Computer forensics is not very well understood by non-specialists. We live in a digital world and most companies are shifting towards moving all data and most of the financial management to digital channels. With this, comes the danger of being embezzled by your employees, because if they can crack the code to shift money to another account, they can cause you serious financial damage.
If you have been seeing statements and accounts that look a little off and you suspect your business’s money is being stolen. You can always hire a good private investigation firm in South Carolina to conduct an investigation.
A private investigation firm can make use of forensic auditing and accounting to see where the funds are being stolen and how.
Let’s explore the concept in detail:
What Is Computer Forensics?
Computer forensics examines all digital data and creates a trail of evidence by conducting extensive research and identifying suspicious user behavior.If you suspect that an employee or a group of employees is involved in stealing money from you. A good private investigation firm can uncover the truth through different techniques.
This usually involves uncovering the following behaviors:
- Who and where was access gained to a certain document or file down to the level of identifying the actual person and the computer
- When was a computer file used, altered, modified, or created, and by whom? Also, what computer did they use to do so?
- Was there any data migrated, accessed, or stored, and by what username or computer?
- Were any external storage devices like a USB or a hard disk connected to the computer? What was the date and time when this took place?
- What searches were performed by the user of a computer and what websites did they visit?
- Was any software used to hide tracks or look through history?
A thorough forensic investigation can help you uncover these behaviors and establish strong grounds for evidence against a suspect.
What Kind of Devices Can Be Analyzed Through Computer Forensics?
The digital world is growing at an unprecedented speed and that means there are different channels and devices through which a fraudulent employee can embezzle you or leave a trail of embezzlement. Here are the channels and devices that are usually investigated during a forensics audit:
- Messages (SMS and voice messages)
- Calendar activities like meetings
- Contacts and phonebook
- Deleted information like files or messages
- Social networking channels and information
- Gallery information like photos and audio
- Browsing activities
- Email information
- GPS information
- Notes
- Spreadsheets, documents, and slides, etc.
- Calling history
Data from all these sources is then combined to make sense of the incident and what might have happened. This data can help you prove that the fraud has occurred and who was responsible for it. This evidence can also be presented in court and help you sue the fraudulent employee.
What Is Mobile Forensics and How Can it Help Uncover Employee Fraud?
Mobile phones have taken over our lives and most of our personal data is on these devices. In this case, if there is an employee that is suspected of embezzlement or fraud, it is vital that their mobile data is investigated along with their computer data.
Private investigation firms can analyze present and deleted media on the following devices to uncover any trace of a corporate crime:
- iPhone and iPad
- Android phones and tablets
- USB flash drives
- Hard Drives
- SD cards
- GPS mobile devices
Additionally, you may also take advantage of other services to recover lost media and data from these devices. Expert forensics technicians have the tools and expertise necessary to convert this damaged and lost data to a condition where it can be useful in court.
How Can Upstate Private Investigators Help You With Computer Forensics?
Are you suspecting that an employee or someone is stealing from your business? Computer forensics and a proper audit can help you uncover the culprit and give you the evidence you need to file a lawsuit against them.
Once you choose us to carry out a forensic audit, we will sit down with you and gather your requirements. After getting the required clarity from you, we will devise a plan of action and determine the kinds of devices and data that we will need to analyze in order for us to reach a conclusion and collect evidence.
We completely understand the sensitivity of the situation and treat your data with care while being discreet so your employees don’t panic.
If you suspect that an employee or employee group is involved in embezzlement against your company? Contact us for a digital forensic audit today.