Lie to a vendor for my employer?

[ashton]

I work for a publicly traded company in New Jersey. Management at a high (but not the highest) level wants us to pay an important vendor for 3 service contracts when we have 200 (identical) devices. We would save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, but myself and my coworkers would be required to give one of the three phony serial numbers to the vendor every time we call for one of the 200 devices. If the vendor is alert, the deception would quickly be discovered. Also, we sometimes must give the vendor data when making a support call - we are expected to clumsily alter the data to make the deception less obvious.

There is certainly a contract with the vendor, although I have not seen it.

I am concerned that myself and my co-workers would be committing a crime that we could be prosecuted for. I am further concerned that altering data before providing it to the vendor is a significant aggravating factor in any such crime.

As it stands, I expect to threaten my management that I will ask the company's lawyers for advice on this topic.

Is this behavior as shocking as it seems to me? Or should I just shut up and do what I'm told?

 

[seniorjudge]

Personally, I would not lie.

 

[calalily]

Check out the "Whistle Blowers Act" (Google) and see if that would be something you would ibe interested in doing (blowing the whistle). I personally would not commit fraud because a higher up asked me too. Try and get a transfer out of that department if you can or find another job before the whole thing blows up in your face. The person telling you to do the dirty deed would probably lie and say he did not know what "you" were doing and blame you. Don't walk...RUN!