by admin_lauth | Sep 30, 2016 | Personal Investigations, Tips & Facts
Private investigators do a variety of work for a wide array of clients. P.I.s are best known for their work finding missing people, but that’s a very small slice of what they do. Investigators routinely help businesses with internal investigations and support human resources departments during the hiring process. It’s common for attorneys to call private investigators to assist in research and help identifying witnesses and assets to strengthen their cases.
1. Everyday Citizens
Shelia Wysocki’s roommate was raped and murdered in 1984. Two decades later the case was unsolved and had gone cold. Wysocki hadn’t given up on though and spent four years making more than 700 phone calls and was able to provide detectives with enough evidence that they reopened the case. In 2010, after all of Wysocki’s work, a jury convicted her roommate’s killer in under an hour. A dedicated investigator can shine new light on old cases and help reinvigorate an investigation.
Have you had a family member go missing? Whether it was a runaway, kidnapping, or a family member moving, private investigators can help. P.I.s have a long history of finding missing people and it’s one of the skills they’re most known for. Don’t sit around wondering what happened to them, hire a P.I. to find out and give yourself peace of mind.
If your car or home is broken into and valuable items are stolen, the odds that police will recover your belongings are low. Resource constraints mean the police are likely to push your case to the bottom of the pile. Private investigators are available even when the police aren’t and can help prevent family heirlooms from being lost forever.
2. Attorneys
Every attorney should have a private investigator’s business card in their pocket. Private investigators are keen researchers and can help make sure every lawyer has all of the relevant information for every one of their cases. Contracting a third party to handle research can also lower costs for clients since the hours won’t be billed to the attorney, increasing the value client’s receive.
Private investigators can strengthen cases by identifying more witnesses and evaluating the witnesses you already have. Are you having trouble contacting someone you need to interview or depose? Private investigators can help you make the contacts you need and ensure they’re up for the tasks ahead.
3. Business Owners
Businesses and corporations stand to gain a ton by employing the skills of a private investigator. Save time and money by having a P.I. handle background checks and vetting of potential new hires. Bring the right people onto your team the first time and dedicate resources to other ventures.
Need to do an internal investigation, but worried about intraoffice relationships making it difficult? Do you suspect there may be drug use or theft happening on your property? P.I.s can conduct discreet internal investigations that will produce objective results quickly.
4. Insurance Agents
Every insurance agency should have a strong working relationship with private investigators and the reasons why will strike most people as obvious. When someone files a claim for injuries or disability, how can you be sure it’s not fraudulent? Estimates say insurance payouts are between $80 and $120 billion a year. 10% or $8 to $12 billion of those claims are projected to be fraudulent.
Pretending to be hurt during an interview is easy, but how many people can stick to their act 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Take the case of a young man who, after losing the tip of his finger, claimed he couldn’t lift his right hand and that touching it caused excruciating pain. A private investigation firm was able to disprove these claims and save millions of dollars by scouring the man’s social media and finding pictures of him playing instruments and going down water slides. Protect yourself from fraud by hiring a private investigator.
For Private Investigation Inquiry contact Thomas Lauth, Lauth Investigations 317-951-1100
David Schroeder, Blog Writer, Lauth Investigations International
by admin_lauth | Sep 29, 2016 | Tips & Facts
Private investigators can be an attorney’s best friend. Juggling multiple cases for different clients is time consuming and can make giving adequate attention to every client’s needs challenging. Here are everyday scenarios when private investigators can make an attorney’s job easier.
Serving Subpoenas
Cases can be won and lost based on which side has more witnesses show up to court. Subpoenas are a great way to compel people to be present for court, but what good is a subpoena if you can’t find the person to serve it to?
Don’t let a search for witnesses become a distraction from your work and a headache for your client. Tracking people down is a private investigator’s bread and butter. Not only can P.I.s locate known witnesses, they can also canvas an area and do interviews to find more witnesses to strengthen your case.
