How to Write an Effective Fraud Report for Local or Federal Law Enforcement

NOTE: This report can be adapted to any fraud or other crime situation.

How to Write an Effective Fraud Report guides you through the step-by-step process of telling your story in a manner that is immediately recognizable to law enforcement, defense attorneys, and prosecutors regardless of your role in the scam.

As a scam victim, you will enable law enforcement and prosecutors pursue an investigation and build a case.

As a middleman in a scam, you can demonstrate that your were also a victim or mitigate your involvement and/or present yourself as a key witness, meaning a person of value for investigators and prosecutors, a person with far more information about the scammer than the victims have.

A properly organized and written fraud report cuts down on the time required to catch the con artist and provides a solid base for the Prosecution.

The authorities want to know exactly

• What happened

• Where it happened

• How it happened

• When it happened and in what sequence

• Who was and is involved

You must be prepared to speak with the authorities or valuable time and leads will be lost.

Correctly assembled, a concise and organized account of what happened is your most valuable asset. This account, or report, is called a Narrative.

The better assembled and written the narrative, the faster law enforcement agencies can act to apprehend the con artist.

You must be ready to stand on your narrative.  It will be used as a reference for your deposition.  Both the Prosecution and the Defense will refer to your narrative, and it will be used in court.

A narrative is a list of facts.  It is not a novel.  It is not the place for any emotion other a description of those emotions that caused you to take a certain action.  Nobody cares if you said or did something you might consider stupid.  It is not up to you to determine what may or may not be important or relevant.  All events are to be entered into your narrative down the best detail and the bitterest detail.

Every statement in your narrative must be truthful.  If it is not, the lies and sidestepping will come out at some time during the investigative process, during your deposition, or even worse - in court.

Your narrative must be so solid that if you cannot remember what you wrote, you can state with a clear conscience, "If I wrote that in my narrative, then that's the way it must have happened."  If your conscience is not clear, it will be noticed.

If you cannot remember a detail or event write, "I don't remember."  If you remember parts of an event, but the actual play by play is foggy write, "To the best of my recollection." 

A precise narrative:

1. Provides police with an immediate trail to follow

2. Helps you to get a grip on what happened and why

3. Helps law enforcement see a clear picture of what transpired

4. Is an invaluable aid to the Prosecution

5. Helps prepare you to be a better witness for the Prosecution

6. If you have been caught in the middle between the con artists and the victims, it can pinpoint the role you played and why.  See Practical Advice for Middlemen in a Fraud.

ïFOR BEST RESULTS, FOLLOW THE STEPS IN THE ORDER GIVENð