The Uniform Commercial Code Filing: Finding Investigative Pearls
As investigators probing the backgrounds and interests of individuals and companies in the context of due diligence, litigation consulting or asset searches, one of our principal remits is to understand and identify connections between subjects of the investigations and third parties, be they other individuals, businesses or even public agencies.
Swiping Left on Romance Scams
In the world of online dating and social media, romance scams have become alarmingly common. These skilled scammers are professionals at emotional exploitation. They manipulate their victims into sharing personal information, sending money or even committing crimes. They often use dating apps or social media platforms to identify victims and build trust over time before striking, and the financial and emotional damage they cause can be devastating. Knowing how to recognize their overtures is key to avoiding them.
Searching press? Why databases may not be enough
It’s often said that journalism is the first rough draft of history. Unfortunately, like most rough drafts, press reports aren’t always perfect and can contain incomplete information or outright errors. Nevertheless, press reports are indispensable to the kind of investigative research that is our stock-in-trade at 221B Partners.
Take a Dip in the Internet’s Hot Tub Time Machine
On this World Wide Web Day, we highlight an important (and free) resource to use during an investigation - the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, a searchable repository of archived webpages dating to the mid-1990s owned and operated by a nonprofit. There are countless ways the Wayback Machine can support an investigation and we utilize the tool in at least some capacity for nearly every project.
App-solute Insight: Harnessing Everyday Apps for Open Source Intelligence
We investigators and security professionals are often tasked with finding the who, what, when, where and why when it comes to persons of interest. Whether it’s a subject under surveillance, subject of an asset search or non-compete investigation, potential threat actor, or someone we have one chance at interviewing, the where is often one of the hardest to ascertain.
It’s World Social Media Day! How are you celebrating?
In honor of World Social Media Day on June 30, I’m dedicating this blog to one of the most useful tools we investigators have in our toolbox—a subject’s public social media profiles. Let’s face it: social media platforms have (in most cases, rightfully) received their share of bad publicity over the last several years. But for investigators, social media can be a critical window into a subject’s lifestyle, perspective and community to which we rarely had access before.
Ain’t Nothing like the Real Thing: Why There’s No Substitute for Primary Sources
As investigators, we often use commercial public record databases as a jumping-off tool when conducting investigations. Their vast reserves of data can help us start to connect the dots efficiently and see more clearly into an investigation. These resources, however, often contain erroneous, limited, or fragmented information, which requires us to go beyond the databases.
'Morgenthau' Author Andrew Meier to Speak at Union League Event April 25
The evening, moderated by Bethany McLean, will include a discussion with Meier on current events in the U.S. and Russia as well as his most recent work, Morgenthau: Power, Privilege and the Rise of an American Dynasty (Random House, 2022), a portrait of a German-Jewish immigrant family whose members played key diplomatic and legal roles that helped shape 20th Century America. Henry Morgenthau Sr. made his mark as a real estate mogul who served as U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I. His son, Henry Morgenthau Jr., served as FDR’s secretary of the Treasury during the New Deal. And his son, Robert Morgenthau, was the longest-serving district attorney in New York City’s history, overseeing many of the city’s best-known cases.
For Facts’ Sake: Navigating the murky world of online misinformation
The Internet is awash in misinformation but it also happens to be the greatest fact-checking tool in history – if you know how to use it properly. When it comes to fact-checking information found online my personal mantra is this: consider the source.
Stalking is More Common Than You Might Think
January is National Stalking Awareness Month, but stalking is, of course, a year-round problem. In a 2016/2017 survey conducted by the CDC, one in three women and one in six men reported they had been victimized by a stalker at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, although stalking is not a new problem, the way we communicate today has created new opportunities that weren’t available in the past. Just think of how much of our communication is no longer face-to-face, or even by phone call. Today, we hide behind texts, emails and social media posts that make anonymity easier than ever, and thus make stalking easier than ever. Add to this identity-masking technologies such as VPNs, spoof phone numbers and the Dark Web, and it’s no wonder online stalking has become an epidemic.