Research and expertise
Attorneys need to do ample research to be as prepared as possible every time they walk into a court room. They must know and understand as much about every case as possible. It’s not always enough to know the facts of a case and you may need to bring in a third party to act as an expert witness. Investigators can help you find the right experts quickly so you don’t waste your client’s time and money on the wrong people.
Private investigators spend a lot of time doing research. They can efficiently scour databases and identify applicable information to aid your client’s case. Outsourcing research to P.I.s can reduce the costs incurred by your clients too. Attorney fees can stack up quickly and clients will appreciate saving money where they can.
Preparing for Cross-Examination
Testimony is one of the most powerful tools in any lawyer’s tool box. Putting someone on the stand to give their personal account is powerful and can sway judges and jurors in a heartbeat. Knowing what to expect from the other sides witnesses, as well your own, can give you the edge during any hearing. Attorneys should never put someone on the stand without carefully considering the strengths and weaknesses of the individual and their testimony.
Private investigators can help evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your clients and identify potential areas of their testimony that the other side will try to exploit. Private investigators are experienced in court room scenarios and can even assist in mock examinations to better prepare your clients.
Help Enforce Judgments
Winning a case is every attorney’s goal, but getting a judgement in your favor is only half the battle. What can you do if the losing side decides not to obey the judge’s order? What if they attempt to misrepresent their assets and net worth?
Hiring a private investigator to locate and identify assets before a judgement is passed down can help you know what you can get for your client. Knowing what the opposing side has ahead of time will prevent them from hiding assets and denying your client their just dues. It will also make it easier for the judge to understand what you’re seeking and why.
For Private Investigation Inquiry contact Thomas Lauth, Lauth Investigations 317-951-1100
David Schroeder, Blog Writer, Lauth Investigations International
![How Private Investigators Can Help During your Custody Battle]()
by admin_lauth | Sep 27, 2016 | Private Investigations News, Tips & Facts
Divorce is difficult. Even more so when children are involved. Figuring out custodial agreements is challenging and presents opportunities for disagreement that can span years. It’s important that parents understand all of the resources available to them and how private investigators can be valuable assets in the fight to protect their children and secure custody.
Is your child coming home with signs of abuse?
If you suspect your child is being abused, you need to begin documenting all of the evidence immediately. Bruises or marks, no matter how small or faint, must be photographed as soon as they are noticed. Photographic evidence is some of the strongest evidence you can produce.
It can be difficult to prove child abuse has taken place. Depending on the age of the child they may not be able to articulate exactly what happened. If the abuse was traumatic enough it could cause confusion when the child tries to explain what occured. The importance of adequately documenting potential abuse cannot be overstated.
Private investigators have the equipment and insight to properly record suspected instances of abuse. Dealing with the court system is a private investigator’s forte and they understand what the courts need to see and how it must be presented to prompt the courts to take action. When it comes to your child’s safety, you cannot afford to delay seeking help.
I’m concerned my ex is using drugs around our children.
Across America a heroin epidemic is breaking out. Drug abuse is impacting people of all social and economic backgrounds. Recently a picture circulated news and social media of two adults passed out from a heroin overdose in their SUV while a four-year-old boy sat helplessly in the back seat.
The female in the passenger seat is the boy’s grandmother. She lost consciousness after shooting-up while her boyfriend drove. Upon being stopped by police for driving erratically, the boyfriend passed out too. The grandmother had only had custody of the boy for 5 weeks when this occurred.
No one knew the grandmother’s heroin abuse was so bad or she never would’ve been granted custody in the first place. But this raises the question of how anyone could have known her addiction was this in strong? What red flags were missed that could’ve kept this boy out of danger? Was this the first time the couple used drugs with the child present?
Private investigators are trained to pay attention to and take note of people’s abnormal behavior. Surveillance by a P.I. may have led to the discovery of the grandmother’s drug abuse before the child was put in this potentially fatal scenario. Thankfully the police were able to intervene and get the boy to safety.
