Most People Won't Learn About Insurance Fraud Investigators Until It's Too Late

According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, insurance fraud costs Americans 80 billion dollars a year. The perpetrators of this kind of fraud aren't usually hardened criminals with reset noses and a constant sneer - usually, these crimes are committed by smart people who think of fraud as a way to make a bunch of money without working for it. But awareness can stop them dead in their tracks. Read along and learn some of the main types of insurance fraud, what you can do to prevent it, and where to go for help.

Workers Compensation Fraud

Legitimate workers compensation is a godsend to so many hard-working people who have a run of bad luck. But workers comp fraud comes in a variety of forms, and it's tough for a business owner to have his eyes open for all of them. But when a worker:

Refuses to disclose a nagging injury he had before signing on,Claims he got an injury on the clock when he got it after hours,Fakes or exaggerates an injury,Collects benefits from more than one employer for a legitimate injury, orWorks one place while getting workers comp from another employer

They aren't just skimming a little bit off the top. They're committing a crime. As a preventative measure, companies might refer injured workers to clinics they trust to report honest information. But once they suspect there's fraud in place, a private investigator can conduct interviews, do surveillance, and run background checks on their medical history and claim history.

Automotive Fraud

Investigation for this kind of fraud isn't easy to track, and it's distressingly common. When a staged rear-ender happens, or a legitimate accident is exaggerated, a claimant can collect a sizable amount on their auto insurance policy. The cons don't stop with phony car thefts and falsified applications - there are even recorded incidents of scammers getting insurance on cars that never existed in the first place!

But there are also countless unique, external factors that can create a legitimate accident. Whether it's the weather, the condition of the roads, or the speed of the vehicles involved, they can all make an impact on the damage the cars involved. Those differences can be subtle, but make no mistake - they do exist. A single missing detail can unravel a tangle of lies and help everyone involved determine who, if anyone, is liable for an accident.

Medicare Fraud

There are two major kinds of Medicare fraud. The first is called member fraud, and happens when a policy holder withholds vital information from their provider. The second is much more common - it's called provider fraud. You can protect yourself by staying away from:

Telemarketers and door to door salesmen.Companies that waive co-payments and don't check your ability to pay.Salesmen that aggressively sell you on stuff you don't need.Strange information and rumors about "secret" changes to the Medicare program.Anybody that asks for access to your Medicare card. For any reason.

If you run into any of these, it's a good sign something's up. If you suspect something's gone wrong, get a PI. They'll usually look into your Medicare Summary Notice and check it for irregularities.

We're insurance fraud investigators that work with honesty, integrity, and an open mind - and we try to benefit our client whether he's a wealthy employer or a regular guy that's down on his luck. If you're worried that you or someone you know might be a victim, visit our website at http://www.privateinvestigatorservices.org/, and within minutes, you can schedule a personal consultation that addresses your unique situation.

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eBriefs - You Don't Know What You Are Missing Until You Know What You Are Missing

I heard this statement over the holidays - "You don't know what you're missing until you know what you're missing." It was actually part of a really great sermon, but it also got me thinking about... eBriefs.

I remember when I first got a BlackBerry. It was amazing! I could receive and respond to e-mails all the time and not be tied to my computer. Sure I had a brick strapped to my waist, but I didn't leave home without it, and I don't remember what I did before I had it. Fast forward a few years, and I am now an iPhone addict. Not only can I check and send e-mails, but I can surf the web, watch a movie, listen to music, take pictures, shoot movies, and of course play Angry Birds. I didn't know what I was missing until I knew what I was missing.

After more than 10 years of creating eBriefs and seeing the overwhelmingly positive reactions from lawyers and triers-of-fact, I firmly believe these hyperlinked gems also fall into this category. Shockingly however, there are still many myths surrounding the eBrief: it is too much work, I can't consider doing one while I'm writing my brief, it is too expensive, or my client doesn't see the value are just a few of the more common statements.

Believe me, I have heard all of the reasons not to do one. In 2012, I encourage you to step a little out of your comfort zone and submit an eBrief. Either hire a vendor to create one (prices vary, but typically range from $2,000-$6,000+ for a 50-page brief) or learn how to make one yourself. In almost every instance, the eBrief is submitted as a supplement to your hard copy or e-filed brief, so you don't even need to start preparing it until after you have filed.

