October 2015 - All in Investigations

Employment Background Checks Help Spot Fake Diplomas

In a tough job market, job searchers can become desperate and willing to do anything to get a job – including lying about their education with fake diplomas obtained from non-existent universities. To keep from getting duped and facing future consequences, employers need to conduct thorough background investigations on potential employees to detect the phonies before hiring and training them. Unfortunately, fraud is rampant in the employment market with fake degrees on the rise. Google “fake degree” and hundreds of websites offering diplomas pop up. These “diploma mills” sell job applicants high school, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees, or professional certifications with transcripts for a flat fee. The diploma often requires little, if any, course work and awards a degree based solely on the person’s [...]

Finding Hidden Assets after a Relative Dies

A colleague was sharing a story the other day about an old women who was dying and had only a few weeks to live. However, the women absolutely refused to create a will or even reveal her assets to her family. Even though her children treated her well and never asked her for any money, she was convinced that if she revealed her financial situation that it would ensure her untimely death. While her family was in the process of paying her bills, they discovered a checking account that contained a significant amount of money. This made them wonder what other unknown assets their mother had that they didn’t know about. Most people know it’s important to have a will, but many people never get [...]

Are You Being Victimized By Corporate Espionage?

According to a recent article on CNN, the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, Randall Coleman said that the bureau has seen a 53% increase in economic espionage cases. To warn and educate industry leaders, the FBI has launched a nationwide campaign. In the article, Bill Evanina, head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said, “Economic security is national security.” There is growing evidence of threats from several different nations, which is part of the concern from the government agencies. Three scenarios highlight the types of situations of corporate espionage: Insider Threats. This is a situation where individuals who are familiar with the inner workings of a company or products are recruited by outside organizations. Sometimes these individuals actually “spy” on the company and [...]

Are You Aware of What You’re Leaving on That Sim Card?

The good old factory reset has done enough for you to get rid of that old phone, right? NOTHING could be less true! And that could be enough to bring your business, your marriage or your financial life down for good. Let me explain. So many people are willing to donate – or sell – their old phones when the newest version arrives on their doorstep. The cellphone expert here at knows that all he has to do is run a little sim card forensics and he can collect all sorts of data from that donated phone. And it’s not just a jumble of code, no, it’s phone numbers, names, messages and personal information. There was a blog post we stumbled across online where a [...]

Cell Phone Forensics and the Little Thumbprint

Here at we conduct a lot of mobile device forensics. We have included cellular location evidence in our findings and used cellular tower triangulation, too. Of course, cell phone spying is a continuing issue and we do a lot of cell phone hack detection and removal of the mobile spy. Wireless forensics include cell phone records analysis and cell phone tracking. We take pride in the fact that we are on the cutting edge and have so much experience that we have “seen it all.” That’s why when we read an article about a group of armed robbers on the rampage in the Cleveland area and saw how cell phone forensics were used to catch them we were not surprised. One of the robbers was [...]

Child Custody and the “Extramarital Affair King”

One of the most emotionally charged aspects of divorce, many years after the divorce is final, is child custody. In some cases it is used as a way to punish ex-spouses. But in other situations, it is a question of the welfare of the child(ren) that is at stake. When an ex-spouse reaches out to an attorney about those situations, the first thing an attorney must ascertain is whether the child is being played as a pawn between angry exes or if there truly is a case for changing custody rulings. It’s very difficult to prove. So many times it is a case of “he said,” “she said. So, in order to make an accurate determination, attorneys call private investigators like . A child custody [...]

Investigation Proves You Can’t Be in Two Places at One Time

In the investigative business, one day is never like the next. At , we happen to like the fact that we might work with a few insurance companies, to find the truth about suspected insurance fraud and then go directly to a case involving suspected employee embezzlement. From there, it’s not a bit unusual for us to then help an attorney locate a missing heir or find unknown heirs. We also frequently work with both sides of a court case. Sometimes it’s the prosecutor’s office. But on other occasions, we get a call from a defense attorney. Not long ago, a defense attorney contacted about a high-profile case. In many ways, the media had already got the ball rolling in regard to publicly trying and [...]

Not All Office Spying is About Corporate Espionage

Many times, our clients are flabbergasted after we conduct a very confidential TSCM sweep of their offices. When TSCM services are combined with digital forensics, the findings catch them by surprise. It’s not uncommon for IT departments to be asked to monitor employee’s habits in surfing the Internet. Today with so much of the business world transacting business through the Internet, monitoring has been reduced to applying restrictions and developing Internet use policies. What Sort of Investigation? One C-level executive had a problem and contacted directly. He was a little uncertain about what he wanted. There was a female admin who was giving him some weird vibes. So much so that he went to personnel to find out where she had worked previously because he [...]

TSCM Services Still a Productive Measure for Investigation

In today’s highly advanced technical age, very often the common person can conduct some research, click on some links, learn a lot in a limited amount of time and trace down all kinds of information. But of course, even in this age of finding a lot about a lot in a limited amount of time, still has professional access to data bases that are unavailable to the average person. Then, we also make it our business to remain on the cutting edge of technology, especially regarding digital forensics, forensic computer analysis and forensic data recovery. Even with technology expanding in those directions, some people forget about the need for Technical Surveillance Countermeasures, or TSCM. Some believe that the collection of cell phones, tablets and other [...]

Monthly Archives: October 2015