The extent of the due diligence investigation is determined by the amount of risk involved in the subject at hand. Doing your due diligence can save you a lot of headaches and money. Below is an example of when a Private Investigator would perform due diligence in order to make sure a Client is telling the truth about information they may ask an Investigator to find for them.
A Client calls our Agency and states he wants to try and locate an old friend. Being Professional Investigators we don’t just look up anyones personal information and give it away like candy. First, we asked the Client to set up an appointment at our Greensboro office. We asked the Client to provide two forms of ID to verify he is who he says he is. The Client provided a valid NC driver’s license and a credit card to pay for the services of looking up an old friend. Second, we ask a set of questions to the Client to ensure he really knows the person he would like to connect with. During a two week period of conducting various types of searches for the Client’s friend, the Client began making phone calls, sending emails and text messages several times a day to the Investigator wanting to know if the person had been found. The Information the Client provided was not matching any records for anyone during a nationwide search. The Client’s obsessive behavior continued to grow, and he even became rude and belligerent to the Investigator.
Although the Client passed a basic due diligence interview with providing identifying information, the Client’s behavior in a short period of time brought of red flags that this Client needed further due diligence conducted on him in order to find out what the Client may have going on in his life that may be causing this suspicious activity. A in depth Investigation of the Client revealed the Client was using a fictitious name and a deceased persons social security number, and had been doing so for many years. The Client was discovered several places online at dating sites. He had recently gotten divorced from his marriage with a Russian bride he met online, and he was now looking for another online Bride he had been chatting with online and thought the name she gave him was a real name. Our Agency ended the Investigation with the Client due to his obsessive and aggressive behavior, and we are glad we did further due diligence and discovered he was also giving us a fake name and social security numbers.
Yes, even Private Investigators can become victims of fraud and deceit, but an Investigators intuition and due diligence may have stopped a fraud in his tracks.
If you have a situation in which you think a due diligence Investigation could save you time, money and headaches in the future, call the Professionals at Advanced Technology Investigations, LLC at 336-298-1556.
