In: Accounting
What unique challenges and opportunities does digital evidence bring to fraud detection and investigation?
Technology is both a boon and a bane.It is used by fraudsters to assist in perpetrating a fraud and a tool to be used to detect or prevent frauds.
The unique challenges digital evidence brings to fraud investigation are as follows:
Digital evidence might not be admissible in a court of law and concrete evidence might be required to win a case.
Digital evidence is easy to modify,remove or hide possibly without leaving any tracks that might identify the criminal.
The unique opportunities with regards to digital evidence are listed below:
Physical evidence such as documents can very easily be destroyed so that an investigating officer never knew it existed.However, in the case of digital evidence , a trail is often left and it can be decryted to find out the relevant evidence.
Unique numbers attached to gadgets make it possible to know when they were used last and the location making the fraud detection process easier.
Example: Tracking of a stolen cellphone.