CFE Interviewing and Interrogation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which interview technique involves asking about hypothetical third parties to reduce a suspect's embarrassment and encourage admission?
- Direct accusation
- Theme development
- Third-party projection (Correct answer)
- Minimization
Correct answer: Third-party projection
Third-party projection uses statements like 'some people in similar situations have done X' to distance the suspect from shame and open dialogue.
Question 2: A fraud examiner is interviewing a witness who suddenly becomes evasive when asked about expense reports. What should the examiner do?
- Immediately end the interview
- Make a note and return to the topic later with a different approach (Correct answer)
- Threaten the witness with legal consequences
- Accept the evasiveness and move on permanently
Correct answer: Make a note and return to the topic later with a different approach
Returning to sensitive topics later with a different framing can yield information once the witness is more comfortable or off-guard.
Question 3: Which of the following is a characteristic of a truthful denial during an interrogation?
- Soft, qualified language such as 'I don't think I did'
- Immediate, direct, and specific denial (Correct answer)
- Avoidance of the subject's own name
- Offering unsolicited alternative suspects immediately
Correct answer: Immediate, direct, and specific denial
Truthful denials tend to be spontaneous, direct, and unqualified, whereas deceptive denials are often hedged or delayed.
Question 4: What is the purpose of 'minimization' in an interrogation context?
- Reducing the scope of the investigation
- Offering moral justifications or excuses to make admitting easier for the suspect (Correct answer)
- Minimizing the interviewer's authority to lower resistance
- Reducing the number of questions asked
Correct answer: Offering moral justifications or excuses to make admitting easier for the suspect
Minimization offers the subject face-saving rationalizations, lowering psychological barriers to confession.
Question 5: During an interview, the subject says 'To be honest with you...' before answering a key question. How should this qualifier be interpreted?
- As a sign the subject is being cooperative
- As a potential verbal indicator that the subject may be less than fully honest otherwise (Correct answer)
- As proof of deception
- As irrelevant filler language
Correct answer: As a potential verbal indicator that the subject may be less than fully honest otherwise
Qualifiers like 'to be honest' can signal that the subject's default is not full honesty, though they are not conclusive proof of deception.
Question 6: What is the recommended seating arrangement for a private investigative interview to minimize the subject's anxiety?
- Interviewer behind a large desk to project authority
- Side-by-side at a 90-degree angle with no barrier between them (Correct answer)
- Subject seated lower than the interviewer
- Glass wall separating interviewer and subject
Correct answer: Side-by-side at a 90-degree angle with no barrier between them
A side-by-side or 90-degree arrangement without a physical barrier reduces confrontational dynamics and promotes open communication.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes a 'bait question' used in fraud interviews?
- A question designed to trap the subject in a legal admission
- A question implying the examiner has evidence they may or may not actually possess (Correct answer)
- A question that offers leniency in exchange for information
- A question repeated multiple times to test consistency
Correct answer: A question implying the examiner has evidence they may or may not actually possess
Bait questions suggest evidence exists to test the subject's reaction, which can reveal consciousness of guilt even if the examiner lacks that specific evidence.
CFE Interviewing and Interrogation 3
Which interview technique involves asking about hypothetical third parties to reduce a suspect's embarrassment and encourage admission?