Fraud is a crime of deceit and subterfuge. It’s based on half-truths and outright lies. Fraud appeals to the basest of human desires; greed. Don’t get it wrong, this is not a condemnation, but a just an observed fact. We all want to better our economic state and making our money work for us is common and often used strategically. And a dollar saved is only second to a dollar earned. Greed in this case is based upon desirable economic improvement using an asset at hand, saving money or making investments, with little or no effort on our part. But beware, there are those who would not like anything better than to separate you from your hard-earned cash.
Different Kinds of Frauds
For a con, the perpetration of a fraud scheme to work, the con artist must have the personality and the ability to garner trust. “Never met a con man I didn’t like”. Some are so good that when their scheme is discovered, many of their victims are in denial as to guilt of the con man. Some cons are elaborate, the kind depicted in the movies, The Sting, and the Oceans series are examples of the con. Counterfeiting, not only of currency but checks, credit cards and other financial instruments are common, including identification documents. Pyramid schemes, the ponzi schemes, and the infamous Nigerian Scam. The electronic digital age has added phishing and hacking. Money laundering, a fraud, has introduced to ‘structuring’ and ‘smurfing’.
Extended Statute of Limitations for Fraud
Because of the primary element of subterfuge and deceit, many states have extended statute of limitations for fraud, as considerable time may elapse until the scheme, scam or con are revealed. Another element that works for the con man is spreading their operations across multiple jurisdictions, making effective investigation and prosecution difficult. One of the first computer crimes was about 20 years ago, when a banking IT guy, changed the rounding of transactions, and posted the round downs on only odd number transactions to an internal account. Because large east coast bank process millions of transactions daily this amount went to two million and change in a couple years, this scam is called Salami Slicing. Fact or fantasy? Four rental-car franchise executives in Florida defrauded 47,000 customers in 1993 and in 1998 in LA California 4 men were charged for installing a chip in gas pumps that over stated the amount pumped. So, it happens.
Unethical Real Estate Misrepresentation Frauds
Real Estate fraud is common. Find a vacant house, pretend to be the owner, rent it out, collect first month, last month rent and cleanup fee and move on. What results is a nightmare for the renters and owners. It is common for the person to rent out five or six homes then move on to a different state. Some months can intervene before discovery. Selling investments in developing projects promising high interest is also common. The greedy ones are those that get caught, ‘just one more deal’.
Private Investigator & Security Services in Greater Miami, Sunny Isles, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton & Miami Gardens Florida
Many schemes are beyond the resources of smaller jurisdictions to investigate let alone prosecute fraud schemes. These are perpetrated in such a convoluted manner that it is difficult to untangle and then present in court for judge and juries. Fraud represents a growing volume of cases handled by the private investigator. Contact Advanced Private Investigator & Security of Miami FL if you suspect you have been a victim of fraud.
