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Even when due diligence has been done, and a transaction or venture seems fool-proof, fraud can occur.
 People and situations change, opportunities arise where they were previously non-existent, and in the dynamics of business, there are always times and places where the unexpected, and the unwanted, occur. Internet fraud is a good example. The vast majority of cyber crimes occur from the “inside.” This means that despite the best intrusion detection systems, firewalls and general information security, it is the enemy within - the disgruntled current or former employee, the impulse criminal, even the unwitting “accomplice” - who commit fraud or allow it to occur.
Whether the act is premeditated or occurs as the result of a suddenly perceived opportunity, the fraud investigation will by definition be a general description of a set of specific processes. These processes are determined by the facts of the case, but are focused on information acquisition and verification. One of the best sources for these things should be the victims and their representatives. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, victims, their attorneys, accountants and advisors often overlook and sometimes purposely withhold relevant facts and details. This can hinder or prevent a proper investigation, or skew the results.
Time is an essential factor. Victims often wait too long before reacting to potential fraud. One of the most frequent causes of this is denial. Victim, and sometimes their professional representatives, can’t accept that something has gone wrong; that they might have completely misjudged the transaction or the people involved on the other side. They can’t bear the thought that their money might be gone. It can’t be happening to them.
Delusion, which often goes hand in hand with denial, is the process by which the victims convince themselves a transaction gone awry will somehow right itself; that merely by reasoning with the other side they will either recover their funds or have some remedy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Once the investigation begins, nothing must be withheld from the investigators, no matter how trivial or unrelated it might seem. All names, documents, notes, banking details, corporate details, communications (email and phone), records, etc, should be made known and available. Attorneys and other professionals should be instructed to cooperate with the investigators. Anything less only impedes essential and time-sensitive information acquisition and verification.
Information is power, but even armed with quality information, investigators must be as skillful in how they use it as they are in how they acquire and verify it.
A final mistake victims and their representatives often make is believing they can effectively wield the information they have. This often leads to delays or legal or strategic errors which undermine their cause or render them powerless.
A thorough fraud investigation is an essential prelude to the financial asset recovery process. It should be undertaken at the first rather than last sign of trouble, and should not be left to the victims or the inexperienced.
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