3 Biggest Problems Faced When Considering Evidence

  

I have been working financial crimes and cyber investigations for over 20 years.

Since starting as a computer geek and working my way up to financial crimes investigations, I have learned a lot about what it takes to solve some of the biggest problems people face in our industry. In fact, they are a lot easier to solve than most people think. You just need to change how you're thinking about them.

Here they are (in a nutshell), and how to solve them:

#1: Not following applicable laws: How to solve it: Investigators must thoroughly familiarize themselves with applicable laws, particularly the Rules of Evidence. These crucial regulations, typically adopted by statute, are codified into formal legal documents that guide investigative procedures and admissibility of evidence.

#2: Not authenticating your evidence: How to solve it: Authenticating evidence typically requires witness testimony. For digital evidence, this may involve a witness with personal knowledge of the item in question. For example, someone who shared a computer with the accused and directly observed the relevant document or file on that device could serve as an authenticating witness.

#3: Not defining your evidence: How to solve it: Learn how to define the different types of evidence. Evidence in investigations can be both digital and physical, and it's often the combination and correlation of different types of evidence that builds a strong case.

See? That wasn't so hard.

Obviously, these are very surface samples of what problems can be faced when considering evidence. Keep tuned for future posts that will help elaborate on these critical issues regarding evidence.

I'd love to hear your viewpoints!

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(A Couple) Technology Mistakes in FinCrime and how to avoid them

Over the past decade, technology in financial crime prevention has evolved significantly. When properly utilized, it serves as a powerful ally for financial institutions in their battle against fraudsters and in safeguarding customer assets. However, if misused, this same technology can become a destructive force, enabling theft, embezzlement, and devastating personal lives.

Modern innovations like sophisticated behavioral analysis, AI, machine learning, and robotics offer valuable tools for this purpose. When implemented effectively, these technologies can enhance the detection of suspicious activities, minimize false alarms, and accelerate response times.

The trick is understanding how to use this technology, when and where. It's onerous, it's expensive and as transactional volumes increase, so do the potentials for mistakes.

You Can't See Me: Illicit actors establish numerous fraudulent accounts through shell companies to facilitate the laundering of their unlawfully acquired funds. The proliferation of digital banking has intensified this issue, allowing for the rapid global transfer of immense amounts of money in near real-time.

Developing a secure technological infrastructure for the transparent and trackable sharing of customer data, disseminated via digital pathways under the control of sanctioned users, offers a solution to this challenge. This system, akin to a digital passport, can foster trust among participants.

You can have your privacy, but security too? How do global governments and regulatory bodies balance preserving their citizens' privacy with implementing sufficient oversight and transparency to safeguard against criminal activities? What's the optimal approach to simultaneously uphold citizens' rights and ensure their protection? There needs to be an innovative structure of working to combat these kinds of illegal activities via a collective, collaborative effort by both the public and private sector.

Enhancing protocols for financial institutions to verify suspicious activities would be a crucial first step. Ultimately, this issue revolves around trust: individuals must have faith in their governments and banks regarding the appropriate use of their information, while banks and regulators need increased certainty about account holders' identities.

Blueprint to avoid the 5 biggest mistakes in FinCrimes investigations

I love financial crimes and digital investigations. My aim is to guide other FinCrime Investigators to be the best they can be. I hold certifications in AML, Financial Crimes & Digital Investigations. I'm introducing a new and completely FREE min-course on improving your Financial Crimes Investigations.  You can see more here:  Better Financial Crimes Investigations