FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS

A.) Fraud Investigations
The following statistics and those above are from the 2002 Report to the Nation. This report, conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, provides the most detailed view yet of how occupational fraud affects organizations in the U.S.

1. Organizations with fraud hotlines cut their fraud losses by approximately 50% per scheme. Internal audits, external audits, and employment background checks.

2. Small businesses are the most vulnerable to occupational fraud and abuse. The average scheme in a small business causes $127,500 in losses. The average scheme in the largest companies costs $97,000.

3. Corruption schemes account for 13% of all occupational frauds and they cause over $500,000 in losses, on average.

4. 30% of business losses are the result of dishonest acts by employees.

5. Frauds committed by employees cause median losses of $60,000, while frauds committed by managers or executives cause median losses of $250,000. When managers and employees conspire in a fraud scheme, the median loss rises to $500,000.

6. Losses caused by perpetrators older than 60 are 27 times higher than losses caused by employees 25 and younger.

7. The average fraud scheme lasted 18 months before it was detected.

B.) Time Fraud investigations
1.Time clock fraud in the workplace is a serious issue. In addition to employers paying employees for time they haven't worked and employees receiving the pay, there is also the issue of the labor laws. Once there is a written or documentedtime an employee works, the law requires an employee to be paid. It must be proven the hours were not worked to be able to not pay the employee. This can be difficult.

Ways that time clock fraud occurs:
• Lack of monitoring of time sheet, punches, and those who oversee payroll
• Easy computer access to payroll
• Too many people can finalize punch changes
• Requested to work when not clocked in
• Not working when clocked in
• Employees clocking in for other employees

2. Sometimes time clock fraud is an isolated event with a single employee, other times it is organized, coordinated, and involves several employees in various positions. Time clock fraud can be employees fraudulently clocking in or out. It can also be employers causing time to be altered fraudulently to avoid paying overtime, avoid paying holiday pay, or even to pay regular hours that were worked.

3. When time clock fraud occurs, the issue should be resolved as soon as possible. Resolving time clock fraud involves the following:

• Identifying time clock fraud
• Investigating to see if it was an isolated event or there are more fraudulent time clock documentation
• Discover the cause and create a plan to prevent it from being repeated
• Accurately determine the amount that the employee is owed or owes the company
• Implement the plan to prevent further time clock fraud
• Review the success of the time clock fraud prevention plan
• Revise the plan if needed

4. Time clock fraud is a serious matter and should not be tolerated. One of the ways companies reduce time clock fraud is by employee monitoring. This can protect the company in the event that there is a question of the whereabouts of an employee and the duties performed there. Signature Investigations Group has many options to ensure you have 100% control over the goings on of your employees.

C.) Embezzlement Investigations
1. An estimated $600 billion in company revenues or $4,500 per employee were lost in 2002 due to fraud, making fraud and embezzlement workplace investigations critically important. Our efforts include the investigation of occupational fraud and various forms of white-collar crime.

2. We work with businesses to determine the core cause of revenue losses and collaborate to implement processes and safeguards to ensure this form of loss doesn't occur again.

3. Business executives often don't have the time or resources to personally dedicate a full-time investigation. By utilizing Signature Investigations Group, the recovery of lost revenue and/or the placement of safeguards to prevent future fraud more than pays for itself!

D.) Employee Background Checks
1. An extensive background check is performed for a wide variety of reasons. Background investigations are initiated for personal as well as business reasons. The depth and breadth of information that is often obtained can range from educational background to criminal history. The type of information that is available depends on a range of factors. Additionally, Signature Investigations Group offers both standard and comprehensive background checks depending on the needs of our clients.

2. Employers may be able to protect themselves from damages resulting from negligent hiring or negligent retention lawsuits brought by employees or clients by proving that they perform reasonable investigations before hiring certain people. In addition, organizations can make a better-informed decision as to how a person might perform in a particular position.

A. Basic and extensive employee background checks

B. Extensive Executive Dossier portfolio [Link to background checks]

1. Data retrieval from multiple local, state, and federal databases for executive-level applicants

E.) GPS Telematics & Asset Management – Fleet Services
When cellular phones were introduced to the market in 1985, not everyone thought that they would be such an essential business tool. The use of GPS management for commercial vehicles, utilized for the specific purpose of streamlining logistics and reducing operating costs, is growing every year. It does not make sense to have such a valuable resource as one's employees, vehicles, tools, materials and most importantly, time, go unsupervised 95% of the time. The small cost of GPS telematics and asset management is easily recovered 10 times over by increased productivity and reduced costs. Over the years, this technology has become more affordable and available. Most businesses that are implementing it are seeing returns of 10% to 30%. This comes from performing more service calls, installations, deliveries, better routing, less wastage of time, increased fuel efficiency, safety, and overall improved customer satisfaction. Simply tell us what you need and our in-house GPS technicians will program a solution specific to your needs!