Reference no: EM131756234

In December 2013, a serial con artist plead guilty to Bank Fraud and Identity Theft. According to the plea agreement, the 'con artist' committed crimes from at least as early as July 2011 through May 2013, when she was finally arrested. Over a period of two years, and at least 58 times, the criminal defrauded banks and individuals. As part of her scheme she would approach people, usually at ATMs, and give them a sad story about her need to cash a check and her inability to deposit the check into her bank account. She would convince her victims to deposit the checks, which were worthless, into their own account and then withdraw funds, sometimes giving them $100 for their trouble.

The fake checks were generally drawn on closed accounts, because the checks had been stolen or were from the accounts of deceased individuals. When she was arrested for failure to appear warrants in May 2013, some of the items recovered included a checkbook, stolen from a purse at a local mall, along with the victim's Driver's License, Social Security card, a Visa card, and a bank debit card.

Question: you are a Digital Forensic investigator who has been hired by the attorney for the convicted party. The attorney tells you that the case is under appeal based on the argument that the 'con artist' was coerced to confess. The attorney also gives you a cellphone belonging to his party and asks you to run a thorough examination of the mobile device to extract any data that may be important to this case.

Detail the steps you would take in your investigation, starting with taking possession of the mobile device.

Reference: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/serial-con-artist-pleads-guilty-bank-fraud-and-aggravated-identity-theft