computer forensic investigations Archives - Page 4 of 8

Business Espionage is Not Limited to High Tech and Multi-Million Dollar Firms

When people think corporate espionage, they think high-tech and industrial secrets. They don’t realize that corporate espionage includes any product, service or client list that a company has to make money. Everything from chocolate recipes to online marketing techniques can be the subject of business espionage. Here’s a case from the International Investigator files as an example: While attending design school in England, Beth befriended another student, Miguel. They made an elaborate plan to open a business together once they graduated. While Miguel returned to his native Peru to wait for a visa, Beth returned to her native Florida and accepted a job with an already-established designer. After Miguel's visa was granted and he arrived in Miami, he backed out of the plan with Beth [...]

The Road to the Altar was Fast – And so was the Path to Divorce Court

More than anything, Ken did not want his sister to be right about the warnings she whispered before he tied the knot with Margo. His sister insisted that Margo's motivation for marriage had a lot to do with Ken's bank account and very little to do with love. Less than a year ago, Ken had lost his beloved first wife to cancer. He believed that he was destined to be a bachelor. So when he met Margo, Ken threw all caution to the wind. Ken ignored his attorney's advice to draw up a pre-nuptial contract. Now that a few months had gone by and several thousand dollars had flown out of his checking and savings accounts, that fog of bliss was beginning to clear. Ken [...]

Computer Forensics Uncovers Business Embezzlement

For more than a year, Sam and Julie worried about their future as business owners. For some unknown reason, their successful business now struggled financially. Sam spent long nights carefully studying line items on the budget with Steve, their business partner. It was difficult for Julie to finally speak up. But when they again worried about how to survive financially, she admitted her suspicious feelings about their business partner Steve. Julie was insistent that Steve absolutely had to be stealing money. Sam was positive that could not be the problem. Steve had been a long-time friend. He believed there was no way he would do something like this. Besides, Steve was as unstable financially as they were. Plus, since Sam repeatedly examined the financial records [...]

Investigators Foil Psychic Scam

The variety of personal stories we hear at is endless, probably because humans are fallible and gullible. Unless you have been very down on your luck, depressed and worried about your future, you might not understand how a grown adult could be swindled by a wanna-be psychic. But Eric, a struggling actor, was not only conned by a psychic prankster, he was ripped off, to the tune of $30,000.00. In Eric's defense, he saved money for a long time in order to pursue acting. He also moved across the country to be amongst agents and producers. For a couple of years, Eric found work. He was cast in a short-lived sitcom and a few commercials. But then, Eric's luck dried up. In a desperate effort [...]

Caustic Employees May Be as Harmful as Theft in the Workplace

Ed and Georgia were extremely conservative business owners. Last year, they realized a long time dream. They expanded the square footage of their business, took on a couple of new projects and hired four new employees. But for some unknown reason, employee morale noticeably began to dwindle. Employees more frequently called in sick. Some actually left the company without providing clear reasons for why they were suddenly unhappy. On their own, Ed and Georgia tried to interview workers about the shift in attitude. But they were unsuccessful in getting to the root of the problem. Then in the community, Georgia heard a couple of negative rumors about their business. By that point, Ed and Georgia were more than concerned about the problem. They were panicked. [...]

Business Owners: Heed That Gut Feeling and Put Proactive Systems in Place

When Brandon sat down with professionals at , he quickly shared that he was in a very frustrating situation. After watching company inventory slowly disappear with no explanation, Brandon was convinced that he was the victim of theft in the workplace; that an employee was stealing materials. A few months earlier, Brandon and Tony, his business partner, installed video surveillance equipment cameras around the warehouse and also in the loading dock area. Their efforts caught no one doing anything wrong. Brandon believed that he and Tony had exhausted every possible effort they felt they could to remedy the problem and still it was there. When accepted the case, we encouraged Brandon not to discuss the investigation with anyone. Unlike the very visible cameras Brandon and [...]

Hidden Asset Investigation and Computer Forensics Examination Reveals Many Truths

For the last year, Jennifer feared that her marriage was ending. In some ways, it was not a surprise. She was American and Laszlo, her husband of seven years, was Hungarian. Sometimes Jennifer tried to decipher whether the culture clash was the primary problem. Other times, she wondered if she and Laszlo had simply drifted apart since the birth of Szusza, their four-year-old daughter. Jennifer worried that Laszlo was hiding money in Eastern European banks. She had not worked outside the home since Szusza was born and she knew it would be difficult to re-enter the job market and immediately earn a reasonable salary. When they argued, Laszlo threatened to leave her with nothing. Then he threatened to return to his home country and take [...]

Social Media Posts Lead to Proof of Insurance Fraud

When was contacted by an insurance company, we were asked to find a missing Maserati. Their customer had filed a claim, stating that this very expensive vehicle had been stolen right out of his garage. But the insurance company saw several red flags in the claim. The claims adjuster discovered the claimant was experiencing serious financial problems and suspected the claim was filed in an effort to get some quick cash. Experience by the teams has shown that people like to brag and show off material belongings and sometimes, illegal antics. And our investigators know what techniques to employ in pursuit of insurance fraud. Immediately we began a background investigation accessing data bases restricted to only the highest levels of investigative teams. We also conducted [...]

Stay in Step with Advances in Technology

Like nearly every other career across the globe, the field of private investigation has been greatly affected by technology. In most instances, those changes are all positive. Though still see cases where surveillance is necessary, we also see more and more clients with a need for our technological expertise. We are highly skilled in the areas of digital forensics. Because we stay informed about every new step taken in the world of technology, we provide an amazing skill set for gathering information and truth. To offer you a more detailed description of how swiftly technology is changing the world, we offer the results of a social experiment conducted by a journalist named Adam Penenberg. When he wrote an article for Forbes 14 years ago, Penenberg [...]

Insubordinate Professional Behavior Calls for Investigation

Unfortunately, some people bend rules or arrogantly break them. Insubordinate ways may be born out of a false belief that they will never be caught. Sometimes, people don't believe that rules apply to them. This was true of a case involving a police captain and one of his employees. For months, rumors floated through the department and the community about the married captain, who was supposedly romantically involved with a married employee from the administrative office. An investigation was not about an extramarital affair. The client was not intent on finding an unfaithful husband. No, if the rumors were proven true, this activity was grounds for termination. Additional gossip accused the love birds of engaging in intimate behavior behind the captain's closed office door, on [...]