What a PI Can Learn from Thanksgiving

In honor of Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend, I’m re-posting this – because crazy family drama is timeless! After living in Los Angeles, London and New York I’ve spent Turkey Day with a constantly changing cast of friends, family and total strangers – and all of them have taught me valuable lessons in the art of investigation.

I don’t dwell on my ideological differences with my ultra religious Tea Party family member, because that would make my host uncomfortable. Instead, I steer the topic toward survival techniques. Last year I learned how to pick a lock and survive for a week in the woods with no water. Thanksgiving has taught me that everyone, no matter how diametrically opposed his or her viewpoint, can teach us something about life.

As a detective, I know that finding common ground with the subject of my interviews will help them become more comfortable.  So with the militant vegan, I talked juicing and yoga over Tofurkey – he didn’t need to know that I  keep my grandmother’s mink coat in my closet for extra-cold days.

Holidays are also a crash course in the art of diffusing drama, which is a crucial skill for a PI. Often, I will have to soothe a client’s nerves during an infidelity investigation, or be a shoulder to cry on when they are looking for a missing relative. So when someone’s wife is on her third Bloody Mary and joking about her husband being impotent, I can turn the table toward a different topic.

Thanksgiving has definitely helped me hone another hugely important investigative skill: The art of good research.

When the turkey gets burned and everyone is scrambling, my fact-finding skills are suddenly very much in demand for locating a grocery store that has pre-cooked birds – or at least a pizza joint that delivers.  Does applesauce work as a recipe substitute for sugar? Will a raisin give my dog the runs? Why do people kiss under mistletoe? Does that woman Uncle Frank brought have a criminal record? Everyone turns to the detective to find answers. With the help of Google and a few trusty databases, I can entertain and save the day.

Research also comes in handy when avoiding the angry hordes on Black Friday by figuring out which stores bring their sales online. Instead of worrying about which member of the angry mob will Tazer me over a TV, I can sit around and shop in my pajamas.

Thanksgiving has taught me the importance of making a backup plan. During a surveillance, I always make Plans B and C in case I lose my subject. I map out his entire routine for the day so that I can get through the assignment as smoothly as possible. The same rules apply when traveling: Before I get to the airport, I have checked my bag online, emailed myself a boarding pass, checked lounge access and verified the weather report at my destination.

Then when a flight gets cancelled, I use apps like Flight Tracker to make a list of alternative airlines  – and if there are none, to book a rental car before they are all sold out.

I’ve spent some holidays in huge mansions; others serving food to homeless veterans in the cold. Some were with friends and family; others totally alone. Holidays, for me, are a time to remember that even though I can’t always control the outcome, I can appreciate the people around me and be thankful for small things. Learning to be patient, roll with the punches and never give up even when things get tough is perhaps the most important lessons of all.

Digital Detox: How to get rid of Stalker Apps

Recently, ‘Karen’ a 27-year-old paralegal, called me in a panic. Several weeks after ending a relationship with her ex-boyfriend over his controlling behavior, Karen was freaked out because he kept appearing everywhere. She wondered how he always seemed to know her exact location: Had he installed a GPS tracker on her car? Was he following her? For Karen, and many other clients lately, the answer has been far simpler – though just as sinister. While meeting her for coffee to get ‘closure’, Karen’s ex had waited until she took a bathroom break to fish out her cell phone and install a ‘stalker app’.

Cyberstalking has become a huge part of my domestic abuse cases. NPR recently reported on MSpy, an app that is marketed to parents monitoring their children – but has been co-opted by jealous and obsessed lovers. There are tons of these apps out there, including StealthGenie and MobileSpy.

The spyware only requires that the person who installs it have access for a few minutes – in the time it takes to go to the bathroom at a coffee shop or take a quick shower, a stalker can gain access to your entire life.

Along with pinpointing exact GPS locations, apps like MSpy allow users to remotely access call history, text messages sent and received – and even listen in to conversations around the phone by activating microphone. The app has exact instructions – with screenshots – that explain how to install the app quickly, then go to the victim’s ‘settings’ page and delete any trace.

