How can a PI help in a Fraud Investigation in Los Angeles?

What is a fraud investigation?
What is financial fraud investigation?
How does credit card fraud investigation work?
I suspect fraud, what can I do?

We get those questions from people calling us every day. In this blog post, we decided to answer these for you. If you still have questions at the end of the post, please call us; we will be happy to answer all your inquiries regarding Fraud Investigation in Los Angeles.

Ways a private investigator can help in a fraud investigation.

Fraud is any illegal activity done to infiltrate misinterpretation of facts to deceive for financial gain. Fraud is one of the most damaging, complicated, and the biggest risks an individual and business can face. If not handled with care it can result in financial loss, legal wrangling, loss of market confidence, and even jail sentences. Every individual and business is susceptible to fraud. Small businesses that usually do not focus on fraud prevention and individuals are more vulnerable than larger ones. So it’s better to understand the risks and hire a private investigator to conduct investigations on your behalf if you suspect signs of fraud. In a worldwide market with increasing laws and more dormant enforcement methods, fraud investigation and other law violations require a professional approach. A private investigator comes from a variety of backgrounds and they can professionally combine their training and practical experiences in solving fraud cases. With their wide range of available skills and experience, carrying out a professional fraud investigation becomes easy. Instead of deciding to solve a fraud case yourself, you should consider hiring a private investigator in Los Angles.

Types of fraud and how a private investigator can help solve them Financial Fraud

This type of fraud is quite common and happens when someone obtains your finances or assets through illegal means. Financial fraud is a serious crime and a civil law violation. Financial fraud is carried out by professionals with specialized knowledge making it easier for them to carry out complicated financial transactions easily. Today, fraudsters can contact their potential victims through various methods, which may include text messages, emails, calls, social media profiles, and face to face interaction. If you have discovered evidence against fraud or you have this uneasy feeling concerning a new interaction, you will need the help of a professional specialist that will help investigate the case. A private investigator will help you capture, preserve, and analyze hidden data as well as provide valid evidence in court if the need arises.

Unauthorized withdrawals

This involves transferring funds from an individual or company’s bank account to another account without consent or approval. Some incidents can be caused by the victims. Without a thorough investigation, business owners and individuals divulge their personal information on the internet such as personal information number(PIN). Once these important details get to third parties, unauthorized withdrawals can be carried out. For such cases to be avoided, hiring a pirate investigator to help ascertain the validity of a website or online platform will be very useful. Before answering sensitive questions online, ask a private investigator to confirm if it is safe or not. This will help prevent unauthorized withdrawals and other forms of financial fraud.

Investment fraud

This involves the illegal or purported sale of financial instruments. These instruments can refer to assets, stocks, registered and unregistered securities. Such fraud may include Ponzi schemes, Promissory notes, Prime Bank investment fraud, Advance fee fraud, Broker embezzlement, and Foreign Exchange Currency Fraud. There is difficulty in attaining the legitimacy of individuals and companies but with the help of a professional private investigator, thorough investigations will be carried out to guarantee your safety while interacting with new people and businesses. A licensed private investigator works with law firms, security regulators, and private investors, so you can rest assured that a certified Fraud investigator will help solve your case professionally.

Healthcare fraud

This type of fraud occurs when an individual defrauds the government, individual, or a company with dishonest healthcare claims to make a profit. The cost of healthcare is increasing rapidly, and it can be reasoned that the rate of fraud will only grow worse. Understanding the various types of fraud being perpetuated will help you understand ways to handle and deal with fraud cases. If left unattended, it can result in severe organization losses. A professional medical fraud investigator will review, analyze, and study the suspicious claims of patients, caregivers, health organizations, and insurance carriers. They conduct interviews, carry out surveillance in certain cases, and also investigate hidden records. A professional private investigator can identify the fraudulent acts, gather concrete evidence, and present findings.

Medical identity theft

This is a situation when a person steals your personal information, which may include your name, social security number, and date of birth to commit fraudulent acts without your consent. A thief may use your name or health insurance numbers to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, file claims with your insurance provider, or get other care. If the thief’s health information is mixed with yours, your treatment, insurance and payment records, and credit report may be affected. It also means the illegal use of a person’s health insurance information to receive reimbursement to care for another individual that isn’t covered in the policy. Medical identity theft is a serious offense and can disrupt your medical care and waste a lot of money. Both patients and caregivers commit Medical identity theft, but other times, people from external sources and hackers also carry out this theft. One of the harmful consequences of medical identity theft is if a medical record of a patient is disrupted by fraudulent acts it can result in misdiagnosis, wrong prescription, mistreatment, delay in medical attention which can cause serious health complications. One of the most effective methods against medical identity theft is constant monitoring through security practices. This can be achieved with the help of a professional private investigator. A professional private investigator is well equipped with tools and equipment that will help solve a medical identity theft swiftly and discreetly.

