How Lie Detectors Work

by Kevin Bonsor

For more than 15 years, Robert Hanssen led a double life. In one life he was a 25-year veteran with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who had access to some of the nation's most-classified information. In his other life, he allegedly was spying for the Russian government. Hanssen's deception was finally discovered, and in February 2001 he was arrested and later pled guilty to 15 espionage-related charges. Spies are probably the world's best liars, because they have to be, but most of us practice deception on some level in our daily lives, even if it's just telling a friend that his horrible haircut "doesn't look that bad."

People tell lies and deceive others for many reasons. Most often, lying is a defense mechanism used to avoid trouble with the law, bosses or authority figures. Sometimes, you can tell when someone's lying, but other times it may not be so easy. Polygraphs, commonly called "lie detectors," are instruments that monitor a person's physiological reactions. These instruments do not, as their nickname suggests, detect lies. They can only detect whether deceptive behavior is being displayed.

Do you think you can fool a polygraph machine and examiner? In this article, you'll learn how these instruments monitor your vital signs, how a polygraph exam works and about the legalities of polygraph testing.

A polygraph instrument is basically a combination of medical devices that are used to monitor changes occurring in the body. As a person is questioned about a certain event or incident, the examiner looks to see how the person's heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and electro-dermal activity (sweatiness, in this case of the fingers) change in comparison to normal levels. Fluctuations may indicate that person is being deceptive, but exam results are open to interpretation by the examiner.

Polygraph exams are most often associated with criminal investigations, but there are other instances in which they are used. You may one day be subject to a polygraph exam before being hired for a job: Many government entities, and some private-sector employers, will require or ask you to undergo a polygraph exam prior to employment.
 

Tampa Bay Chapter

Dinner Meetings

September 11, 2008
"History and Use of the Polygraph in Criminal Investigations"
Special Agent Sharon Feola, FDLE

October 14, 2008
"Health Care Fraud"
Scott Flint and Shaka Scott, Broad and Cassel

January 13, 2009
T.B.A.
T.B.A.

February 10, 2009
T.B.A.
T.B.A.

10th Annual Fraud & Computer Crimes Seminar

May 12-13, 2009
Ruth Eckerd Hall
Clearwater, Florida
1111 McMullen Booth Road
Clearwater, FL 33759

2006 - 2007
OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT
Steve Hooper, CIA, CFE, CCSA, CGAP
Clerk of the Circuit Court Hillsborough County, FL
(813) 276-2029 x3703

VICE PRESIDENT
Christine Dever, CPA, CFE
City of Tampa
(813) 274-7

SECRETARY
Ellen Wilcox, CFE
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
(727) 298-2482

TREASURER
Laura Krueger Brock, CPA, CFE
Kirkland, Russ, Murphy & Tapp, P.A.
(727) 572-1400

DIRECTOR
Mark Dubina, CFE
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
(813) 878-7366

DIRECTOR
Sharon Shaw, CFE
MSM Corporation
Tel: (727) 674-8399

DIRECTOR
Debbie Venanzio, CFE
Branch Banking & Trust Co.
Tel: (727) 302-5498

DIRECTOR
Bill Miles, CFE
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Tel: (863) 701-1474

DIRECTOR
Gary Chapman, CIA, CGAP, CFE
City of Tampa
Tel: (813) 274-7163

CHAPTER TRAINING
Wayne Boytim, CFE
Retired
(813) 274-7167

Polygraph examinations are designed to look for significant involuntary responses going on in a person's body when that person is subjected to stress, such as the stress associated with deception. The exams are not able to specifically detect if a person is lying, according to polygrapher Dr. Bob Lee, former executive director of operations at Axciton Systems, a manufacturer of polygraph instruments. But there are certain physiological responses that most of us undergo when attempting to deceive another person. By asking questions about a particular issue under investigation and examining a subject's physiological reactions to those questions, a polygraph examiner can determine if deceptive behavior is being demonstrated.

