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* Computer Forensic Investigations
Computers and other data storage systems are all vulnerable to the fraudsters and other people who may well be one of your own employees. The information stored on such systems can be very valuable and can also, if stolen or corrupted, destroy your business.
Email, texting and photographs on cellphones can be used to send offensive or harmful messages amongst the workforce, causing distress or even to divulge confidential company data. Once deleted, you may think that it cannot be retrieved, but it can!
Whatever the problem, technology is now so advanced that the forensic examination of such storage items, can be extremely valuable to you. Deleted data can be revived and provide crucial evidence, thereby protecting your business from potential harm or identifying an offender. Cellphone data can also place the user in a geographical location at the time an incident occured, thereby providing further evidence if necessary.
If you require advice in this area we will gladly discuss it with you. Just call.
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* Fraud Investigation/Prevention/Reduction
Fraud comes in many shapes and forms. It is the act of deceiving someone deliberately in order to gain an advantage. Whether this is to receive cash, goods or property of any description, it is a common occurrence and can destroy many businesses.
Fraud can involve such deceptions as falsifying accounts, duplicating or altering invoices, diversion of stock, and even setting up a bogus company for use in diverting funds or stock. We can provide investigative resources to identify such incidents, and then provide solutions for eradicating the problem and dealing with the perpetrators.
Many frauds in the corporate sector do not involve Police enquiries because many clients believe adverse publicity of a fraud may irreparably damage their overall status in business. We are therefore able to use the expertise and resources of our former law enforcement and specialist fraud experts as an alternative investigative arm for the client.
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* Witness Interviewing
We have the experience of many years of interviewing both witnesses and suspects in small and large criminal investigations during long and successful Police careers. It is important when interviewing a potential witness or even a suspect that the correct procedures are followed under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and there is no room for the case to be rejected at court because a certain course of action had not been followed.
All witness statements are obtained under Section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 and Section 5A of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980. All suspects are interviewed under caution in compliance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and usually tape recorded.
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* Intellectual Property Investigations
Designer wear isn’t the only commodity to be copied or counterfeited and sold on, giving the impression to the purchaser that this is the genuine article. Almost anything is capable of being copied, not just the obvious brands such as Dolce and Gabbana or Gucci etc, but simple things like a small electrical items or computer accessories. Anything in fact can be copied or forged.
Whether or not the customer realises is or not, the proprietary owners of the brand name have usually spent millions of pounds on developing their branded products and it is now being illegally copied and sold to a sometimes unwitting customer. In some cases, the copied product can be potentially lethal. Such items as pharmaceuticals, airplane parts and car parts have been sold as the originals, and therefore unlikely to have been through the stringent testing procedures that the brand owners have to follow before placing the product on the open market.
We work in cooperation with the brand suppliers and also Trading Standards officers, and conduct investigations including covert surveillance, and test purchasing at suspected outlets and have enjoyed a great degree of success in locating and confiscating counterfeit products, and providing the evidence to prosecute the offenders.
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* Insurance Fraud
Insurance fraud may involve an inflated claim for lost holiday luggage, a car allegedly stolen - but actually sold for cash to an unknown person, or premises being destroyed by fire. Inflated or completely fabricated claims are increasingly common and cost insurers, and ultimately the honest insured, a great deal of money in increased premiums for instance.
Expert interviewing of suspected claimants and any witnesses, and thorough investigation of the circumstances can provide evidence to either refute or confirm the truthfulness of such a claim, but ultimately provide the insurer with the capacity to deal with a claim appropriately.
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