Why Fraud Investigators Can’t Overlook Email

Communication is shifting to mobile and apps, but email remains vital to effective eDiscovery.

As business communications increasingly migrate to text messaging, WhatsApp, Slack and other applications, those tools naturally come into scope when investigating corporate fraud. Combine this trend with the increasing number of high-profile investigations in regulated industries—where pertinent emails are exposed and laid out in the public domain—and it would be reasonable to predict that those engaging in fraud and misconduct would choose to move incriminating conversations off email altogether.

But in our experience, even in our most recent investigations, email remains one of the most valuable sources of information. Whilst many of the communications related to a fraud might be reserved for mediums perceived as more secure and private, email almost always provides the key details and corroborating information required to uncover facts and establish a timeline.