Fraud Investigation

 

Undercover Operations

 

Surveillance or Intelligence gathering

 

Security Consultants

 

 

 

Previous Assignments                                             

 

Brief examples of the nature & type of investigations previously completed are as follows:

 

A recent Fraud Investigation:

A solicitor client of ours who was being instructed by an insurance provider advised us that his client was experiencing a ‘spike’ in certain claims. We were advised that there were suspicions of fraudulent claims being submitted on behalf of dubious claimants. The solicitor instructed that enquiries be made to establish how the principals obtained their clients and whether any fraud was occurring. At this stage the police weren't approached as very little could be proven and it was unlikely the police would direct significant resources to investigate the client’s suspicions.

An initial surveillance operation proved to be of little benefit as the suspects were surveillance aware and as a matter of course used counter surveillance techniques on a daily basis. It was believed they were involved in a variety of criminal activity.

We discussed the issues with the solicitor and his clients and it was deemed appropriate to progress the investigation onto the next level and engage with the suspects in a carefully controlled 'sting' operation. This tactic resulted in our operatives, who fit the demography of the average claimant, presenting a variety of claim scenarios to the suspects. Our claims were accepted as genuine by the suspects and they engaged with our operatives and processed the claims. As a result of this engagement we gathered audio and video evidence of the suspects heavily ‘coaching’ our operatives and explaining to them what should be said to verify their claims when speaking to claims handlers or solicitors.

As a result of this operation the client gained a comprehensive understanding of how the frauds were being committed and have adopted appropriate case management strategies to prevent further losses. Numerous cases have now been ‘Put to Proof’ in the Courts with a high percentage of successful outcomes for the insurer.

The insurer has noticed that the ‘spike’ of claims has significantly diminished and is confident that any future suspicious claims can be defended or quantum substantially reduced. The value of the fraudulent claims submitted run into the millions of pounds in value.

 

An overview of Undercover Operations:

 

Crawford Investigations have been involved in covert undercover assignments since 1991 when David Crawford worked in the warehouse facility of a blue chip electronics company for a continuous period of 14 months. It's absolutely critical to place the right operative in the appropriate situation/employment with particular attention given to specialist skills & demographic credibility.

 

During the life of an operation daily reports are forwarded to the client to keep those 'in the know' abreast of ongoing developments and on completion of the operation a final report is prepared that will examine all relevant security matters and include a full staff analysis with relevant conclusions & recommendations

  

Surveillance or Intelligence Gathering?

The reasoning behind the decision:

 

As a result of a recommendation the senior enforcement

officer of a high profile London Borough Council who had

a particular anti social problem, that was associated with ‘big business’, approached us to consider a viable 

investigation strategy that would allow them to direct

appropriate enforcement measures to those responsible.

After a telephone conference to outline the various issues

we attended in London & presented 2 investigation options.

 

The first option was a surveillance operation but we advised that this would be time consuming & expensive due to the client not knowing the identity of the perpetrators or when they might strike. 

The second option was to make a direct approach to the 'illegal' business that 'managed’ the perpetrators in an attempt to gather intelligence of how the 'nuisance' worked.

 

The intelligence gathering option was thought more likely to yield results within the agreed budget so we went forward & set up a virtual business with office premises, website, product portfolio and relevant advertising. Once ready an approach was made to the ‘nuisance’ company who took us on a journey of discovery & explained all relevant procedures & how they orchestrated the 'nuisance'. 

As a result Crawford Investigations discovered the identities of whom was carrying out the anti social behaviour and the premises they operated from. This intelligence allowed direct enforcement to be targeted against those responsible.

 

Security Consultation & the prosecution that followed: 

 

We offer a comprehensive security consultancy service with field visits that will be supported by a comprehensive security report.

 

After one such field visit a client was advised that he had a ‘blind spot’ in his CCTV coverage that would allow rogue staff unlimited access to an overflow store of product. This particular enquiry had been made by a small company that was run by the client and 5 warehouse staff. The client was due to go on a weeks holiday so Crawford Investigations quickly installed a covert surveillance camera with recording facility that covered the overspill storage area. Within 2 hours of the proprietor leaving his site 3 members of staff, including the site foreman, were video taped loading a hired wagon with pallets of product. The footage was subsequently given to police who went on to successfully prosecute the staff concerned at Teesside Crown Court.