What is your favourite part of the job?
My favourite part of the job is seeing the delegates response to their learning and witnessing them grasp the importance of the subject matter.
What skills (hard or soft) should someone have in your field?
In order to succeed in this field of counter fraud, an individual must be self-motivated, have an analytical mind along with excellent communication skills, up to date knowledge and a great sense of humour.
What is the most challenging part of being a trainer?
Maintaining credibility and keeping up to date with current practises can be a challenge but it is definitely worth it. Being doing so this ensures that we deliver the best material possible to our students.
What experience and qualifications do you have?
Positions that I have had include ACF Trainer, ACF Specialist and a ACF Manager. I have 20 years as a fraud investigator and manager under my belt and 25 years as a Fraud Trainer.
What are the main components of your job on a daily basis?
I am frequently involved in conducting research, designing course work to ensure it’s of a high quality for our students and delivering of training. My job is never boring with these tasks.
Best job decision you have ever made?
The best decision I made as a fraud officer was accepting the role of Ops Manager for an Organised Fraud Team working on Identity Fraud throughout England and Wales.
And the best decision I made as a trainer was joining the PDA team.
How has the industry changed since you started?
Fraud has not changed but the ways in which it is committed has, mainly through changes in technology.
What has been you biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
Maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of the role of the Counter Fraud Officer and the changes in law and working practices. I manage to do this mostly through research and networking with colleagues in the industry.
Give a brief description of your course and its purpose.
I run a number of courses all designed to help the Counter Fraud Officer to acquire the skills to implement the law, work to the required legislation, gather admissible evidence through various sources including surveillance, ethically conduct investigative interviews, and confidently present evidence at court.
What are students rewarded with?
Students are awarded with an in-depth knowledge of the law, investigative skills, the ability to conduct fact finding interviews, confidently work with lawyers, present evidence at court and they also gain a contact within PDA for future advice.
Read more about Malcolm and the rest of PDA on The Team