Posts
TRUTH VERIFICATION TECHNIQUES & CHARACTER PROFILING
1 While there are many high quality software systems available to detect and prevent cyber fraud,
dealing face to face with the humans that perpetrate these frauds requires different skill sets.
2 Intelligent, but sadly sociopathic humans design and develop IT systems to perpetrate cyber frauds.
Sometimes we never get to meet these individuals because they are shielded by layers of anonymity.
They could be anywhere; in their own homes or in shopping malls where they can access (with or
without authority) a decent wifi connection.
3 Over many years of fraud investigation I have found that there is no common physical appearance
amongst cyber criminals. Those that I pursued and eventually met, ranged in looks and overall
appearance between geeky and movie star. I found no immediately visible physical attributes.
4 However, during initial contacts and up until full confession stage they did present physiological cues
that are quite common to all criminal sociopaths, fraudsters, con artists and liars.
Example:
i No one person will present one set of physiological cues ( telltale signs caused by
psychological imbalance which manifest in physiological signs). There are many telltale cues,
which present in sets’ and a trained fraud investigator will observe the subject (suspect) for
the cues.
ii No one cue is regarded as an indicator of deceptive behaviour. The investigator will take
note of cues that repeatedly manifest in response to sensitive questions and he will look for
other confirmatory cues.
4.1 For instance, when presented with a sensitive issue or question, the subject might display one or
more of a series of micro-facial expressions.
4.2 The micro-facial expressions displayed by a deceptive subject are more often than not out of synch
with other facial expressions.
Example:
i A genuine (honest) denial would usually be accompanied with ‘eyebrows down’ frown.
ii An untruthful denial will often involve ‘eyebrows up’ movement.
4.3 The trained investigator looks for:
i Tension and involuntary muscle tics occurring around the eye area.
ii Is the subject smile supported by smiling eyes?
iii Do they crinkle in the corners?
iv Is subject presenting a ‘Pan American’ smile ?
v A Pan American smile was so named by the false smiles of air hostesses.
vi Is the subject’s mouth skewed while answering? A skewed mouth suggests skewed emotions
brought about by the act of lying.
vii Is the subject smiling on one side of mouth only?
viii A high stress smile is usually on rhs only, while the other side of mouth is perhaps stationary
or semi activated.
5 Investigators will also observe the subjects eye movements during responses and explanations.
More movement to right side (median and upper) is regarded as possible deceptive behaviour, but
when coupled with two other cues simultaneously, the ‘set’ of cues suggests a high probability of
deceptive behaviour from the subject.
1 While there are many high quality software systems available to detect and prevent cyber fraud,
dealing face to face with the humans that perpetrate these frauds requires different skill sets.
2 Intelligent, but sadly sociopathic humans design and develop IT systems to perpetrate cyber frauds.
Sometimes we never get to meet these individuals because they are shielded by layers of anonymity.
They could be anywhere; in their own homes or in shopping malls where they can access (with or
without authority) a decent wifi connection.
3 Over many years of fraud investigation I have found that there is no common physical appearance
amongst cyber criminals. Those that I pursued and eventually met, ranged in looks and overall
appearance between geeky and movie star. I found no immediately visible physical attributes.
4 However, during initial contacts and up until full confession stage they did present physiological cues
that are quite common to all criminal sociopaths, fraudsters, con artists and liars.
Example:
i No one person will present one set of physiological cues ( telltale signs caused by
psychological imbalance which manifest in physiological signs). There are many telltale cues,
which present in sets’ and a trained fraud investigator will observe the subject (suspect) for
the cues.
ii No one cue is regarded as an indicator of deceptive behaviour. The investigator will take
note of cues that repeatedly manifest in response to sensitive questions and he will look for
other confirmatory cues.
4.1 For instance, when presented with a sensitive issue or question, the subject might display one or
more of a series of micro-facial expressions.
4.2 The micro-facial expressions displayed by a deceptive subject are more often than not out of synch
with other facial expressions.
Example:
i A genuine (honest) denial would usually be accompanied with ‘eyebrows down’ frown.
ii An untruthful denial will often involve ‘eyebrows up’ movement.
4.3 The trained investigator looks for:
i Tension and involuntary muscle tics occurring around the eye area.
ii Is the subject smile supported by smiling eyes?
iii Do they crinkle in the corners?
iv Is subject presenting a ‘Pan American’ smile ?
v A Pan American smile was so named by the false smiles of air hostesses.
vi Is the subject’s mouth skewed while answering? A skewed mouth suggests skewed emotions
brought about by the act of lying.
vii Is the subject smiling on one side of mouth only?
viii A high stress smile is usually on rhs only, while the other side of mouth is perhaps stationary
or semi activated.
5 Investigators will also observe the subjects eye movements during responses and explanations.
More movement to right side (median and upper) is regarded as possible deceptive behaviour, but
when coupled with two other cues simultaneously, the ‘set’ of cues suggests a high probability of
deceptive behaviour from the subject.
