Looking Down the Rabbit Hole

  I have been working financial crimes and cyber investigations for over 20 years. Since starting as a computer geek and working my way up to financial crimes investigations, I have learned a lot about what it takes to solve some of the biggest problems people face in our industry. In fact, they are a lot easier to solve than most people think. You just need to change how you're thinking about them. Here they are (in a nutshell), and how to solve them: #1: Not following applicable laws : How to solve it: Investigators must thoroughly familiarize themselves with applicable laws, particularly the Rules of Evidence. These crucial regulations, typically adopted by statute, are codified into formal legal documents that guide investigative procedures and admissibility of evidence. #2: Not authenticating your evidence : How to solve it: Authenticating evidence typically requires witness testimony. For digital evidence, this may involve a witness with personal knowledge of the item in ques

  Mistake #1: No Policies & Procedures  -  Why this can lead to misconduct Someone just microwaved fish in the lunch room. Lucy in the mail room is using her personal email address for business. Jack just installed some software on his station to work from home. It's absolutely amazing how many businesses I have come across that are in the process of growing and expanding, yet have never considered policies and procedures to be important. Policies are good practice guidelines that you and your employees should follow on a daily basis. There should also be a formal process in place for employees to sign and agree to the terms of the policies. Procedures are things that you do on a daily basis, but are documented so they can be replicated if needed by a new employee. Policies and procedures set clear expectations for employee behavior and job performance. They provide guidance on how to handle various situations, which can improve decision-making and reduce confusion or conflicts