Real World Case Study

Human Trafficking Investigations Reduced from Hours to Minutes

A real-world example of how DeliverFund's technology equips financial institutions to detect illicit networks faster, more accurately, and with less human cost.

Case Study Outcomes per Investigator

0K Hours Saved
0x More Cases Reviewed
0% Reduction in False Positives

Case Study Objectives

The Client

Top Ten Publicly Traded Bank with over $500 Billion in Assets

Primary Goal

Reduce overall AML investigation manhours while improving consistency and documentation

Technology

Evaluation of DeliverFund's PATHFinder data under real-world conditions

Manual Investigations are Slow, Inconsistent, and Costly

Financial crime investigators at a major U.S. commercial bank spent considerable time validating whether emails, phone numbers, and WhatsApp numbers linked to customers or counterparties showed indicators of human trafficking activity.

A large portion of that work was repetitive open-source intelligence (OSINT) research, including news lookups and reviewing publicly available advertisements where trafficking victims may be marketed or targeted.

Before using DeliverFund's PATHFinder data, reaching a defensible conclusion meant bouncing between multiple sources, manually collecting artifacts, and rebuilding the same link analysis every time a new identifier emerged.

2 Hours Per Case

Average investigation time before PATHFinder

23% False Positive Rate

Inconsistent manual OSINT processes

Inconsistent Documentation

Varied evidence collection across investigators

Investigator Burnout

Unnecessary exposure to traumatic content

DeliverFund's PATHFinder Data

Purpose-built to track digital fingerprints tied to illicit activity, with a specific focus on uncovering phone numbers and email addresses linked to human trafficking.

Data Integration

DeliverFund's PATHFinder integrates human trafficking-specific data with comprehensive negative news capabilities, resulting in fewer dead ends and faster validation from a single identifier.

Flexible Deployment

The platform can function as a stand-alone tool or be integrated via API into existing case management systems, providing flexibility for different institutional architectures.

Purpose-Built Signals

Investigators immediately gained access to trafficking-linked signals and connections instead of rebuilding manual research loops every time a new identifier emerged.

From Identifier to Evidence — In One View

Identifier Input Phone, email, or WhatsApp number
PATHFinder Analysis DeliverFund Data + Negative News scan
Connections Mapped Related identifiers and risk signals
Evidence Ready Clean write-up for escalation

Quantifiable Impact Across the Board

Investigation time reduced 83%

Average minutes per investigation

False positive rate dropped 83%

Percentage of false positives in investigations

6x more cases per month

Cases reviewed per investigator, without adding headcount

2,000 hours saved annually

Monthly hours saved across 100 investigations

Documentation Consistency

Standardized evidence collection across all investigators, improving quality assurance and regulatory examination readiness.

FinCEN Compliance

Improved SAR filing accuracy and speed, strengthening the bank's overall FinCEN compliance posture.

Investigator Welfare

Minimized unnecessary traumatic image exposure while still providing investigative needs, reducing burnout risk and providing HR liability protections.

How One Investigation Unfolded

1

Account Opened

December 2025

A new account was opened. Early on, several human trafficking risk indicators emerged: fast movement of funds, high velocity low-dollar transactions from multiple unrelated third parties, and frequent profile changes.

2

Alert Triggered

Shortly after opening, the customer changed both their email and phone number, triggering an internal fraud alert tied to profile changes.

3

PATHFinder Search — Minutes, Not Hours

Searching the new phone number and email in PATHFinder, the investigator found the identifiers associated with an adult services advertisement within minutes. The number appeared across multiple websites with related connections supporting the risk narrative.

4

Evidence Captured, Case Escalated

Everything was in one place. The investigator moved from identifier to connections to supporting evidence quickly, captured the screenshots needed, and built a clean, consistent write-up for escalation.

Why This Matters for Financial Institutions

"Investigations that used to take hours are now handled in minutes because I'm starting with purpose-built trafficking-linked signals and connections, instead of rebuilding the same manual research loop every time."

— Senior AML Investigator

Regulatory Readiness

For financial institutions operating under intensifying regulatory scrutiny around human trafficking detection and reporting, the operational efficiency of DeliverFund's PATHFinder data combined with investigative thoroughness represents a significant competitive advantage.

Consistent Due Diligence

The platform delivers faster, more consistent due diligence, meaning fewer missed signals and less time burned on manual OSINT loops. Repeatable processes make quality assurance smoother and escalations easier.

Defensive Posture

By providing consistent, well-documented investigative pathways, DeliverFund's data strengthens the institution's defensive posture against regulatory scrutiny while reducing the cognitive and emotional burden on investigators.

For institutions serious about combating financial flows tied to human trafficking and other fraud, tools that combine speed, consistency, and investigator welfare are no longer optional — they're essential.