Consumer fraud

Consumer fraud can be defined as any illegal activity that results in an individual’s personal or financial loss. All consumers are susceptible to consumer fraud. Victims of this type of fraud may include individuals, private and public organizations. Consumer fraud cases that are regularly investigated include anything financial against an individual. Some people are victims of Nigerian scammers posing as government officials that contact victims asking for help in transferring millions of dollars out of Nigeria in exchange for a percentage of the funds. Any misinterpretation of home conditions, false advertisement (marketing faulty health products that can result in serious health complications), hiking prices of fake health products, and the pressure to get involved in getting rich schemes, tampering with food, services and beauty products. A great deal of fraud involves counterfeit items. Another area of consumer fraud is repairing of credit/debt elimination fraud. Unlike legitimate companies who work with debtors to help them responsibly repay their debts, debt elimination scammers promise to make you debt free in exchange for a modest upfront or membership fee that they simply pocket. Victims pulled in by these schemes will certainly lose that fee, but they may also lose property, incur additional debt, damage their credit rating, risk identity theft, or face legal action. A professional fraud investigator provides services to individuals, businesses, and organizations victimized by consumer fraud. They will compile all your provided information and also verify validity of interactions.They also carry out reverse background checks on people suspected of your questionable interactions and provide you with valid evidence. Private investigators can identify, locate, and work with law enforcement agencies to arrest and convict offenders.

Auto dealer fraud

Auto dealer fraud refers to any illegal practices used by automobile dealers. One of the most common examples of Auto dealer fraud in Los Angeles is when an automobile salesperson withholds essential information affecting a purchased vehicle’s value. A used car can be sold at the same price as a new one, or a vehicle with sustained damage still being sold at the regular price instead of the “salvaged” lower value. To establish a concrete law claim for fraud, the victim must present substantial evidence that shows the misinterpretation of information. This can only be done effectively by a professional private investigator. We can discover the DMV history of a used vehicle, especially if you suspect fraud.

With the help of a private investigator in L.A., you will be allowed to give up the unwanted vehicle and be given a refund for all the money made for the car’s purchase. In cases of the dealer’s shameful conduct, hiring a private investigator to gather evidence and present it in court will help you be awarded punitive damages.

Insurance fraud

Insurance fraud involves any illegal act committed towards the insurance process for gain or benefit. Insurance fraud is a global economic problem that threatens the survival of insurance institutions and the insurer’s financial strength. This type of fraud may be committed by applicants, third party claimants, company employees, insurance agents, policyholders, and insurance professionals who provide services to the claimant. Common types of insurance fraud include claims for injuries and death that never occurred, misrepresenting facts on an insurance application, staging accidents, and padding prices. Insurance fraud investigation takes diligence, perseverance, and patience in finding the culprit. A private investigator will help you in detecting, identifying, and investigating insurance fraud cases. If you need background checks on a claimant, a professional private investigator will conduct surveillance of their home or workplace to provide you with evidence. They will also help gather social media evidence, evidence of false documentation, including fake affidavits, fake passports, falsified receipts, and photos of fake receipts used for more than one claim. So hiring a private investigator will help in the long run.

Worker’s compensation fraud

Workers’ compensation insurance fraud occurs in simple and complex schemes that often require difficult and lengthy investigations. Employees may exaggerate or even fabricate injuries. At the other end of the spectrum, white-collar criminals, including doctors and lawyers, entice, pay, and conspire with others to defraud the system by creating false or exaggerated claims, over treating, and over prescribing harmful and addictive drugs. Insurance companies pick up the tab, passing the cost onto policyholders, taxpayers, and the general public.

In California, workers’ compensation insurance is a no-fault system. Injured employees need not prove an injury was someone else’s fault in order to receive workers’ compensation benefits for an on-the-job injury. In addition to medical expenses being covered for injured employees, some injured workers are entitled to recover a portion of lost wages resulting from injury. Fraudulent workers’ compensation claims can be an enticing target for criminals.