With every key cite being hyperlinked to the relevant material, it is hard to believe that the end user will not find this technology invaluable. The clerk and/or trier-of-fact can review your brief quickly with the click of a mouse, rather than searching through boxes of paper or a list of PDF files to find the cited document. You may actually be helping to speed up the deluged court system!

eBrief creation is not a new technology, but it is a technology that is grossly underutilized. If you're on the fence about giving it a try, talk to someone who has submitted or received one. I venture they will tell you they didn't know what they were missing until they know what they were missing.

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Don't Hire A Fraud Investigator Until You Know What I Know!

Fraud investigations have been on the rise over the last decade, and it isn't because business owners are getting paranoid. If anything, business owners have only recently gotten wise to the massive kind of threat that financial fraud poses to their livelihood.

Let's talk about some of the invisible methods scammers use to crush your bottom line, and the situations where hiring a professional can save it.

Bank and Mortgage Fraud
Two of the main areas of work for a financial fraud investigator are in bank and mortgage fraud. Makes sense - banks and real estate are where the money is. And bank fraud isn't just an American problem. International money fund suspects that banking fraud cost the industry around $6 billion a year worldwide.

The corporate fraud investigation field covers a wide range of fraudulent activities by a company's employees and clients. Whether it's:

Reviewing questionable documents and transactions.Backtracking the sources of deposits or looking at transfers of suspicious funds, orObserving clients and employees activities

It's a job that always keeps you busy. There are times when absolutely no suspicious activity is found - but it's more than worth the work when you get a hit.

Of course, if you're going to work on banking and mortgage fraud, some skill with numbers doesn't hurt. When you're ready to hire someone to track down signs of fraud, look for some study in accounting and financing, as well as a criminal investigation degree or some other kind of criminal experience. With financial fraud on the rise, the demand for people with the skills to nab these crooks is only going up.

The requirements should extend beyond a few diplomas. A fraud investigator should have integrity, honesty, and the ability to handle sensitive, confidential material with the utmost care.

Legal Investigations

There are times when even the best people in the justice system don't have the time and resources needed to give your case the attention you feel like it deserves. A private investigator can be an amazing supplement to police or attorneys, as long as they approach it with the right process.

First, each investigation should get a complete, top down review. They should talk to everyone connected with the case - police, doctors, relevant witnesses. They should find them, talk to them in detail, and get recorded and written statements. We also analyze and review documents and photographs. Digital evidence, physical evidence, public records - it all needs to be tracked down and then complied in a way that stands up in court.

Corporate Fraud

Trust can difficult when there's a lot of money or power at play. Training to detect anomalies in corporate accounting is practically a field of its own. Investigators need to evaluate financial statements, accounting practices and accounting compliance to root out potential trouble before it happens.

One of the hurdles in dealing with corporate fraud is that the criminals are savvier than the average criminal, and most people in the corporate chain of command don't have time to give thought to these kinds of problems - according to a study by PriceWaterhouseCooper, most fraud cases are stumbled upon completely by accident. But once a problem is discovered, a savvy investigator can track down the problem. When you're ready to hire, get someone who will:

Look at all the relevant reports - spreadsheets, memos, statements - for any signs of financial discrepancies.Where there isn't a paper trail, they should make one. A savvy criminal might wipe a hard drive - but a savvy investigator finds off-site backups or uses world-class recovery software to fish out information the suspect thinks they purged.Financial profiling is a timeless method. No matter how well you crunch the numbers, nothing is a stronger indicator that something's amiss than a simple investigation.Chart the suspect's stock options, paychecks, and investments, then talk to friends and co-workers to get information on their spending habits.

If you're looking for a fraud investigator, look no further. We know it's a serious problem, and stopping it is a mandatory expenditure no matter what the size of your business. Huntting PI is one of California's strongest investigative firms, and we're always ready to give a complementary consultation to businesses that want to know what they can do to secure themselves.

Visit our website at http://www.privateinvestigatorservices.org/ to schedule a free consultation.

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