Anti-fraud bureaus investigate and prosecute scams and criminals who use deception to obtain money or assets. They exist in government, insurance, and law enforcement agencies and handle various types of fraud, including counterfeit money, internet crimes, insurance fraud, and welfare fraud. These bureaus work to prevent, investigate, and prosecute fraudulent activities.
An Anti-Fraud Bureau refers to a special investigation unit that deals with scams and criminals who use deception to obtain money or assets from unsuspecting citizens and businesses. Fraud offices commonly exist in government, the insurance industry, and within regional law enforcement agencies. These agencies work to prevent, investigate and prosecute various types of fraud.
In police departments, the fraud department typically handles counterfeit money and checks. Officers usually warn the public and business owners when a wave of bogus money rolls into the community. If postal authorities report checks stolen from the mail and they are later copied or altered, the police department may issue notices to citizens and businesses as a public service. These tactics are commonly applied to theft of credit cards from the mail to discourage fraudulent use without the owner’s permission or knowledge.
A law enforcement fraud office usually investigates Internet crimes involving obtaining money under false pretenses. These departments may seek assistance from a government fraud office, especially in small police departments where officers lack the technical expertise to investigate large-scale scams. Phishing scams involving multiple fake emails purporting to be from financial institutions are crimes usually investigated by tech-savvy people.
An insurance industry fraud bureau aims to keep insurance premiums affordable by decreasing the number of deceptive claims paid to fraudsters. In some regions, insurance companies are required by law to report any suspicious claims to law enforcement, so that the criminals can be prosecuted. An insurance industry fraud bureau typically receives information about suspicious activity from the public, the police, and individual insurance agents.
Insurance fraud could involve arson, theft or an accident. Charlatans could make false claims or inflate the value of loss or injury. In some areas, organized traffic accidents that cheat insurance companies are a growing problem. Other areas of insurance fraud include collecting claims from different companies, working while collecting disability payments, and deceptively reporting a stolen vehicle.
Departments of social services commonly employ a fraud office to investigate cases of welfare fraud. These cases could involve payments for children not living at home or for children who are not eligible for social assistance. People who misrepresent their income or ability to work could be committing unemployment fraud. Social Security and Disability Fraud defines other forms of defrauding government agencies.
Internet fraud makes up a large proportion of scams perpetrated by scammers hoping to gain access to personal information. People who work from home are often victims of scammers who find their resumes online. With the popularity of online banking, the number of tricks devised to access bank accounts has increased. Many banks and credit card companies invest in fraud agencies to deal with these types of crimes.
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