Using Digital Forensics To Verify Insurance Claims

Introduction

Digital forensics methods are often used to uncover evidence from electronic devices to get information and verify validity of insurance claims. This is crucial in order to establish arson, insurance fraud, wrongful death, etc. These methods and techniques greatly assist insurance investigators in uncovering any digital evidence which could be accessible, password-protected, recently deleted, or otherwise hidden if located on a computer network or on storage devices such as hard drives, USB or CD-ROMs.

The temptation to commit a fraud of this type is on the increase, but using the latest forensic techniques, it is possible to recover evidence that can prove the sequence of events, making the task much more difficult for the fraudsters. Using forensic procedures, an investigator can determine the true cause of the fraud.

How are these investigations carried out?

For digital evidence recovery, forensic data analysis and disclosure management, forensic professionals use various tools (hardware and software) to search computer networks and storage devices for files containing certain keywords which can help us zero in on the fraudulent activity.

These keywords highlight portions of the information contained in these files for further analysis. This is done by analyzing keyword based specific searches on recovered and existing electronic documents, SMS’s, chats logs, emails and transaction receipts etc. These crucial details effectively point out fraudulent activities between two or more parties; chaining together pieces of evidence to make a strong case in legal proceedings. This is also helpful to develop important leads during eDiscovery and investigation process.

Example of insurance based frauds:

The below case illustrates the example of an insurance claim, where digital forensics can be used to help the claimant or the insurance company in case a fraud is suspected:

Fire claims:

A forensic expert can try to recover confidential records and other important files located on the computer in cases where the CPU or laptop has been burnt in a fire. This could help the company reduce data and monetary losses. On the other hand, through digital forensics methods, investigators can also obtain important evidence to determine the true cause of the fire breakout.

This is done to confirm whether the actual cause behind the fire breakout was a deliberate planned activity or it was really an unfortunate accident. This is a necessary procedure to reject any false claim made by those companies who use these incidents as a means to gain insured money to cover up their financial crises. This type of information helps insurance investigators to reject any falsified claim for insurance coverage on the damaged item or property. This also helps to reduce material damage and loss of profit policy.