Smartphone Security: Newer is Not Always Better
An entertaining piece in the Wall Street Journal today describes the preferred mobile phone for Japanese philanderers. It’s an older Fujitsu model that the faithful get reconditioned to keep it running for three years and longer. Its main…
Taping Phone Calls Is Not Worth the Risk
Clients often ask us whether we tape-record phone calls we make in the course of an investigation. Our brief answer is, “never.” Here is why: Recording could be illegal. Some states allow tape recording conversations if one of…
The Half-Life of Facts: Required Reading for Lawyers
A wonderful new book called The Half-Life of Facts by Samuel Arbesman makes riveting reading for anyone in the business of gathering information. Don’t let the fact that the author is an applied mathematician scare you off. Arbesman keeps…
We Can All Hear You Now: The Dangers of Doing Business in Public
Among the pros (and cons) of having a cell phone is that you don't have to stay chained to your desk anymore. Now you can do business anywhere you have phone coverage. But sometimes we are so consumed by the convenience of being able to conduct business on the go that we forget the risks.
Lessons Learned: What the General Petraeus Scandal Teaches Us About Private Communications
By now the General David Petraeus debacle has been all over the news. We certainly don’t need to go over all the sordid details. Nor do we need to go over all the Internet security tips the case has made front page news. A summary…
Local Public Records: Offline and On Foot
On Election Day, it's useful to remember that Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill's famous assertion that "All politics is local" can apply to investigations as well.
When we're tasked with a public records search, our clients expect that we'll review federal and state government records. What they may not realize, though, is that an exhaustive public records search also requires digging through local public records, which may be a treasure trove of offline information unavailable elsewhere. Remember, though: There's local and then there's local. Think of it as gradually smaller geographic circles until you hone in on where the person you're investigating actually lives or works.
Ping a Cell Phone, Cross a Line
Unbeknown to most cell phone users, just turning your cell phone on reveals your location. That's because once turned on, your cell phone constantly "pings" (bounces a signal off of) nearby cell phone network towers. This data is collected by the cell phone company and can be traced to reveal your location.
Short of turning your cell phone off and pulling out its battery, there's nothing you can do about this: This is just basic cell phone technology at work. Technology that can determine your physical whereabouts for as long as your cell phone is turned on, which for most of us means 24 hours a day.
Personal Data and Service Contracts: How to Protect Your Personal Information
Attorneys know that one of their primary obligations to their clients is to protect client confidences. Therefore, great pains are taken to make sure that clients' highly personal information stays in safe hands. But what happens when attorneys are the ones passing along their personal information? Well, unfortunately lawyers are far less careful with their own confidential information than they are with their clients'.
Guarding Against Check Deposit and Wire Transfer Scams
Most people have seen the warning message on the ATM machine that recently deposited funds may not be made available for immediate withdrawal. What people may not realize is that a number of scams have been designed to take advantage of…
Confidentiality in Interviews: What You Can Promise and What You Can’t
"Three may keep a secret," wrote Benjamin Franklin, "if two of them are dead." While attorney-client privilege confers a lot of power on lawyers and their agents to keep a secret, the privilege is never absolute. It can be waived by the client anytime, and can be breached in all sorts of ways.