So how do you know if your phone has been compromised?

For iPhone: Check to see if it is jailbroken

Unlike on Androids, there is no surefire way to examine the files on iPhones. The good news? Installing spyware requires that the phone to be jailbroken -meaning that someone has modified the phone to get past the built-in security controls. If the phone is not jailbroken, you’re most likely safe. Apps like Cydia and Icy are dead giveaways that the phone has been compromised.

If it is, upgrade the latest iOS release to get the phone un-jailbroken, then install a program such as Lookout Security that will warn you if the phone is jailbroken in future.

For Android: Look at the phone’s program files

Many apps will leave behind telltale signs in the program files, if you are comfortable with looking for them, such as ‘stealth’ or ‘spy’. However be aware that many of the apps aren’t visible unless you know exactly what you are looking for – they hide under innocent-sounding names such as ‘Android.sys’. So I still advise doing a factory reset (details below).

For everyone: Chose strong password

Pick a password that no one – especially a potential stalker – can guess. Don’t use mother’s maiden name, street you grew up on or pet name – because these things can almost all be found online.

Perform factory reset

This will delete almost all of the stalker apps – but can also result in losing data. To avoid this, first back up contacts, music, etc. (Note: For Blackberries, a factory reset is almost always necessary because it can be very difficult to locate stalker apps in the directory files).

DO NOT automatically re-install all apps – instead, put in the ones that you need manually. You don’t want to re-install the spyware!

Buy a burner phone

Buying a non-smart phone is the first tip that I give my clients who fear that they may be compromised. It’s as easy as walking into a phone store, buying a prepaid SIM card under a name like ‘Mickey Mouse’ and combining this with an old-school flip phone. While analyzing the situation, they can leave their at-risk phones somewhere safe, like a desk drawer.

Even in a technologically advanced age, sometimes the old-school methods are still the safest.

Roommate Background Checks

We’ve all done our share of Google background checks, especially after meeting a new friend, new crush or potential job lead. Now, in a plot twist that reads like a 21st century Single White Female, the search engine has helped one woman bust a serial scammer who became her new roommate.

The Oregon Statesman-Journal reports that a woman accused of befriending people throughout the state of Oregon, then stealing their cash or running up huge charges on their credit cards, has been nabbed in Los Angeles.

This happened after her new roommate – the tipster – called the LAPD and said that she and the scammer had met three weeks prior and become instant BFFs. However, after noticing that something seemed off about her new housemate’s descriptions of her background, the tipster called the cops. It turns out that the 24-year-old suspect had been scamming people for the past three years – and even stolen a car from her own sister.

I’ve done my share of roommate and/or tenant background checks – below are my tips to ensure that using Craigslist doesn’t lead to parting with cash.

1. Don’t rely on the credit check

Credit checks can give you helpful information that can help gauge a potential roommate or tenant’s financial history, income and ability to pay. But a credit check is NOT the same thing as a character check – and many scammers appear to have decent credit history because they keep multiple cards open with just the minimum balance paid – or because they have stolen multiple identities.

2. Check social security numbers

A private investigator can run a check on a subject’s social security number, which can contain a wealth of information. The social security number can, among other things, ensure that you are checking out the right person – and that the potential tenant isn’t using a dead guy’s identity (this happens more often than you might think).

3. Check address history

A complete address history is essential when looking for someone to share your space. Pay especially close attention if the subject is older than his or her early twenties and gives a parent’s or close relative’s address as their only point of contact- they could be omitting unpaid landlord and friends. Address history should also include liens on properties, lawsuits related to the address, evictions and other names linked to accounts. Which brings me to my final point:

4. ALWAYS make phone calls

There is no substitute for picking up the phone to call references – not just the ones that the subject provides, but anyone else who may have information about a candidates history. A good investigator can provide names and telephone numbers of former and current neighbors and colleagues to help get the complete story.

 

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