The polygraph instrument has undergone a dramatic change in the last decade. For many years, polygraphs were those instruments that you see in the movies with little needles scribbling lines on a single strip of scrolling paper. These are called analog polygraphs. Today, most polygraph tests are administered with digital equipment. The scrolling paper has been replaced with sophisticated algorithms and computer monitors.

When you sit down in the chair for a polygraph exam, several tubes and wires are connected to your body in specific locations to monitor your physiological activities. Deceptive behavior is supposed to trigger certain physiological changes that can be detected by a polygraph and a trained examiner, who is sometimes called a forensic psychophysiologist (FP). This examiner is looking for the amount of fluctuation in certain physiological activities. Here's a list of physiological activities that are monitored by the polygraph and how they are monitored:

• Respiratory rate - Two pneumographs, rubber tubes filled with air, are placed around the test subject's chest and abdomen. When the chest or abdominal muscles expand, the air inside the tubes is displaced. In an analog polygraph, the displaced air acts on a bellows, an accordion-like device that contracts when the tubes expand. This bellows is attached to a mechanical arm, which is connected to an ink-filled pen that makes marks on the scrolling paper when the subject takes a breath. A digital polygraph also uses the pneumographs, but employs transducers to convert the energy of the displaced air into electronic signals.

   

• Blood pressure/heart rate - A blood-pressure cuff is placed around the subject's upper arm. Tubing runs from the cuff to the polygraph. As blood pumps through the arm it makes sound; the changes in pressure caused by the sound displace the air in the tubes, which are connected to a bellows, which moves the pen. Again, in digital polygraphs, these signals are converted into electrical signals by transducers.

   

• Galvanic skin resistance (GSR) - This is also called electro-dermal activity, and is basically a measure of the sweat on your fingertips. The finger tips are one of the most porous areas on the body and so are a good place to look for sweat. The idea is that we sweat more when we are placed under stress. Fingerplates, called galvanometers, are attached to two of the subject's fingers. These plates measure the skin's ability to conduct electricity. When the skin is hydrated (as with sweat), it conducts electricity much more easily than when it is dry.

Some polygraphs also record arm and leg movements. As the examiner asks questions, signals from the sensors connected to your body are recorded on a single strip of moving paper. You will learn more about the examiner and the test itself later.

Detractors of the polygraph call lie detection a voodoo science, saying that polygraphs are no more accurate at detecting lies than the flip of a coin. "Despite claims of 'lie detector' examiners, there is no machine that can detect lies," reads a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "The 'lie detector' does not measure truth-telling; it measures changes in blood pressure, breath rate and perspiration rate, but those physiological changes can be triggered by a wide range of emotions."

Lee, who has been performing ­polygraph exams for 18 years, agrees that polygraphs do not detect lies. "What has happened over the years is that the media has dubbed this lie detection, and that's what's clicked, but from a scientific perspective, absolutely not. There's no such thing as lie detection. I couldn't tell you what a lie looks like."

He does assert that polygraphs can detect deceptive behavior even through the stress brought on by the exam itself. "If the (forensic psychophysiologist) is properly trained and has the experience, he can penetrate that. Through the specific procedure that the FP will employ, anxiety will not penetrate into it."

In the next section, you will learn more about who polygraph examiners are and what makes them qualified to conduct these examinations.

Source: http://people.howstuffworks.com/lie-detector.htm

News from the ACFE

ACFE 2008 Compensation Survey

As a member of the ACFE, your participation in our 2008 Compensation Survey is crucial in order to provide comprehensive and relevant information about the growth of the anti-fraud profession. The goal of the survey is to establish a set of compensation benchmarks for anti-fraud professionals during a time when more organizations seek out individuals skilled in preventing, detecting, deterring and investigating corporate fraud. Take the Survey.

Visit the two new online communities - Anti-Fraud Technology and Financial Institutions.

Connect with other ACFE Members, access shared documents, blog or participate in discussion forums. To access the new communities, click here to get started.

