Fraud Investigation Services

Updated 5 October 2026 by Investigation Bureau

Fraud wins only while it stays hidden. Investigation Bureau investigates fraud against UK businesses and individuals, including identity fraud, invoice and payment-diversion attacks, insurance fraud and internal fraud. We turn what happened into documented, court-ready evidence, and trace assets where the money can still be followed.

When fraud comes to light, two things matter above all: moving quickly, and not alerting the person responsible. Evidence degrades and funds move. Confronting someone too early costs you both. Before you do anything else, tell us about it in confidence. The first conversation is free and an investigator replies within one working day.

Identity fraud

Somebody is using your name, your company's identity or an invented identity assembled from stolen details. We look into the accounts, credit applications, tenancies, directorships and trading carried on in your name. We establish how the details were obtained. And we document the fraud to the standard that banks, credit reference agencies, Report Fraud (the national reporting service that replaced Action Fraud) and the courts require.

Corporate identity fraud takes the form of cloned company websites, businesses trading under an almost identical name and fraudulent director appointments filed at Companies House. Here we evidence the impersonation and support the takedown and correction process.

Victims of identity fraud are often told to report it and wait. An independent investigation gives you something to report with: a documented account of what happened, when it happened and where the trail goes.

Business and commercial fraud

Invoice and payment-diversion fraud (BEC). A supplier's bank details are changed by email, and a payment goes to an account that was never theirs. We investigate the compromise, trace the chain of beneficiaries and preserve the digital evidence. We do it fast, because the window for recovery is measured in days.

Procurement, supplier and kickback fraud. Inflated invoices, phantom suppliers, and undisclosed conflicts between staff and vendors.

Internal and accounting fraud. Where the fraud sits inside the business, see also workplace investigations and corporate investigations.

Investment and mandate fraud. Fake platforms, clones of regulated firms, and opportunities that fail the most basic verification.

Insurance and claims fraud

For insurers, self-insured businesses and law firms, we verify personal-injury and liability claims that appear exaggerated or fabricated. The methods are lawful covert surveillance, activity verification and open-source research. The evidence is assembled to the standard the civil courts expect.

Fraud against individuals

Romance and investment scams. Advance-fee fraud. Fraud inside families and estates. Money taken by someone in a position of trust. If this has happened to you, the fault lies with the person who did it, and you are right to want it looked at properly.

Where the fraud happened online, our cyber investigations service takes the lead. Where the person has disappeared, our people tracing service sets out to locate them.

Asset tracing and recovery support

Knowing who did it is half the question. The other half is whether anything can be got back. We trace assets and beneficial ownership through corporate structures, property records and licensed data sources. Then we give you a frank view of whether enforcement is worth pursuing, before you spend money on it.

We are investigators, not a recovery service. We produce the evidence and the picture, and we work alongside your solicitor, who takes the legal action.

How a fraud investigation runs

1. A free, confidential first conversation. What happened, what evidence exists and what can realistically be achieved. We also consider whether your bank, Report Fraud or the police should hear from you first. Sometimes they should, and we will say so.
2. Preserve at once. Emails, headers, transaction records, documents, devices and digital artefacts are captured with a proper chain of custody before anything is lost.
3. Investigate. Analysis of financial and corporate records, OSINT, digital forensics and, where the case demands it, lawful surveillance.
4. Report. A written, timestamped report, prepared to be admissible in court, setting out what occurred, how it was established and what your options are.

How to choose a fraud investigator in the UK

Private investigators are not licensed in the UK, so you have to judge on evidence, not on badges. Six checks separate a fraud investigator who will strengthen your case from one who will weaken it:

• Evidence standards. Ask how material is preserved, and whether the investigator's work has supported civil proceedings, tribunals or police reports. A report that cannot survive disclosure is a cost, not an asset.
• Lawful data handling. Whoever you instruct should be registered with the ICO and able to state the lawful basis for what they propose. We are registered with the ICO as a data controller (ZC259849). Anyone offering bank statements, phone records or access to an account is offering to commit an offence.
• Fixed, written quotes. Fraud work is priced by phase. A fixed price for the desk phase, agreed before work starts, shows that your case has been scoped and that nobody has simply started a meter.
• Experience with your kind of fraud. Invoice diversion, romance scams, insurance claims, internal theft and investment fraud are different disciplines. Ask the investigator who would handle your case what comparable work they have done.
• Honesty about recovery. No investigator can guarantee your money back. One who promises it is the second scam.
• Independence. For employers and insurers, the investigation must be independent of the people involved if it is to carry weight at a tribunal or in court.

Put those six questions in your first conversation. If the answers are vague, keep looking.

Frequently asked questions

What can a private fraud investigator do that the police cannot?

Nothing more than the police. Something different. The police and Report Fraud triage enormous volumes, and many reports of economic crime are never individually investigated. A private investigation is dedicated to your case and moves at commercial speed. The evidence it produces belongs to you, and you can use it in civil proceedings, an insurance claim or internal disciplinary action. Where a criminal offence comes to light, we will always encourage you to report it to the police, and our evidence supports that report.

Are identity fraud investigators able to access bank records?

No, and no legitimate investigator will tell you otherwise. Bank statements, phone records and medical records cannot lawfully be obtained without the account holder's consent or a court order. Trying to get them by deception is a criminal offence under section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018. What we can do is establish the fraud from the records you are entitled to, from corporate and public data and from open-source intelligence. In practice, that is what evidences the case.

Can you recover money lost to fraud?

Sometimes the funds can be traced and recovery is realistic. Often they cannot. We tell you which position you are in before you spend anything on investigation. We never guarantee recovery, and anyone who does is selling you a second fraud. What a professional investigation does reliably deliver is evidence, a clear picture of where the money went, and a documented basis on which your bank, insurer or solicitor can act.

How quickly should I act after discovering fraud?

At once. With payment-diversion fraud, contact your bank first, because the chance of recovery falls sharply after the first 24 to 72 hours. With everything else, preserve the evidence and avoid alerting the suspect. Then send us the details and say that it is urgent. An early conversation costs nothing and can materially change the outcome.

Do you work for businesses, insurers and solicitors as well as individuals?

Yes. We take instructions from UK businesses, insurers and law firms, with reporting formatted for a tribunal, civil proceedings or a board. We also work directly for individuals, to the same evidential standard.

Found something that does not add up. Talk to an investigator, free and in confidence, before you confront anyone or move any money: start a confidential enquiry.

Related reading: How to prove fraud: the evidence investigators gather · Invoice fraud: the first 48 hours · How investigators trace hidden assets · How to check if a company is legitimate · Corporate investigations and due diligence · Signs an employee is committing fraud