The surveillance companies know that when the economy worsens they will see the number of fraud cases increase. Houston and Dallas private investigators are no exception. Although they see demand for some services decrease, they see an increase in skip traces and scam investigations.

honest people despair

As times get tough, Americans are having to cut back to make ends meet. With unemployment rising, raises frozen, and benefits dwindling, especially health insurance, many of them find things getting more and more desperate. His situation ranges from not being able to pay for cable TV to not being able to pay for groceries.

Even decent, law-abiding citizens begin to face difficult decisions. The kind of person who will return to a store if given an extra coin to change is now in a situation where he must choose between defrauding a faceless corporation or losing the family home. These are not the professional scammers that surveillance companies are used to dealing with, but average people facing above-average financial problems.

Fraud is not a victimless crime

When surveillance companies uncover these scams, the people involved often feel like they’re not actually stealing. It’s not like they’re breaking a window and stealing a stereo. Nobody gets hurt, right? However, the truth is that fraud simply makes a bad financial situation worse for everyone.

Consider an employee about to be fired who fakes a work-related injury. Even if your employer suspects that the worker is lying, he or she may overlook it. The owner may feel sympathy for the worker and think that since the insurance company will pay the claim, no harm has been done.

Unfortunately, the rise in fraudulent claims drives up costs for insurance companies. They have to raise premiums to compensate. Now the employer faces higher insurance rates and has to cut employee benefits or lay off more people to pay the new higher rates. Everyone becomes a victim.

Companies commit fraud too

Business owners deal with more than employee or customer complaints. They also discover that partner companies may also be misleading them. Service providers may charge you for services that were never performed. Suppliers may substitute different items in an order or ship less than was purchased, hoping the error will be overlooked. Organizations can accumulate large debts before filing for bankruptcy. As noted above, these are often honest companies facing tough times and deciding to step out of line a bit.

In these difficult times, companies have to protect themselves from these types of situations. More companies are hiring surveillance companies to investigate routine activities, even if fraud is not suspected. The cost is a fraction of what will be lost in a dishonest transaction and buys not only financial protection but also peace of mind.