Fraud Investigations

Corporate Fraud consists of illegal or unethical and deceptive actions committed either by a company or an individual acting in their capacity as an employee of the company. Corporate fraud schemes are often extremely complicated and, therefore, difficult to identify. It often takes an office full of forensic accountants months to unravel a corporate fraud scheme in its entirety.

When corporate fraud is perpetrated by the top executives of a large corporation, the fraud often extends to billions of dollars in scale. The victims of corporate fraud are consumers or clients, creditors, investors, other businesses, and eventually, the company that is the source of the fraud and its employees. When it is finally discovered, the company committing the fraud is often left in ruins and forced to declare bankruptcy.

Much of the money illegally obtained through corporate fraud is often never recovered, after being spent long ago by the perpetrators.

Cyber Fraud is malicious cyber activity that threatens the public’s safety and our national and economic security. The FBI’s cyber strategy is to impose risk and consequences on cyber adversaries. Our goal is to change the behavior of criminals and nation-states who believe they can compromise U.S. networks, steal financial and intellectual property, and put critical infrastructure at risk without facing risk themselves. To do this, we use our unique mix of authorities, capabilities, and partnerships to impose consequences against our cyber adversaries.

The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyber attacks and intrusions. We collect and share intelligence and engage with victims while working to unmask those committing malicious cyber activities, wherever they are.

Learn more about what you can do to protect yourself from cyber criminals, how you can report cyber crime, and the Bureau’s efforts in combating the evolving cyber threat.

False Advertising is an actionable civil claim under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. A party who successfully sues for false advertising may be entitled to either damages or injunctive relief. 

To bring a claim for false advertising, the plaintiff must show:

• The defendant made false or misleading statements as to their own products (or another’s); 
• Actual deception occurred, or at least a tendency to deceive a substantial portion of the intended audience; 
• The deception is material in that it is likely to influence purchasing decisions; 
• The advertised goods travel in interstate commerce; and 
• There was a likelihood of injury to the plaintiff. 

Notably, the plaintiff does not need to show that they suffered actual injury from the defendant’s allegedly false advertising. That said, puffery, or claims a person could not reasonably rely upon, are not grounds for a false advertising claim.

Identity Theft is a crime that can happen to anyone and involves your personal information being stolen through methods as simple as stealing your documents or as sophisticated as “phishing” or spyware. 

If your identity has been stolen, it is critical that you act quickly to minimize any damage. If you aren’t sure, read these warning signs.

Consider Taking the Following Actions

• Call or email the fraud department of the companies, banks or credit unions where accounts have been compromised.  Explain that someone stole your identity and ask them to close or freeze the compromised account. 
• Contact any of the three credit reporting agencies and ask that a free fraud alert be placed on your credit report. Also ask for a free credit report. You only need to contact one of the three agencies because the law requires the agency you call to contact the other two.
  • Equifax — 1-800-349-9960 
  • Experian — 1‑888‑397‑3742 
  • TransUnion — 1-888-909-8872

Once you have a fraud alert on your credit report place, a business must verify your identity before it issues new credit in your name.  The alert remains active for a year and can be renewed by you for up to seven years.

• Change the passwords, pin numbers, and log in information for all of your potentially affected accounts, including your email accounts, and any accounts that use the same password, pin, or log in information. 
• Contact your police department, report the crime and obtain a police report. 
• Go to the webpage of the Federal Trade Commission, report the ID theft and create an identity theft recovery plan: IdentityTheft.gov 
• Decide whether you want to place a security freeze on your credit report.

A security freeze is different from a fraud alert. Once your report is frozen, the credit reporting agency cannot release it without your prior express approval (with certain narrow exceptions). Under federal law, a security freeze is free, and obtaining one will not affect your credit score. To obtain a freeze, you must contact each of the credit reporting agencies and comply with their requirements. The agency must place the freeze within one business day, and if you request the freeze be lifted, they must do so within one hour. Learn more at their websites below: 

Experian

Transunion 

Equifax

• Review your credit report to correct any errors and identify any new accounts that were opened in your name, and then contact the business and close those accounts and  inform the credit bureau that you did not open those accounts. 
• Review your other credit card and bank statements and take action to remove or dispute unauthorized charges or debits. 
• Consider other steps you may need to take to address specific problems such as reporting a misused Social Security number or clearing your name of criminal charges. 
• Consider obtaining a court order to assist you in clearing your name. 

ALWAYS: REMAIN VIGILANT

Sadly, being a victim of identity theft once does not mean it cannot happen again. Take steps to prevent ID theft and remain alert! 

Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the most common schemes include premium diversion, fee churning, asset diversion, and workers compensation fraud. Perpetrators in the schemes can be insurance company employees or claimants. False insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the fraudulent intention towards an insurance provider.

Investment Scams claim you’ll likely make a lot of money quickly or easily with little to no risk — usually by investing in the financial markets, cryptocurrency, real estate, or precious metals and coins. These scams often start with free training or seminars, but quickly lead to hefty fees for additional training or coaching that promises to increase your success. Sometimes, investment scammers say their program includes access to a turnkey system of experts that do everything for you, or the opportunity to learn about “proven” investment tricks. But the real tricks are the lies they tell you.