What’s the Best Thing You Can Do When it Comes to Partnerships?
One thing we have come to realize at is that our business is emotional. Not that we are emotional, but that emotions run high with our clients. It’s obvious that finding a missing person or pursuing evidence to exonerate someone wrongfully convicted or charged with a crime would be emotional. You might not think that many business investigations are quite emotionally-charged as well, but they can be. One case, for example, brought tears to the eyes of a big, burly business man. It was a form of business espionage, but not the kind that would come to mind. When Business Gets Personal His reputation in the marketplace was he was a personable and fair business man. He was good at the computer services he offered [...]
Don’t be a Victim to New Scam Techniques
As much as we knew it was a possibility, we were still a little surprised here at to hear that scammers were pretending to be private investigators in a payday loan debt scheme. The incident cited at credit.com says that a caller saying he was a private investigator pressured the victim into going to the local courthouse to settle her debt. There are so many things wrong about this: Private investigators are NOT debt collectors. Our business is to uncover facts, evidence and the truth, not to contact people and collect on debts. No one from will ever call to push you to settle a debt. It won’t happen. Unless there is a court case and hearing, no one can just “go to the courthouse” [...]
If You Are In Business, You Are a Potential Target for Corporate Espionage
What do you do in your leisure time? Watch football or motor racing? That’s all fun, right? Don’t kid yourself. Major sports are major businesses and that means big money is at stake. And when big money is on the line, there are also people who will do anything to “win.” For example, consider the recent “Deflate-gate” centered on footballs and Tom Brady. Now there is the Mercedes F-1 team suing a departing engineer for alleged data theft as he goes to join the competing Ferrari team. Corporate espionage and employee theft is limitless. It is not limited by content, size of business or geography. It is limited only by the aspirations of the person or persons engaging in it. Stealing confidential client lists – [...]
Cell Phone Forensics Can Be Your Best Friend When You are Accused of a Crime
Working with attorneys to help them build cases for their clients is an everyday experience for . We deal in the truth and there are two reasons attorneys look to us: They are trying to gather facts that prove their client’s innocence or create doubt as to guilt They are trying to gather information to understand the client’s situation better and be ready to defend with facts One case that illustrates why attorneys use investigators so often included a cell phone investigation. The attorney’s client, Ralph*, was accused of robbing a convenience store. This wasn’t a case of cell phone hack detection or cell phone spying, it was the facts that the cell phone device could supply that was needed. Most people are aware that [...]
It May Start as a Joke, but Spyware on the Computer is Never Funny
Proving innocence and proving guilt are opposite sides of the same investigative coin. Here at , we are concerned with facts, evidence and truth. That’s the investigative business. That being said, good investigators are also experienced professionals - and, I dare say, experts – in human behavior. It is that understanding of how people react and what they are likely to do that gives us leads that others might not recognize. detectives are also steadfast in their objectivity, which is another sign of a professional. Objectivity promotes clarity and the ability to see past the heat of the moment. Derek came to us in a highly emotional state. The young man was trying to build a career in accounting and there had been “an incident” [...]
Investigation Protects Employees and Prevents a Major Bad Decision in a Small Business
One thing we know here at , is that when getting to the truth is a matter of importance, you have to call in professionals – and the sooner the better. Dina’s attorney wasted no time in referring the solopreneur to a professional investigator. In the initial meeting she explained the situation: She had been a solopreneur in her accounting firm for almost five years. Her firm was growing and she started to entertain the idea of adding a partner. When Brett walked through the door looking for a job, it was like he was tailor-made to fit right in with the firm and clientele she had targeted. He was smart, technically proficient, and charming. She hired him on the spot during his first interview. [...]
Would You Immediately Accept that You are a Lost Heir?
Have you ever head of a “successional” or “probate” genealogist? Apparently, they do exist, at least in Europe, but the opposite side of the coin is that some who claim the title are con artists. Yes, that means there is yet one more trick coming to light. While investigators like are pros who know how to find a missing person or find missing heirs, the process undertaken by a successional genealogist is a little different. What is usually involved is a contract stating that they get 30 -35% of the inheritance if they can trace you back to an estate that is pending. Now, one story I read talked about a man whose grandfather had a great-nephew who died, unmarried and leaving no will. The [...]
Marriage Infidelity Claim Leads to Unexpected GPS Tracking
Some of the cases we get at can be pretty interesting – especially when it comes to suspected marital infidelity cases. Take for example, the case of the jealous, controlling husband who believed his wife was having an affair. Bob* and Meredith* had only been married for a year. While they were dating, Bob had been very sweet and attentive toward Meredith. But after their marriage, Bob was becoming more overbearing. He not only controlled all of their finances with an iron fist, but whenever Meredith came home late from work, he would question where she had been and who she had been with. When Meredith told her parents that Bob had accused her of having an extramarital affair with liaisons at a local hotel, [...]