Disclosure of theft in a factory – Case Study

At one of the leading manufacturing companies in the CEE region, a regular and significant loss was discovered in connection with the theft of expensive parts for industrial machinery. CCTV did not record either the perpetrator or the vehicle identification data, making it impossible for the customer to identify those responsible. Moreover, it was not known when exactly the goods had been stolen. Faced with these difficulties, the company turned to Verificators to identify the perpetrator of the theft and get him punished.

Analysis of sales of illegally acquired goods

There was a high probability that the sought-after goods would appear on auction sites and social media. Initially, a detailed analysis of these platforms and local sales groups where the product could be encountered was carried out. Dozens of listings or auctions from private sellers were identified. The key criteria used to type out suspicious listings included location, lack of invoicing and a price below market. This narrowed the circle of potential suspects to a dozen or so listings. Note that from 1 July to 31 December 2024, the maximum revenue without business registration is PLN 3225 per month. The inability to invoice and the quantity of goods that exceeds this amount may suggest their illegal origin and sale. A below-market price may mean that the seller wants to dispose of the goods quickly.

Scale of theft

Due to the scale of the theft, we suspected that the sale of the stolen goods was taking place on a number of portals and that the products were being offered below market price. Initially, we focused on offers coming from around the factory from where the goods were exported. Analysts initiated OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) activities in relation to the suspicious auctions. Although the sellers often hid under pseudonyms or false data, making them difficult to identify, it was nevertheless possible to obtain and analyse phone numbers and email addresses. In addition, they were linked to social media accounts. Thanks to these measures, the person responsible for selling the stolen goods was identified on most of the available platforms, as well as according to our assumptions.

Identifying the Perpetrator and Verifying the Theft

We carried out detailed OSINT operations on this individual and even arranged an undercover phone call. Difficulties arose when trying to obtain information on the suspect’s family members, as most of them did not have social media accounts. Nevertheless, we were able to establish the home address and co-owners of the property, which allowed us to identify the more active family members on social media. This allowed us to uncover links and potential other suspects involved in the whole operation.

Final verification and final action

A detective was also dispatched to the found address to observe the property for the presence of goods that may have been stolen. The detective managed to identify and document the process of transporting the goods to the property. A test purchase was then made using one of the auctions. The final verification of the product was carried out by our client, examining the purchased goods himself. As it later turned out after checking the serial numbers, the customer confirmed that the items were from their factory.

Results and conclusions

Thanks to these measures, the client obtained the necessary evidence to punish the perpetrator of the theft, recovered some of the lost goods and strengthened its safeguards against similar incidents in the future. The successful resolution of the theft has significantly reduced the company’s financial losses and restored the security of its production processes.

Author: Paulina Marek

*Client data has been anonymised prior to publication.

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