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Procedure 3300Santa Ana Police Department Santa Ana PD Procedures Manual Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2021/11/30, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Santa Ana Police DepartmentINVESTIGATING ECONOMIC CRIMES - 1INVESTIGATING ECONOMIC CRIMES 3300.1 PURPOSE These guidelines are to be used to standardize the reporting of Economic Crimes to assist officers in their investigation and proper documentation of these crimes using the Department’s Records Management System (RMS) report template(s). 3300.2 INTRODUCTION Economic crime is growing at an alarming rate as criminals constantly strive to discover new ways to commit fraud and avoid detection. In response to this trend, the Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) developed guidelines to assist patrol officers with the documentation and investigation of the three major fraud areas: Identity Theft, Check Fraud and Major Fraud. These guidelines establish those crimes that require follow-up. It will also define the appropriate RMS report template to use based on the crime type and related circumstances. This guideline includes other ECU-related resources and recommendations involving Internet Fraud, Counterfeit Currency and a list of ECU-related charging sections. 3300.3 BACKGROUND These guidelines will provide consistency in the way officers document and investigate economic crimes. Officers sometimes complete unnecessary follow-up and/or documentation or may do less than is required. These guidelines provide officers with a set of standards and examples to provide consistency in the way cases are documented. These guidelines are also designed to reduce the amount of time patrol officers spend on these types of calls by detailing exactly what is expected and/or requested from the Criminal Investigations Bureau. Although these guidelines cover a wide variety of topics, fraud cases may take many forms. When in doubt how to proceed, contact an ECU detective/investigator or their supervisor. 3300.4 THE IDENTITY THEFT REPORT FORM 3300.4.1 WHEN TO USE THE IDENTITY THEFT SECTIONS OF THE REPORT TEMPLATE 1.A victim, who resides in the City of Santa Ana reports the unlawful use of their personal identifying information including victim businesses located in Santa Ana. 2.He/She/Business has not been the victim of any type of actual theft (459, 487, 488, etc.) Examples: 1.A suspect (known or unknown) used any part of the victim’s personal information to open, use, withdrawal from any type of account (i.e. cell phone, credit card, department store, line of credit, bank, etc.) and/or made purchases on that account. Santa Ana Police Department Santa Ana PD Procedures Manual INVESTIGATING ECONOMIC CRIMES Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2021/11/30, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Santa Ana Police DepartmentINVESTIGATING ECONOMIC CRIMES - 22. A suspect used the victim’s social security number for employment. 3.A suspect used the victim’s credit card/bank account information to make fraudulent purchases but the victim does not believe the information was compromised as the result of a theft or burglary. 4.A suspect made purchases on the Internet using the victim’s credit card/bank account. 5.A victim believes they lost their credit/debit card but didn't realize it at the time. They now discover fraudulent purchases on their account. 6.A victim’s bank checking account was used to make fraudulent/counterfeit checks that were cashed and/or attempted to be cashed. Refer to 3300.6.1 to 3300.6.4 scenarios in this procedural manual on handling in progress or just occurred incidents at a bank or check cashing business. 7.Any other similar type report. Note: If the victim is also reporting another associated crime (i.e. burglary) along with the fraudulent use of their personal information, document all necessary information on a Crime Report. Example: The victim had a credit card stolen from their vehicle and purchases were made in his/ her/business name. Document on a Crime Report and list PC 459 – Burglary as the primary crime type and PC 530.5 – Identity Theft as the secondary charge. If the identity theft is not discovered until later, a supplemental report should be done to include the identity theft activity. Include the same level of detail as with the Economic Crimes – Identity Theft sections on the RMS template. 3300.4.2 INVESTIGATION OF IDENTITY THEFT The Economic Crimes – Fraud, Check, ID Theft template on RMS is used to document all investigations. Therefore, it is requested officers conduct a thorough investigation and upload relevant paperwork to the report. The ECU will complete any additional investigation once the case has been reviewed. The Identity Theft Information sections of the template should be filled out completely and a narrative summarizing any additional information should be prepared. Note: If an identity theft investigation is located that is a smaller part of a more complex criminal investigation (burglary, counterfeiting, check fraud, etc.) the officer should, document the incident on a Crime Report using the RMS and investigate as appropriate. 3300.4.3 OTHER RELATED IDENTITY THEFT CRIMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS Occasionally, a victim of identity theft who resides in another city will be referred to the Santa Ana Police Department to file a report if a related crime occurred in Santa Ana. In that case, officer should: document the appropriate incident on a Crime Report using the RMS,use the section (refer to section 3300.12) that is most appropriate (459, 470, 484(g), etc.), and collect any relevant evidence (video recording, witness information