed out, “If you’re telling the truth, then [you] don’t need any support.”

2. Qualifiers:

Qualifiers are phrases that create an “out” for the interviewee, providing a way to backtrack if their statement is later proven false. They introduce uncertainty or conditionality into their response (such as, “I might be mistaken, but…”), immediately casting doubt on the accuracy of the statement that follows.

3. Changes in Verb Tense:

This is a subtle, but powerful indicator. Paying attention to how someone uses verb tenses, especially when discussing sensitive topics, is crucial. A shift in tense can indicate an attempt to distance themselves from the action or to avoid directly addressing the past.

4. Inflection:

The way someone says something can drastically alter its meaning. Interviewers should be attuned to changes in inflection, especially when asking critical questions. A change in tone, pace or emphasis can signal discomfort, hesitation or deception.

5. Gaps in the Timeline:

In the final verbal sign of deception, Porter explained how stories happen chronologically (A, B, C then D.) If someone skips a step, such as stating A, B and D, then ask yourself, “Why are they leaving out C?” This omission could be intentional concealment. These gaps can be subtle, but they often reveal crucial missing information.

By paying close attention to these verbal signs, interviewers can significantly improve their ability to detect deception and uncover the truth.

Four Steps to Close Doors with Preemptive Questioning

The key to “closing doors” is anticipating potential deceptive responses and crafting questions that neutralize them before they arise.

1. Determine What to Ask:

What is the core question you need answered? For example, “Did you take the money?” This is the central question that your entire interview is designed to address. It should be clear, concise and directly related to the issue at hand.

2. Anticipate Deception:

What are the reasonable, potential explanations the interviewee could give to avoid telling the truth?

• Identify potential reasonable explanations.

• Identify potential concealment (excuses).

• Identify potential falsification (lies).

3. Create Preemptive Questions:

Develop questions that nullify those potential deceptive responses. This is where you craft specific questions designed to close off those escape routes. The goal is to eliminate alternative explanations before they are offered, making it more difficult for the interviewee to fabricate a story.

Porter provided some points to consider when crafting questions:

• Be specific: Avoid vague or general questions.

• Address potential defenses: Craft questions that directly address common defenses people use when accused of wrongdoing.

• Use “What If” scenarios: Pose hypothetical situations to gauge their response.

• Consider documentation: Frame your questions and challenge their statements with relevant documents or records.

4. Incorporate Preemptive Questions in the Introduction or Rapport-Building Phase:

Weave these questions into the initial rapport-building phase of the interview. This is a crucial step because it allows the interviewer to gather information and eliminate potential loopholes without raising suspicion. By establishing this early on, it makes it more difficult for the interviewee to change their story later.

Mastering the art of interviewing, especially when dealing with potential deception, requires a multifaceted approach. Throughout the session, Porter went through each of his key points explaining that it is about understanding communication, recognizing verbal cues, building rapport and strategically planning your questions to eliminate avenues for deceit. By focusing on these key areas, interviewers can improve their ability to conduct effective interviews and increase their chances of uncovering the truth.