Fraudster videos, original articles and more in the new Fraud Examiner newsletter!

Your members-only e-newsletter has a new design and brings more exclusive benefits to your inbox every month. Are you a subscriber? Edit your profile below to manage your subscriptions. Click here to view a recent issue.

Enroll in the new Auto Dues Service and receive a 5% discount.

With this new member service you will be able to save time and set up your membership dues to be paid automatically each year. Click here to enroll.

New Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Dashboard

All your CPE information in one convenient place. Browse the CPE Dashboard for information and updates about: How CPE Works, 2008-2009 CPE Transition and My CPE.

Chapter News

Tampa Bay Ethics Award

For the past seventeen years, the Center for Ethics at the University of Tampa's John H. Sykes College of Business has chosen a deserving person to receive the Tampa Bay Ethics Award. This award was created to recognize role models in our community whose lives and careers demonstrate the types of positive qualities - like responsibility, respect, trustworthiness, caring, justice, and citizenship - that we would all like our fellow citizens to emulate.

This year, Mr. Frederick B. Karl will be honored as the 2008 Tampa Bay Ethics Award recipient.  Mr. Karl has served the community for over 50 years with his career in law and public service. He served in all three branches of the State of Florida government, serving as an elected State Representative then as a State Senator. He was appointed by the governor as Florida's first Public Counsel and was then elected to the Florida Supreme Court. He served as City Attorney for the cities of Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, and Tampa. He served as Hillsborough County Attorney and then selected as its County Administrator. His service in the private sector began when he took over Tampa General Hospital to correct financial and administrative problems. Most recently, he served as Chairman of the City of Tampa Ethics Commission. He led the Commission in the drafting and implementation of the Commission's Rules and Regulations and served until he retired in 2008.

The 18th annual award breakfast will be held on Friday, September 26th at the University of Tampa. The Tampa Bay Chapter will again to sponsor a table this year to strengthen our ties with the business community and further the pursuit of ethics in our society. The Board would like to extend an invitation to our members to be involved in this prestigious event. The cost is $25.00 per person and limited to the first eight members responding. If you would like to attend please email tampacfe@tampabaycfe.org.

Members Making a Move

The Tampa Port Authority has hired Mark Dubina, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He will be the Director of the port's security forces.

Christine Dever has joined the City of Tampa's Internal Audit Department as a Senior Auditor.

Cost of Dinner Meeting - Good News/Bad News

First the Bad News - as with everything else, the cost of our dinner meetings has increased.  The hotel raised its rates and the Chapter is unable absorb the entire increase.

Now the Good News - the Chapter will continue to subsidize the cost of the meetings.  Dinner meetings will now cost $25.00 per person.  We have more Good News - instead of just one entree on the buffet, there will now be two entrees.  For the September meeting, Grilled Salmon with White Wine Butter sauce and Chicken Diane with Brandy Mushroom sauce will be served.  So for your $25.00, you will continue to receive one hour of continuing education as well as a tremendous meal.

Dinner Meeting News

Our next Dinner Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 11th

Our first dinner presentation of the year will be "History and Use of the Polygraph in Criminal Investigations."  Special Agent Sharon Feola, FDLE, will conduct the presentation.

Special Agent Sharon Feola has twenty three years of sworn law enforcement experience.  Special Agent Feola began her career with the Largo Police Department and has been a Special agent with FDLE for the past thirteen years.  In addition to working as a polygraph examiner for FDLE, Special Agent Feola has vast experience investigating Crimes Against Children and Violent Crime.  Special Agent Feola has also successfully investigated mortgage fraud, RICO, organized scheme to defraud, and other types of fraud related cases.  Special Agent Feola is an Adjunct Instructor for the Oakland County, MI Police Academy and a former Guardian Ad Litem - Sixth Judicial Circuit.