When Is Too Good To Be True Too Good To Be True?
International Fraud Awareness Week, brainchild of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a trade group combining forensic accountants, computer forensics professionals, investigators and other research professionals, is drawing to a close. Jennifer Mackovjak, my co-founder and partner at 221B Partners, and I had the chance this past week to discuss investigative research with members of the Southwest Ohio Chapter of the ACFE at the chapter’s Fraud, Cyber & Ethics Conference.
Believe it or Not, Skepticism Is More Important Than Ever
In Chicago news industry lore there’s an old saying: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” It’s a great reminder that no matter what you think you may know, it’s always best to get confirmation. Assumptions are the enemy. In the investigations business, a healthy dose of skepticism is essential.
The Comma Sutra: For Private investigators, Punctuation Can Be a Special Friend
Contrary to what many might believe about a day in the life of a corporate investigator, it isn’t all secret spy stuff, and it can often be quite the opposite that helps us crack a case. This weekend (September 24) is National Punctuation Day, and at 221B Partners one of our special cloak-and-dagger skills is knowing that something as basic as punctuation can sometimes help in identifying a hidden asset, unknown corporate entity, new legal case naming our subject, or a notable social media post.
Life, Death, and Detective Work: How 'I Do's and Adieus Aid Investigations
On this date, September 18, in 1851, the first edition of the paper now known as The New York Times was published. It included reference to the marriage of Sarah Mullett and John Grant, informing readers the ceremony tying the couple in matrimony was held in Fredonia, New York at the Trinity Episcopal Church. The inaugural wedding announcement in the newspaper’s first edition and its progeny are treated in a 2017 retrospective the color and details of which illustrate why these announcements as well as obituaries and other lifecycle events are always of interest to investigators.
Catching a Fraudster: Scamanda Podcast Teaches Investigative Lessons
I love a good true crime podcast, so when a friend recommended Scamanda to me recently, I immediately started listening. The podcast tells the true story of bubbly and charismatic Amanda Riley who kept a detailed blog documenting her fight with cancer. Amanda became an inspiration to many, and people donated their time, gifts, and more than $100,000 to help her and her family. However, it turns out Amanda did not have cancer, and her story was all an elaborate lie. The podcast is juicy, for sure. But it also provides useful insight into conducting investigations—both into medical fraud and in general.
The World Wide Web is a Great Investigative Tool – Except When It’s Not
The World Wide Web – which, like so many things these days, somehow has a day declared in its honor (August 1) – has revolutionized the way all of us search for information, amateur and professional investigators alike. It has empowered us to conduct informational research unthinkable a couple of generations ago.
Mental health records pose a challenge to private investigators
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s a good time to step back and appreciate the progress our country has made in destigmatizing a condition that was once seen as a personal weakness or failing. In recent years many high-profile athletes and celebrities have gone public about their struggles with mental health. These kinds of stories were unheard of just a generation ago. Thankfully, our society is beginning to understand that mental health, like physical health, is a subject that affects us all, and not a topic that need be confined to whispers.
May the Fourth be with you
Since 1987, Rick Moranis’ Dark Helmet, the lesser evil Darth Vader character in the Star Wars parody Spaceballs, has reminded viewers of the importance of choosing a good password (or luggage lock combination). World Password Day seems like a good day to revisit his bemused indignation in this cult classic. As investigators that frequently deal with delicate information from clients, personal identifiable information (PII) of subjects, financial data and other sensitive information it’s important that we safeguard that information to the best of our abilities.
What if You Could Read Your Own Intelligence File?
Published in 1997, The File: A Personal History centers on the intelligence and surveillance dossier Garton Ash obtained in the early 1990s from the collapsed regime's Federal Authority for the Records of the State Security Service that was compiled on him when he was in East Berlin following his graduation from Oxford in the late 1970s.