My ex isn’t spending their visitation time with our kids. What can I do?
When the courts determine visitation time they do so expecting the parents to spend that time with their child. This isn’t always the case though. Sometimes the parent will take the child for visitation time, but drop them off with a family member or baby sitter.
One parent passing their child off to someone else during visitation time not only deprives the child of time quality time, but it prevents the other parent from seeing their child as well. Depending on your state and custodial agreement, it’s possible it’s a violation of the law as well.
The Right of First Refusal stipulates that when one parent plans to have a third party babysit their child during visitation time, they must first give the other parent a chance to say they will or won’t watch the child instead. Private Investigators can provide records and documentation that demonstrates when visitation isn’t being properly utilized to make sure the parents who want time with their child are getting it.
I’m worried about the new people my ex is bringing around our kids.
One of the scarier parts of a divorce is knowing sooner or later your child is going to be introduced to new people you won’t get the chance to know beforehand. No one wants their child around strangers, but it’s an inevitable reality of separate parenting. It’s possible the new people in your ex’s life are wonderful, but why take any chances?
Private investigators can help alleviate these concerns. Investigators routinely perform background checks that can help you to better know who’s around your child. Concerned about where your children are being taken when they’re not with you? Surveillance can keep you informed about your children’s condition and whereabouts when you can’t be there.
For Private Investigation Inquiry contact Thomas Lauth, Lauth Investigations 317-951-1100
David Schroeder, Blog Writer, Lauth Investigations International
by admin_lauth | Sep 27, 2016 | Private Investigations News, Tips & Facts
Private investigators do a variety of work for individuals and businesses. The majority of P.I.s are honest and work diligently to satisfy their customers and close cases quickly, but like any other industry, there are bad apples in the bunch. Here are some ways private investigators get bad reputations.
Dishonest pricing
Sometimes people come to private investigators in a tight situation and needing help quickly. Individuals can feel pressure to get assistance as fast as possible, especially if it’s a scenario involving their children. Some P.I.s may sense the stress a potential client is facing and exploit it for their own gain. Bad investigators might overcharge these clients who are in a rush to get the work done or aren’t familiar with the industry.
In order to drum up business P.I.’s may give clients below market rates to secure their business. Investigators may offer lower prices for the first job only to raise prices for follow-up work. It’s a classic bait-and-switch.
In both instances the best way to protect yourself from unfair pricing is to shop around and do your own research to compare prices. Don’t accept the first estimate you hear. Request estimates from other private investigators and consult with individuals who have worked with P.I.s before you finalize a deal.
Creating false expectations
Whether it’s a missing item, missing child, or background check on someone you don’t know, you wouldn’t be considering hiring a private investigator if it wasn’t important. A mistake some P.I.s make is promising too much and creating false expectations in the minds of their clients.
The odds of a successful investigation varies from case to case. Investigators need to be accurate and honest when assessing a client’s request. Descent investigators will be upfront with clients about the chances of successfully fulfilling their needs. Private investigators you should avoid will promise results they know they’re unlikely to deliver just to get a paycheck.
It benefits both the client and investigator to understand the challenges they’ll face. Adequately communicating the chances of solving a case prevents the client from unrealistic expectations and potentially heart breaking disappointment. It will also enable the client to better understand the steps and methods the investigator takes. Honesty and integrity are vital to a healthy client-investigator relationship.
Failing to get results
No one wants to spend money on a service that doesn’t get results, especially when it comes to the kind of sensitive matters one employs a private investigator for. It’s frustrating to feel like you’re throwing money down the drain and wasting time on the wrong resources.
Investigations are a difficult line of work, but a quality investigator consistently closes their cases. When you’re looking for a P.I. to assist you, make sure you check online for reviews through services like Google, Yelp, and Angie’s List. Investigative firms should be able to offer references or previous client testimony to help you know you’re making the right choice. You wouldn’t try a new restaurant without checking reviews so why treat your investigate needs any different?