The dinner meeting will be held at the Westshore Hotel, located at 1200 N. Westshore Boulevard. The hotel is just north of I-275 and Cypress Avenue on the east side of Westshore (map). Evenings will begin with a social at 6:00 P.M., followed by a buffet dinner at 6:30 and a presentation at 7:00. The cost is $25.00, payable at the door.

To make your reservation, please use the following link Chapter Meeting Reservation and complete the form at the bottom of the page.  You can also make your reservation by emailing Wayne Boytim by September 8, 2008. Reservations will be accepted after that date and walk-ups are always welcome. Please remember that cancellations are accepted up to the afternoon of the meeting. No shows will be billed after the second missed meeting. Please help us keep our costs down by letting us know if you are unable to attend.

President's Message

An unknown author once said “to look for compassion, you should look no further than your own.” I don’t need to look any further than my own for the compassion to lead this chapter to another successful year. I welcome this opportunity and I want to thank each of you for allowing me to do that. I want to congratulate your outgoing President, Christine Dever, for an excellent two-year run. And she has agreed, and the Board has approved her to fill the Vice President position that was vacated by elected member Clark Bolton. We wish Clark all the best in his new position and we hope to have him back on the Board soon.

My first time around as your President, I enlisted the Board’s help to achieve a lot of Chapter goals. Of those goals identified back in June 2005, there are still a few that we haven’t obtained yet. I have incorporated those remaining goals into my vision for the Chapter this year. The most bearing of these goals is to have our Chapter and its members recognized nationally for all the accomplishments we have achieved. This endeavor starts now! By the next newsletter, I will have details as to how the nominations will be formulated and submitted.

The Board has been active this summer. During our first administrative meeting, the Board established a number of committees to help guide the Chapter. We have solicited Chapter members, through our membership email listing, to volunteer to work on these committees and we have received a favorable response. But, we still have room for more volunteers. Below is a list of the committees along with their shortened purpose narrative. If you are interested and haven’t submitted your name to date, you may contact me directly or speak to any Board member at our September 11th dinner meeting.

Membership Committee – Gary Chapman and Sharon Shaw – Co-Chairs
The purpose of the Membership Committee is to conduct the annual membership drive. This includes processing membership renewals and soliciting new members. The Chapter’s year runs from August 1st to July 31st. Around the middle of June, preparations begin for annual membership drive.

Seminar/Meeting Committee – Christine Dever, Chair, Mark Dubina assisting
The purpose of this committee is to recruit and schedule speakers, obtain speaker bios and presentation summaries, and prepare any handout materials.

Chapter Communication Committee – Gary Chapman and Sharon Shaw Co-Chairs
The purpose of the Chapter Communications Committee is to maintain the Chapter’s website, prepare and publish the Chapter’s newsletter, CFE NEWS, and broadcast news and notices to the Chapter’s members via the email distribution system. Volunteers will be asked to research and submit articles for publication.

Community Service Committee – Ellen Wilcox, Chair, with Christine Dever and Debbie Venanzio assisting.
The Community Service Committee acts as our liaison to various community organizations and represents the chapter at annual events and award ceremonies. The committee helps provide fraud awareness education to the public by filling presentation requests by various groups and organizations.

Training Committee – Wayne Boytim, Chair
The Training Committee provides knowledge concerning fraud examination skills to chapter members and others interested in furthering their education in the field of the detection and deterrence of white-collar crime. It also helps to prepare chapter members and others for the Uniform CFE Examination by using the Fraud Examiners Manual and other study references and manages the Chapter’s library.

Event Registration – Wayne Boytim, Chair
Event registration involves receiving dinner and seminar reservations, preparing name badges and attendance sheets, compiling evaluation forms, and reporting to the ACFE.

Student Chapter – Christine Dever, Chair with Bill Miles assisting
Acting in a liaison role with local colleges and universities, managing the chapter's student scholarship program, and working with the newly formed student chapters from various local colleges.

Again, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your President. My message all year will be to get involved. I want to challenge each of you to find your compassion for this Chapter. It is truly a rewarding experience when we all work together for a common cause.

Steve