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McCartney, Ian --- "ABCI National Fraud Desk - a collaborative approach towards combating fraud" [2000] AUFPPlatypus 4; (2000) 66 Platypus: Journal of the Australian Federal Police, Article 4


ABCI National Fraud Desk - a collaborative approach towards combating fraud

A collaborative approach towards combating fraud

by Federal Agent Ian McCartney

Federal Agent Ian McCartney was seconded from Southern Region Operations to the ABCI in Canberra in July last year to develop a national fraud database. He is a qualified Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA), and has extensive experience in fraud investigations.

The world of white-collar crime is rapidly evolving as technology facilitates the movement of finances and information across jurisdictional boundaries. To meet this challenge, the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (ABCI) was tasked by the Police Commissioners of Australia to develop a national fraud database.

As a result, a national fraud analytical capability is being developed by the ABCI in conjunction with the eight Australian Police Services. Since February 2000, the ABCI began providing investigators all over Australia with stage one of the project — the National Fraud Desk: a secure Intranet website which gives up-to-date information on emerging trends and new techniques in fraud.

Components on the Desk will cover areas such as plastic card fraud, identity fraud, e-commerce, computer crime, tax and GST fraud and proceeds of crime. Particular emphasis is placed on technology advancements and the impact on areas such as e-commerce and financial instruments used in money laundering.

The Desk will help to identify emerging trends and will create a repository where information can be collected, collated, analysed and disseminated.

An example of some of the information already contained on the Desk is related to the spate of overseas counterfeit credit card syndicates entering Australia recently and the associated fraud crimes across jurisdictional boundaries.

Investigative tool

Apart from reference material, the Desk will also maintain:

• A contact and information directory.

• Extracts of fraud legislation.

• Fraud alerts and intelligence circulars.

• Links to sites on the World Wide Web.

There is also provision for a future discussion forum, giving fraud investigators around Australia the ability to discuss matters of relevance electronically.

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The national fraud desk is a secure Intranet website which gives up-to-date information on emerging trends and new techniques in fraud.

The National Fraud Desk represents an important investigative tool for the fraud investigator. A primary focus of the Desk is its ability to provide operational support to the investigator at the ‘coal face'. On commencement of an investigation, an investigator can use the Desk's search facility to determine whether the Desk contains reference and trend information relevant to the investigation being undertaken. Of particular interest for new investigators will be the fraud glossary on the Desk, consisting of an extensive listing of fraud terms and their definitions.

Sources of information

As part of the process, a Working Party has been set up to assist in the development of the Desk. The Working Party comprises representatives from each jurisdiction, including members from both AFP National and ACT, who act as conduits for inclusion of relevant information on the Desk.

To provide a holistic approach towards fraud enforcement, information is being sourced not only from law enforcement here and overseas, but also from government agencies and the private financial sector.

From a Commonwealth perspective, a number of Commonwealth agencies involved in fraud investigation have been approached to furnish information on trends and techniques during investigations. In particular, the ABCI is working closely with the GST Fraud Section of the ATO so it can inform fraud investigators on the possible impact of the new GST legislation.

A concerted effort has also been made to obtain relevant trend and technique-type information from the private financial sector, in particular the banking and credit card industry.

Access

Stage one of the project, the fraud reference component of the National Fraud Desk has been on-line since February 2000. The Desk, set up in a web-based format, is available via the ABCI's secure Intranet. The Intranet service, known as the Australian Law Enforcement Intelligence Net (or ALEIN), utilises web browser technology and is linked to all Australian police services. It is also linked to the National Crime Authority, State Crime Commissions, the Australian Customs Service and a number of other agencies, on a restricted basis.

Due to interest from the private sector, the ABCI is exploring the proposal that a ‘mirror image' of the National Fraud Desk, excluding the database component and ‘police protected' information, be made available to relevant private agencies via the Internet. It is envisaged that these agencies will include forensic accountancy firms, credit card, insurance and banking firms. The benefit to the project is that it would further enhance cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the financial sector industry, and thereby increase the quantity and quality of fraud information furnished by this sector.

Origins of the concept

The need for a national fraud database was first discussed at the Commissioners' Conference in May 1995. A Working Party, comprising officers from NSWPOL (Chair), VICPOL, the AFP and the ABCI, explored the feasibility of a national fraud database and recommended that the ABCI prepare a detailed business case for the project.

The case prepared outlined benefits the ABCI believed a national fraud database would provide, which included:

• The ability to share relevant historical and current fraud information in a cost effective and efficient manner.

• The ability to access the totality of Australian fraud intelligence, including Commonwealth data.

• The earlier detection of offenders from a tactical perspective.

• The earlier identification of emerging national fraud patterns, with the ability to effect proactive rather than reactive action.

The case strategy was endorsed by the Police Commissioners in April 1998 along with a concept to develop a national database which uses the ABCI's Australian Criminal Intelligence Database (ACID). The position of Coordinator National Fraud Database was created at the Bureau in July 1999.

The Database

The second stage of the project, the database component of the Desk, will be available by the second half of 2000. The focus of the database will be on the ability to integrate fraud intelligence from the jurisdictions into one national database. It will comprise a subset of the extensive Australian Criminal Intelligence Database (ACID) maintained at the ABCI. ACID is a relational database with emphasis on incident and event information. It allows users to conduct powerful searches on various entity types, associations between entities, activities, topics, and concepts. A business case is currently being prepared by the ABCI to detail the process on how fraud intelligence will be obtained from each jurisdiction and how it will be integrated into the ACID database.

The National Fraud Desk will provide a link for the user into the database for Australia wide searches on criteria such as offender, address, offence, and so on. Tactically, the database will be of importance. Searches will potentially enable the user to determine whether a fraud suspect under current investigation has been investigated previously in another jurisdiction.

The importance of the database is not just from a tactical perspective but also from a strategic perspective by creating an ability to identify and analyse fraud trends on a national level.

Keeping pace with change

The changing trends in fraud have been well documented, particularly with the impact of technology advancements such as the Internet. One function of the Desk will be to identify emerging technical issues and the changing circumstances in fraud. The Desk will not only identify emerging trends, but also assist law enforcement in the development of proactive enforcement strategies to combat these problems.

For the investigator, the Desk represents a valuable tool in the investigation of fraud, especially in this rapidly changing enviroment. Further enquiries in relation to the Desk can be directed to: Ian McCartney, ABCI Coordinator National Fraud Database on 02 6243 5680 or e-mail ian.mccartney@abci.gov.au.

AFP representatives on the Working Party:

• Federal Agent Jo Tait, Sydney Operations Phone: 02 9286 4461

• Analyst Morgan Croll, National Operations Phone: 02 6275 7761

• Federal Agent Geoff Hobart, ACT Fraud Phone: 02 6256 7415

• Federal Agent Wayne Terpstra, ACT Fraud Phone: 02 6256 7588.


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