For Private Investigation Inquiry contact Thomas Lauth, Lauth Investigations 317-951-1100
David Schroeder, Blog Writer, Lauth Investigations International
by admin_lauth | Sep 2, 2016 | Private Investigations News, Tips & Facts
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation there were approximately 8,277,829 property crimes reported by law enforcement in 2014. These property crime reports include burglaries, vehicular theft, and larceny-thefts, with an estimated 14.3 billion in financial losses for the victims of these crimes. Of the total number of arrests made by law enforcement, only about 10 percent were for property crimes—even though property crimes make up a large sum of criminal reports.
Police Departments across the country have difficulty prioritizing theft investigations over those involving physical violence. Consequently, the theft of your grandmother’s pearl earrings will most likely not be a priority for the local law enforcement. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a police department can have to manage up to 50 reports of burglaries and around ninety percent of these cases will go unsolved.
Art Theft
The United States’ largest property crime, the Isabelle Stuart Gardner Museum heist, still remains unsolved. The financial losses incurred by the one property crime totaled more than $600 million. None of the stolen paintings have been recovered even after two decades. Private art collections or family heirlooms can be targets for criminals. However, private investigators can be extremely useful tools in finding your stolen property when law enforcement cannot help. Private Investigators have the experience and necessary tools needed to find your property in a timely manner. Unlikely police departments, private investigators can give your case individual attention in order to recover your valuables.
Electronic Theft
The FBI’s National Crime Information Center also tracked the number of reported electronic thefts in the United States. Laptop thefts have increase almost fifty percent from 2007 until 2009. The number of reports jumped from 73,700 to 109,000. During the same period, the number of reported thefts of cell phones also increased about 33 percent. More shockingly, the amount of theft of music players reports increased over ninety percent, with the number of reports rising from 8,900 to over 17,000. More recent estimates suggest that 1.6 million smart phones were stolen in 2012 to 3.1 million in 2013.
Stolen personal electronics are not always reported to police in order to avoid potentially wasted time. Many people have opted for a private investigation in order to ensure more attention to their particular case.
How Private Investigators Can Help
With property theft it is important to act as quickly as possible. Contact the police to create an official report, but also hire a private investigator to ensure that you will have the best chance of finding your stolen items. Private investigators are able to dedicate many more hours than individual police officers because they often have a smaller caseload.
Private Investigators Can:
- Conduct interviews with witnesses, pawn shops, and institutions
- Dedicate more hours to a single case
- Provide positive results more frequently than law enforcement
- Begin investigating right away
- Depending on the victims preferences, collect evidence for prosecution
- Track the sale of stolen goods online
- Conduct a more inconspicuous investigation—in order to avoid tipping off the perpetrator
Stolen items can have significant sentimental value and therefore are priceless, hire a private investigator to ensure you have the best chance of being reunited with your belongings.
Tiffany Walker – Blog Writer, Lauth Investigations
by admin_lauth | Mar 7, 2016 | Tips & Facts
There’s nothing inherently wrong with meeting someone online; more and more people are meeting that way each year. However, it’s important to know how to vet someone you have met online—it’s not as easy as with people you meet in person. Read these quick tips about how to know who you meet online.
1. Authenticate Their Social Media Profiles
The first-step when you meet someone online should be to authenticate their social media profiles. Essentially, you should be looking to confirm that the person you have met is the person depicted in the profile, and that the person depicted in the profile is a real person.
Start by combing over the social media profile where you met the individual. For instance, if you met them on Facebook, check to see how many friends they have. Someone with very few friends may just be new to Facebook, but often times its a red-flag that the owner of the profile could be suspicious. See how many photos they have posted to the account. Users with only one photo, a graphic instead of a photo, or no photo at all may have something to hide. If they do have photos of themselves, compare the photos to make sure that they are the same person from photo to photo. Check to see if they post to their timeline often, but more importantly, check to see if other people are posting on their timeline. Signs of a two-way conversation or other engagement with users can be an indication that the person is, in fact, real.