Worker’s compensation insurance provides benefits to employees when they get ill or sick due to work. It covers all the medical expenses of workers if the injury or sickness is work-related. Employers, Employees, and even health care providers take advantage of this and sometimes commit fraud. Examples of this can be when a worker lies about extent of injuries or an illness, healthcare providers exaggerate worker’s condition to get more money or when an employer miscategorizes employees to avoid paying worker’s compensation. A worker’s compensation fraud investigator helps gather evidence to support the fraud claims of the employer. Surveillance and background checks will be carried out on the employees who filed for compensation insurance. Private investigators use a variety of tools and sophisticated equipment to investigate so pictures, videos, and important documents will be provided, which can also serve as concrete evidence. Employees who have been denied their compensation benefits can also hire private investigators to gather the evidence they can use to claim their benefits. Private investigators are highly trained at working discretely.

Internet fraud

Internet fraud is the use of Internet services or software with Internet access to defraud victims or to otherwise take advantage of them. Internet crime schemes steal millions of dollars each year from victims and continue to plague the Internet through various methods. It is a type of cybercrime fraud that involves manipulation and providing incorrect data for financial gain. It is the use of internet services to defraud people of money, property, and business.

The internet makes it easier for us to connect to friends, family, and companies, but it is also susceptible to many fraudulent acts as much as it helps. There are many forms of internet fraud strategies among which includes malicious emails, calls phishing, lottery fee scam, greeting card scam, online dating scam, credit card, and bank loan scams. Private investigators have successfully investigated cases of internet fraud. They conduct payment fraud investigations, call phishing, internet-based security breaches, and other forms of internet exploits. With their years of experience and innovative investigation method, they will professionally help you discover the fraudsters and suggest ways on how you can handle the circumstances well.

Charity fraud

Charity fraud is the act of using deception to get money from people who believe they are making donations to charities. Often a person or a group of people will make material representations that they are a charity or part of a charity and ask prospective donors for contributions to the non-existent charity. People make donations to fraudulent accounts, believing that they are charitable organizations. These false organizations succeed at mimicking charity organizations by reaching you through email, direct mail, messages, and door-to-door solicitations. They often have deceptive/similar names and well-designed websites. To make it challenging to detect them, they are registered nonprofit organizations that donate little or nothing to the organization’s main cause.

With in-depth research and thorough investigation, you can ensure your donations reach the right organizations. A professional private investigator will help you determine if a charity organization is legitimate or not before you make any donation. After you have donated, if you want to confirm if your money was used for the purpose intended, you can hire a private investigator. Private investigators can work with law enforcement agencies and arrest fraudulent charity owners.

Check Tampering

Check tampering – a scheme in which an employee steals company funds by intercepting, forging or altering a check drawn on one of the organization’s bank accounts – is one of the most frequently committed crimes in American companies. Many businesses and organizations have lost a large sum of money to this fraudulent act. Wireless and mobile technology has improved rapidly, making it easier for a professional private investigator to detect and catch fraudsters. Hire a private investigator to conduct surveillance on your employees to capture the criminal and help prevent this type of fraud.

Check Washing Scams

Check washing scams involve changing the payee names and often the dollar amounts on checks and fraudulently depositing them. Occasionally, these checks are stolen from mailboxes and washed in chemicals to remove the ink. Some scammers will even use copiers or scanners to print fake copies of a check. Have you ever sent a check that was cashed, but the recipient said it never arrived? You may be the victim of check washing. A Private investigator in Los Angeles can help you with this.

Ghost Employee schemes

Ghost Employee schemes is a situation where an ex-employee or fired employee is still left on the payroll. Unfortunately, insiders in the company are always accomplices to this kind of fraud. A Private investigator will help you capture these criminals and provide you with solid evidence that may include receipts, payroll documents, bank statements, pictures, and videos that are beneficial to the case.

Private investigators in Los Angeles

Our Private investigators draw from extensive resources, experience, training, and knowledge to assist victims of wrongdoings or misconduct in the Los Angeles area. They also help identify the problem and help reduce the risks of fraud very fast and effectively. With their systematic and innovative approach, they have been able to solve fraud cases efficiently. Located in Los Angeles, we offer services to every individual, company, or organization with fraud claims, and we guarantee you satisfying and effective results.

At Kinsey Investigation, we are excellent at what we do. We enjoy catching fraudsters and criminals, even at the cost of our own welfare. No matter how complicated or rigorous the fraud case might be, we will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.