True Crime is very popular, but of a high journalistic interest too; at least when it comes to reveal the structural patterns behind a crime.
That is especially true for cases where the financial damage in each case may not be high, but the number of victims is enormous.
In a crime format for German public broadcaster ZDF, a team of journalists tried to investigate such cases and to see if it is really impossible to find the fraudsters or at least to come close. In their first investigation they identified and met the fraudster long before the police even started searching. Some of their learnings are:
- Journalists can compete with police forces, although they do not have the same means at hand - simply because they can put more effort into investigations.
- Cooperation with experts, like lawyers or IT-specialists is often a must.
- Since traces in most cases are scarce, it is best not to prioritize too strictly, but to follow all of them simultaneously
- Investigating everything online is not enough, you must have feet on the ground.
Marcus Lindemann is the producer behind the format and will share insights from four documentaries and two ongoing projects.