Try to find other social media platforms that the individual is using. Compare the profiles and come to a conclusion about whether or not the person is a fake. Once you have determined the user is a real person, use information gleaned from their social media profiles about the safest way to proceed.
When it comes to social media profiles, you are looking for substance. If there is a lack of substance or the profile seems otherwise shady—stay away.
Remember, successfully authenticating their social media accounts is only the first-step. You may have confirmed that they are who they say they are, but, like with any other stranger, it is still important to get the know them before giving them your trust.
2. Ask The Right Questions
Getting to know someone is hard, right? Knowing what to ask is important when meeting people in general, but especially so when meeting people online.
The traditional 5 W’s (who, what, where, when, and why) go a long way towards vetting someone you meet online:
Who are they? Not just their name, but ask them who are they as a person. What drives them? What to do they do? For a living, for fun, on Sunday afternoons, anything—personal questions are a good way to find out if a person is genuine. Where are they from? Do they live far away from their family and friends, or are they well integrated into their community? When did they move to the area? Why?
Asking smart questions, and paying close attention to their answers, can be extremely helpful when trying to understand if a given individual is genuine. Be intensely aware of any inconsistencies in their answers. Find clever ways to ask the same question with different phrasing—see if they are consistent and confident when talking about themselves during your conversations.
3. Choose the Safer Apps
One of the best ways to ensure safety while using social media online is to make sure that you are using the safer social media platforms. There are no social media outlets that are inherently unsafe, but there are certain features on some platforms that make them more attractive to wrongdoers.
Be aware of the privacy and security features of each social media platform you use. Anonymous messaging apps like Kik, among others, are a popular social media platform for predators. A good rule of thumb to follow: if the level of user anonymity is high on a particular social platform, it is more likely that individuals interested in remaining anonymous will use the platform.
Ever thought of talking to someone using FaceTime instead of messengers or phone calls? FaceTime allows you to see who you are talking to, confirm that they match their online profiles, and gives you the ability to read their facial expressions during your conversations. FaceTime, as a conversational app, lets the user interact with others more like they do in the real world. Try asking the person you have met online if they would like to use FaceTime, Skype, or another video streaming app instead of using messengers or phone calls.
4. Try Meeting People Who Live Locally
In an increasingly global society, physical geography plays a smaller and smaller role in the people we meet and interact with. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does make it harder to know if the people we are talking to are who they say they are. It is much easier when the person you’ve met online lives locally. Check to see if they like community gathering places, restaurants, and events in your area. See if they have photos taken locally—if they do, it’s more likely that they are real, and didn’t just pull the photos off of the internet.
Not only can it make vetting their social media easier, but it also gives you the option to meet-up in person at some point. This should be done safely, as we will discuss in tip number 5, but it is certainly one of the best tools to use when determining a given individual’s motives and whether their intentions are genuine or not.
5. Meet Somewhere Public and Bring a Friend
Most people already know that it is best to meet someone for the first time in a public place. Meeting up in a dark ally is bad—for obvious reasons. A public coffee house, restaurant, or otherwise busy establishment is a much better option. But still, there are a few things that you can do to make your meet even safer.
Consider bringing along a friend when you first meet someone. Ask them if they would be willing to bring a friend along as well—as a double date of sorts. If that isn’t an option, ask a friend if they would be willing to go with you early to the coffee shop or restaurant. Having a friend at a nearby table can make you feel more comfortable meeting a stranger. A friend can also monitor your exit from the establishment—as this is perhaps the most dangerous part of meeting someone in a public place. Once you have entered your vehicle and safely left, your friend’s job is done.
This may seem a bit extreme, and is not necessary in all situations, but it’s an easy and effective preventative measure. Bringing a friend along is a great idea—especially if you are meeting someone for the first time.
Aaron Snyder, Writer, Lauth Investigations Blog
