Almost anyone may end up being a victim of financial fraud. Between insurance fraud, elder abuse, investment fraud and other financial scams, there are ample opportunities for people to lose their money. Do you know what to do if you suspect that you or a loved one has been the victim of financial fraud? If you do not act quickly, it may be too late to recover any of the money.
Financial fraud investigation & prevention firms use forensic accounting and other techniques to figure out where money is coming from and going to. These techniques are particularly useful in ferreting out cases of financial fraud.
Financial fraud may occur in many different ways; here are a few of them:
Elder Financial Abuse
Because of their houses, cars, retirement income and long credit history, senior citizens are tempting targets for financial abuse. In many financial fraud cases, the perpetrators are the children or grandchildren of the victims. Preying on a vulnerable population like this is a particularly heinous crime.
Insurance Fraud
Many people consider insurance fraud to be a victimless crime, but the truth is that everyone who buys insurance pays the price for insurance fraud in the form of increased premiums and longer waits for reimbursement.
Investment Fraud
Everyone needs money, and having a sound investment strategy is a wise financial move. Criminals can take advantage of victims who are unfamiliar with investing by promising fantastic returns. Once they get the money in their hands, they may claim that investment has gone south and the money has been lost or they may just pocket the money and disappear, leaving the victim to wonder what happened.
Unnecessary Financial Services
Because of media attention on financial fraud, people may be eager to protect themselves. Unfortunately, this opens another opportunity for financial fraud. In the way that organized crime used to extract “protection money” from businesses, unscrupulous salesmen convince people that they need protection from financial fraud. In the best cases, the company will perform some service such as alerting the credit reporting agencies to monitor the customer’s information. In the worst cases, the salesman will simply keep the money and do nothing.
Identity Theft
According to the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 15 million people in the United States will experience identity theft every year. This includes the unauthorized use of an existing account or the use of a victim’s personal information to open a new account. There are also other ways that criminals can misuse a victim’s information for fraudulent purposes. In any event, the results can be financially devastating and it may take months or years for a victim to fully recover from the impact.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of any of these scams, your first step should be to contact law enforcement so they can determine if a crime was committed. If they are unable to handle the case, you may want to hire a certified financial investigator in a trusted firm.
If you’re dealing with a situation that may require the support of a financial fraud investigation firm, contact Veriti Consulting LLC today for a consultation. Call 855-232-4410 or send us an email.
