Example Career: Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts

Career Description

Obtain evidence, take statements, produce reports, and testify to findings regarding resolution of fraud allegations. May coordinate fraud detection and prevention activities.

What Job Titles Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts Might Have

• Certified Fraud Examiner
• Inspector General
• Investigator
• Special Agent

What Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts Do

• Document all investigative activities.
• Prepare written reports of investigation findings.
• Prepare evidence for presentation in court.
• Testify in court regarding investigation findings.
• Interview witnesses or suspects and take statements.
• Coordinate investigative efforts with law enforcement officers and attorneys.
• Advise businesses or agencies on ways to improve fraud detection.
• Gather financial documents related to investigations.
• Conduct in-depth investigations of suspicious financial activity, such as suspected money-laundering efforts.
• Create and maintain logs, records, or databases of information about fraudulent activity.
• Analyze financial data to detect irregularities in areas such as billing trends, financial relationships, and regulatory compliance procedures.
• Design, implement, or maintain fraud detection tools or procedures.
• Lead, or participate in, fraud investigation teams.
• Review reports of suspected fraud to determine need for further investigation.
• Train others in fraud detection and prevention techniques.
• Maintain knowledge of current events and trends in such areas as money laundering and criminal tools and techniques.
• Evaluate business operations to identify risk areas for fraud.
• Recommend actions in fraud cases.
• Negotiate with responsible parties to arrange for recovery of losses due to fraud.
• Conduct field surveillance to gather case-related information.
• Research or evaluate new technologies for use in fraud detection systems.
• Obtain and serve subpoenas.
• Arrest individuals to be charged with fraud.

What Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

What Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

What Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts Need to Learn

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.