The workplace secret that made me keep a whistleblower hotline in my phone

I once worked for a company where management created unnecessary projects during slow periods so we could bill clients for work they hadn't requested. Eventually, they stopped creating the work altogether and started adding nonexistent items to client invoices. The company was eventually caught and lost the client. I knew about it long before that happened. I even had the client's whistleblower hotline saved in my phone because we were required to complete their annual training on reporting fraud and misconduct. Then there was a much smaller situation at another company I worked for early in my career. The company ran sweepstakes to encourage customers to subscribe to premium cable channels. We'd film a big ceremony showing someone supposedly being selected at random. Except the winner had already been chosen. Sometimes it was a friend or relative of someone connected to the company. My job was to help produce the video knowing the drawing wasn't actually random. I hated being part of it because I knew we were misleading customers. Both experiences taught me something about workplace ethics. Dishonesty doesn't always start with something huge. Sometimes it starts with, "It's harmless. Nobody will notice." Then eventually, everyone treats it as normal and expects you to participate. That's why I think whistleblower systems matter. Employees need somewhere to turn when the people involved are higher up the chain.