Part 2: Internal reporting sends whistleblowers down path alone

Almost no one becomes a whistleblower by choice.

The individuals featured in this series described the process not as a “light bulb” moment, but rather as a slow and steady whittling down of options. They realized stepping forward led them to become isolated within their organizations. If they were a contractor or found fraud in an organization for which they did not work, they experienced a slow dying of their consultancy or business. Longtime clients gradually fell away, contracts were not renewed, and work opportunities dried up as the suspicion they were an informer deepened and grew.

Whistleblowers are supposed to remain anonymous, but because many of them try to report issues internally first, their organizations know exactly who they are and the content of their allegations. These individuals rarely find any allies within their organization when they report fraud. So, they walk the whistleblowing path alone.