Archives

Attorneys: Why You Should Hire a P.I. and How Best to Use Him (or Her)

If you’re a busy attorney, and you’ve never considered hiring a private investigator, you’re throwing away money. No matter how skilled, experienced, or efficient you are, you can’t possibly get to all the work that crosses your desk. You can’t do the fishing for case-making facts as thoroughly as you would like. And you can’t [...]

Buyer Beware: Using Spyware Versus Forensics to Gather Evidence from Smart Phones

As a private investigator, I’m often asked by businesses to gather information from cell phones owned by a company; you can protect your business by tracking your employee’s cell phone data. Even though I know the best method for collecting data from phones is through mobile phone forensics, one client was insistent that we use [...]

Recent ISPLA News, Legislation and Court Decisions of Note

Questioned Documents v. 2009 NRC Report Decision of Note: The D.C. Court of Appeals has held on the state of forensic science-that handwriting comparison and identification, as practiced by FBI examiners, passes the Frye test for admissibility. The case came about as a result of the findings in the 2009 NRC report  that concluded, “With [...]

Is my Mobile Phone Bugged?

As wireless technology becomes more prevalent in our world, so does the issue of privacy. As stated by author and eavesdropping specialist Kevin Murray, “For the average person, wiretapping is no longer a remote, government concern. Nearly everyone carries instant access to phone service, and tapping has become a personal concern.” The well documented comprehensive [...]

New State-Required Class Approved for Aspiring Georgia Private Detectives

After many months of hard work I am pleased to introduce a brand new course available at PIeducation.com that may be of interest to your agency, colleagues and “soon to be” private investigators:  We are now currently offering the basic training course online to future Georgia private detective license holders and registered private detective employees [...]

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Body Armor and Protective Clothing

Body armor is an item or piece of clothing that is designed to protect the wearer against a variety of attacks. They can be made to stop different types of threats, such as bullets, knives and needles, or a combination of different attacks. There are two types of body armor – soft body armor, which [...]

Stalkers, Private Investigators and the Reason Behind PI Licenses

In the February podcast of the excellent American Private Investigator, guest Peter Psarouthakis of ISPLA joked that the difference between a stalker and a private investigator carrying out surveillance was that the PI had a license.  While this was meant as a joke, it did get me thinking about the difference between a stalker and a [...]

Social Networking and the Claims Investigation

Back when many of us began our careers investigating claims, we did it the old fashioned way… There was no internet, cell phones were the size of suitcases and e-mail had yet to replace inter-office memos.  But somehow, we managed to get by using the relatively scarce resources available at the time. The key to [...]

False Confessions and Accusations

To most of us, false confessions and accusations seem completely unfathomable.  The first couple of questions that come to mind are, “Why would anyone admit to a crime that he/she did not commit?” and “Why would anyone knowingly accuse a person of a crime he/she did not commit?”  The only person able to answer these [...]

Ten Rules for Effective Internal Investigation Interviews

Editor’s Note: While the following article specifically addresses the U.S. Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) the investigative interview considerations are highly relevant to all internal employee theft interviews. Conducting interviews is a vital skill for internal FCPA investigators. After reviewing endless emails, technical memos and accounting ledgers, we almost always have to speak directly to [...]