This study discusses the effectiveness of fear-based strategies in fostering compliance in corporate compliance programs. Our scoping review of decision-making literature focuses on fear appeal messaging and "fear-than-relief" techniques. It also discusses the possible contributions of the heuristics and biases literature to the field. Empirical studies have shown limitations in the long-term results of fear-driven strategies for improving decision-making and preventive behavior in individuals. We believe these results can be applied to corporate compliance research, where empirical evidence is scarce. We argue that constant compliance messaging may enhance employees' choice architecture by optimizing the use of availability heuristics. Therefore, frequent training, compliance officer presence, and ad-hoc awareness strategies could be more efficient techniques to improve efficiency in compliance programs than low-frequency heavily charged messages. This study suggests that the capacity to elicit preventive behavior in individuals within an organization should be considered a performance indicator of a corporate compliance program's success.