Retail Fraud Case Study

Related Sector: Investigations

You work as an Investigator for Home Goods Partnership, a company that has numerous retail outlets throughout the UK. The company also provides an online sales facility that allows customers to set up an online credit account and purchase goods for which they can pay later.

One day you receive an information report stating that a person by the name of Samantha Blackwater has made an allegation of fraud. Samantha has received documentation relating to overdue payments for a credit account with Home Goods Partnership that has been set up in her name. She claims that she has no knowledge of setting up any account with Home Goods Partnership or any information as to who is responsible for doing so.
You arrange a call with Samantha to gather more information. From the details she provides and further enquiries you make, you are satisfied that she is telling the truth and that the information report is genuine.

You then look more closely into the account in Samantha’s name and ascertain that ten orders have been made on the account for delivery to various stores in England, which have been collected. The amount of goods and financial loss to Home Goods Partnership is £2650.00.

Further research indicates that phone number listed in the account in the name of Samantha Blackwater is linked to several similar accounts that you believe were also opened fraudulently. In addition, your data team tells you that the same IP address links all the fraudulent accounts.

What further steps should you take to investigate the allegation of fraud and ensure that it does not continue?

Author: Meera Shah, Content Manager

This article was first published on 23 January 2023