Fraud Intelligence

Incidents of fraud in England and Wales jumped by 33% in the year ending December 2024, to an estimated 4.1 million, compared to the 3.1 million in 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed in April.

Under the UK offence of failure to prevent fraud, 'large organisations' will be liable for acts by employees and others involved in its business. Thomas Cattee of Gherson Solicitors finds that not just UK companies are caught.

The internet influencer is in demand and, as with every emergent business trend, Keith Nuthall & Andreia Nogueira discover that fraudsters have been quick to take advantage, especially of the opacity around follower numbers and reward arrangements.

Billions, no, trillions of bytes - a ceaseless, rising tide: the threat that fraudsters will hide in oceans of data is real but the analytics are launched that, carefully piloted, can run them to ground, as Keith Nuthall discovers.

"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" Einstein once mused. Either way, investigators of complex fraud must impose order on chaos, or cases may be thrown out of court. Keith Nuthall looks into the traits needed to see through sophisticated deceit and track down the perpetrators.

Just a few months remain before pivotal UK counter-fraud legislation will boost standards required of entities' internal controls and cast a much wider net. Toby Thomas and Mario Levin of S-RM break down essential preparations and key areas of concern.

Recent cyberattacks on retailers Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods are a sobering reminder of the crippling impacts of this threat. Asim Arshad and Dominic Holden of Lawrence Stephens outline how to navigate the crucial first three days and potentially recover ransoms paid in crypto.

While there is a level of hype around artificial intelligence, its strategic use can provide us smarter ways to identify key information, analyse and interpret vast amounts of data. Colin Johnson and Rebecca Rossiter of AlixPartners use a recent case to outline methodology and potential pitfalls of leveraging AI in investigations.