6 It is my
experience that deceptive subjects of high intelligence usually talk too much.
They tend to
respond beyond the parameters of a question, likely in the belief that an excess of verbal
information will satisfy the investigator.
7 An excess of verbal responses from the subject is also a subconscious stratagem to ‘stop the
sensitive questions’ emanating from the investigator AND to buy time. Time is required to delve into
one’s imagination and invent some fiction to import into the story.
8 No person tells a totally false story.
i Huge chunks of their stories will be true.
ii The parts that they don’t want to tell you will be edited out intentionally.
iii But the story needs to flow, so the deceptive subject edits his story and imports fabrications to help make the story flow. This is where Statement Analysis skills come into play.
9 An investigator trained to use SCAN (Statement Content Analysis) will detect sensitive parts of the
subject’s story. Sensitivity in the story reflects sensitivity in real life, i.e. at the time of the incidents
or activities being recalled. The investigator will then explore those sensitive areas in order to
uncover the truth.
10 When a subject is under the self-imposed stress of lying;
i His use of language changes, often quite extraordinarily.
ii Investigators look for (a) pronoun abuse and
(b) change of use in adjectives and adverbs.
11 Changes in language are not coincidental. They are meaningful. By combination of careful analysis
and exploration, the changes in language can be associated with actual events that the subject
edited out of his story.
12 To understand and accept that passive interrogation techniques such as SCAN and Kinesics are
invaluable investigation tools, the investigator must have belief in the subject. In a nutshell, this
means the belief that all people are born honest and all people have an innate desire to tell the
truth.
13 Having an innate desire to tell the truth does not mean that people are literally bursting to confess.
It means that an investigator has to:
i Invest time in the subject.
ii Pose broad questions to the subject.
iii Let the subject do a lot of talking. A lot of talking (information) provides a huge database to
analyse.
14 There will be a positive drive in the subject (any amount of + drive in excess of 0%) to tell the truth.
The investigator has to massage that % of positive drive to slowly increase it to a point where the
subject will start to confess by making small admissions.
15 In the USA, open statistics show us that some 98% of convicted criminals have confessions in their
case files. This statistic gives credence to the assertion that everyone wants to tell the truth.
16 Telling the truth, as in confessing, relieves a huge psychological burden off the guilty subject.
While such confession may result in embarrassment, shame, banishment or even imprisonment,
it does enable the truth teller to live more comfortably with himself, or herself.
PS: Males and females are equally deceptive.
respond beyond the parameters of a question, likely in the belief that an excess of verbal
information will satisfy the investigator.
7 An excess of verbal responses from the subject is also a subconscious stratagem to ‘stop the
sensitive questions’ emanating from the investigator AND to buy time. Time is required to delve into
one’s imagination and invent some fiction to import into the story.
8 No person tells a totally false story.
i Huge chunks of their stories will be true.
ii The parts that they don’t want to tell you will be edited out intentionally.
iii But the story needs to flow, so the deceptive subject edits his story and imports fabrications to help make the story flow. This is where Statement Analysis skills come into play.
9 An investigator trained to use SCAN (Statement Content Analysis) will detect sensitive parts of the
subject’s story. Sensitivity in the story reflects sensitivity in real life, i.e. at the time of the incidents
or activities being recalled. The investigator will then explore those sensitive areas in order to
uncover the truth.
10 When a subject is under the self-imposed stress of lying;
i His use of language changes, often quite extraordinarily.
ii Investigators look for (a) pronoun abuse and
(b) change of use in adjectives and adverbs.
11 Changes in language are not coincidental. They are meaningful. By combination of careful analysis
and exploration, the changes in language can be associated with actual events that the subject
edited out of his story.
12 To understand and accept that passive interrogation techniques such as SCAN and Kinesics are
invaluable investigation tools, the investigator must have belief in the subject. In a nutshell, this
means the belief that all people are born honest and all people have an innate desire to tell the
truth.
13 Having an innate desire to tell the truth does not mean that people are literally bursting to confess.
It means that an investigator has to:
i Invest time in the subject.
ii Pose broad questions to the subject.
iii Let the subject do a lot of talking. A lot of talking (information) provides a huge database to
analyse.
14 There will be a positive drive in the subject (any amount of + drive in excess of 0%) to tell the truth.
The investigator has to massage that % of positive drive to slowly increase it to a point where the
subject will start to confess by making small admissions.
15 In the USA, open statistics show us that some 98% of convicted criminals have confessions in their
case files. This statistic gives credence to the assertion that everyone wants to tell the truth.
16 Telling the truth, as in confessing, relieves a huge psychological burden off the guilty subject.
While such confession may result in embarrassment, shame, banishment or even imprisonment,
it does enable the truth teller to live more comfortably with himself, or herself.
PS: Males and females are equally deceptive.
