Once upon a time a wise person told me “if you are going to commit fraud, make sure it’s worth it.” I don’t remember the news story we were making fun of at the time but I’ve always remembered the rule.
By worth it I mean a pay off in the tens of millions, relocate to a tropical island in a country with no extradition treaty.
Over the years I’ve quoted the generalized the rule, “if you are going to do X it make sure it’s worth it”, many times. Explaining that petty rule breaking is not with it – cheating on that parking meter/coupon is not worth the ticket, how many time do you have to not pay the 50 cents to make up for one ticket? Cheating on your spouse — if it’s not with a famous actor/singer/model, what the hell are you doing?
Recently in Singapore there was a perfect example: a guy robbed a bank for $30,000! Seriously? This is Singapore they cane people. They hang people. WTF?!?