How can counter fraud teams improve early detection?

The following is an extract from the Clue report Counter Fraud: Navigating the Path to Prevention, based on a survey of counter fraud professionals in government, public sector and law enforcement. 

The hard truth is that the more you look for fraud, the more of it you’ll find. It’s for that reason that counter fraud teams must too often focus limited budgets on firefighting.

But with 85% of investigators concerned they are missing early warning signs according to Clue’s survey of counter fraud professionals across government and public sector organisations, simply reacting to immediate cases is not an effective approach to containing the evolving threat.

Teams can’t work harder so they must work smarter. Many organisations reported they are parting ways with spreadsheets which are disjointed, error-prone, unsecure, unscalable and difficult to integrate.

Data intelligence tools are being adopted instead, offering secure and unified project access and management combined with powerful analytics and global search capabilities. Easily deployable and intuitive, these tools are enabling teams to create a single source of truth from proliferations of previously unstructured data.

Better data insights help detect threats early 

Meanwhile, investigations platforms can present data in ways that simply aren’t possible using spreadsheets, highlighting relationships and patterns among individuals, organisations, locations, and events that might otherwise be left unexplored.

Technology is crucial to deal with the vast amount of data we work with… There is a lot of emphasis on using data science to target our work by identifying early warning signs.

Survey respondent

Data intelligence tools don’t replace the demand for talent. It’s sometimes the case that onboarding new technology requires upskilling staff or hiring new specialists.

However, the teams we surveyed roundly lauded a move towards platforms that offer a unified view of activity to better inform the deployment of existing resources. These tools offer better scope for detection, helping departments to effectively prioritise and manage their limited resources and gain more control over activity.

Clue helps law enforcement agencies, corporations, public sector organisations and others detect and prevent economic crime.

Learn more about Clue for economic crime and enquire about a demo today.