Have you ever read about someone stealing from their workplace and wondered how they were able to get away with it, or even why they would consider doing that?
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The Concept
The Fraud Triangle is a model proposed by criminologist Dr. Donald Cressey that attempts to explain why an individual might commit a crime. The model features three influencing factors and, as suggested by its name, is depicted as a triangle.
- The base of the triangle is Pressure. Often in the form of financial troubles, this is a need that will be satisfied by the theft.
- Rationalization is the right side of the triangle. This often sounds like “I’ve worked so hard lately, this is the reward I should have gotten,” or “it’s ok if I take this money, it’s such a small amount that it won’t be missed.”
- The left side of the triangle is Opportunity. This describes any privilege that an individual has in their workplace that would allow them the chance to commit a crime. For example, a cashier may have the opportunity to steal if they are asked to account for all the money in their till at the end of their shift without anyone overseeing them or doublechecking the amount they say should be in the till.
The Movie
In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho a young woman, Marion Crane, is murdered while staying the night at The Bates Motel. It’s only through an investigation related to a crime which Marion committed that both her murder and the true nature of the motel innkeeper are ever uncovered.
This film was highly influential in the movie industry. Even if you haven’t seen the original movie, you may know of elements that this movie helped to popularize such as sound effects instantly familiar to those who enjoy thriller movies.
For an idea of just how influential this film is, check out this page on IMDB that lists different movies and shows that reference Psycho.
The Connection
At the very beginning of Pyscho we are introduced to Marion Crane, her lover, Sam, and to Marion’s job working at a real estate agency. Shortly after, we witness Marion steal $40,000 from her work. Here are the events leading up to that and their connection to the Fraud Triangle described previously.
Pressure – Marion and Sam need money so they can get married. At this time, most of Sam’s monthly income is spent on alimony payments and he can’t afford to marry her. Marion feels pressure to find the money to marry her lover.
Rationalization – When Marion goes to work, we’re introduced to Tom Cassidy, a millionaire who’s purchasing property through Marion’s boss.
Tom Cassidy is not painted in a flattering light in this scene. He appears to be very drunk, he blatantly flirts with Marion and announces to everyone present that he is paying for the land in cash because he currently has $40,000 in his pocket.
“I only carry what I can afford to lose.” Cassidy informs Marion, who regards him with wide-eyed interest. Internally she considers the fact that while $40,000 is a lot of money to her, Cassidy could lose that amount and still be fine. She begins to think about how much better her life would be with his money, and justifies her longing with the fact that he is financially so much better off than she is.
Opportunity – Once Cassidy is settled in his office, Marion’s boss approaches her to confide that he is not comfortable with keeping that much money in the office overnight. He tells her that he wants to deposit the money into the bank right away.
Marion offers to take the money to the bank, and asks if she can go home afterwards because she has a migraine and is not feeling well. Her boss agrees, and in this moment gives her the opportunity she needed by not requiring her to return to the office with proof that she deposited the cash in the appropriate account. Marion skips the bank and takes the $40,000 home with her, where she quickly packs her bag and leaves the city.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve talked through the fraud triangle, think back on your favorite heist movie- do the characters’ motives for the theft in that movie align with the fraud triangle? If not, how do they differ?
This idea for this blog post originally came to me as I was pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Minor in Media Arts. On one side of this program I was learning about different business concepts, including the Fraud Triangle, while on the other hand analyzing different digital mediums, especially film.
Note: This post was published to an earlier version of this website using my maiden name. The previous site has since been retired and the original post reworked to include here.
Rachael Stenslie 