Farrar Corporate Investigations – Professional & Reliable Police-Trained Private Detective Leeds, specialising in corporate investigations such as suspected insurance fraud
Our director has over 20 years Police experience, including work on extremely sensitive cases.
Internal and external fraud is increasing. An expanding economy and a shrinking world, especially the online world, mean fraud is an ever growing problem.
Private Detective Leeds
Farrar Corporate Investigations can uncover the facts you need to make informed decisions. Whether your business is large or small we offer a comprehensive service tailored to your specific needs.
We have a team of male and female professionals, mostly ex-police, who specialise in undercover fraud investigations. We cover Leeds, York, all of Yorkshire and the North East and across Greater Manchester.
Corporate fraud and related insurance investigations sometimes fall victim to stretched police budgets. But with help from Farrar CI a speedy investigation will enable you to take timely action, first to to minimise losses and then potentially recover monies or assets lost.
According to global accountants KPMG, the face of fraud is changing with a marked increase in frauds committed by those under 35 years of age.
Fraud cases totalling £317 million were recorded in the first half of 2014, according to KPMG’s latest Fraud Barometer. The figure represents a 39 percent drop compared to the same period in the previous year but the number of frauds has remained constant.
The latest cases also suggest organisations have failed to spot a ‘changing of the guard’ as the profile of fraudsters shifts from rogue senior executives to younger individuals funding extravagant lifestyles. Analysis of the cases going through the Crown Courts since the start of 2014 shows that frauds committed by those aged 26-35 were valued at just over £62 million – an increase of 285 percent on the first half of 2013. At the same time, frauds committed by those aged 46 and over fell by 72 percent to £88 million.
Hitesh Patel, UK Forensic Partner at KPMG, says: “Where once it was the jaded executive who relied on unquestioned seniority and authority to get away with dipping their hands in the till, it seems we are witnessing a changing of the guard. Today’s fraudster is younger and just at ease with using technology and data as selling promises. They rely on the assumption of the innocence of youth, whereas the reality is that many of these fraudsters are nothing more than a wolf in lamb’s clothing. It is important for UK organisations to recognise that youth doesn’t always equal innocence, as a confident and tech savvy generation comes through, adept at circumnavigating conventional controls and staying under the radar.”
The latest figures also show that, for the first 6 months of 2014, the average case value was £2 million – a fall of 43 percent compared to that recorded between January and July 2013 (£3.5 million).
On the face of it, this sounds like good news, but history shows that fraudsters tend to start with smaller schemes, to test the system, with fraud value then increasing as their confidence grows if they are not caught.
The latest data shows, for example, that the increase in volume in the £1-10 million bracket was driven by a significant increase in insider fraud, with the number of employee-perpetrated frauds in this value range increasing more than ten-fold. One case study showing the trend for insider activity – and the youthful nature of conmen – revolved around a 24 year old bank clerk who attached a device to a computer within the branch he worked at. The device allowed fictional deposits worth £1.1 million to be made into 15 customer accounts, which were then withdrawn by the customers and a colleague – all of whom had been colluding with the ring-leader.
Hitesh Patel says: “Super cases are conspicuous by their absence. Instead we are witnessing the rise of comparatively small value crimes as fraudsters try to get away with theft by hoping smaller scale activities can accumulate as they go un-noticed over time. The truth is that these crimes still leave victims in their wake and a business should ignore them at their peril. Complacency and ’it won’t happen to me’ syndrome should not be allowed to creep in to peoples’ mindset as the battle to combat white collar crime goes on.”
Patel concludes: “The economy may be improving but the pressure to see a return on investment remains acute. Investors searching for extraordinary returns are likely to remain vulnerable to conmen promising much and delivering little. It’s a sad fact, but the truth remains that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
At Farrar Corporate Investigations our aim is to help you limit losses and limit damage and help ensure better protection in future.
As private investigators covering Leeds, York, Yorkshire, the North east and Greater Manchester we can help.
To speak to a Private Detective Leeds Call 0844 335 1225 now
Private Detective Leeds service covers: Leeds, Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Harrogate, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pusey, Rothwell, Wetherby and Yeadon.
The postcodes we cover are: LS1 2, LS1 3, Ls1 4, LS1 5, LS1 6, LS1 7, LS1 8, LS2 3, LS2 7, LS2 8, LS2 9, LS3 1, LS4 2, LS5 2, LS5 3, LS6 1, LS6 2, LS6 3, LS6 4, LS7 1, LS7 2, LS7 3, LS7 4, LS8 1, LS8 2, LS8 3, LS8 4, LS8 5, LS9 0, LS9 6, LS9 7, LS9 8, LS9 9, LS10 1, LS10 2, LS10 3, LS10 4, LS11 0, LS11 5, LS11 6, LS11 7, LS11 8, LS11 9, LS12 1, LS12 2, LS12 3, LS12 4, LS12 5, LS12 6, LS13 1, LS13 2, LS13 3, LS13 4, LS14 1, LS14 2, LS14 3, LS14 5, LS14 6, LS15 0, LS15 4, LS15 5, LS15 7, LS15 8, LS15 9, LS16 5, LS16 6, LS16 7, LS16 8, LS16 9, LS17 0, LS17 5, LS17 6, LS17 7, LS17 8, LS17 9, LS18 4, LS18 5, LS19 6, LS19 7, LS20 8, LS20 9, LS25 1, LS25 2, LS25 3, LS25 4, LS25 5, LS25 6, LS25 7, LS26 0, LS26 8, LS26 9, LS27 0, LS27 7, LS27 8, LS27 9.