Can I hire a private investigator in Dallas Texas?

Service of Process, A True P.I

If you’ve never had to hire a private investigator, you might not realize what they can and can’t do. PIs need to have a license to operate. Most states require a criminal justice degree, a law enforcement background, or an apprenticeship under a licensed investigator.

Regardless of qualifications, there is usually also a test to establish their understanding of the legal aspects of their job. Contrary to their image in movies and novels as outsiders who act on their own accord, actual private investigators provide a range of legal and investigative services for individuals and businesses.

What Do Private Investigators Do?

It’s common knowledge that private investigators are often hired to gather evidence in legal disputes, but these professionals can do so much more. Here’s a list of the most popular reasons that businesses and individuals hire a private investigator.

Surveillance and Counter-Surveillance:

Whether it’s tracking down a cheating spouse, finding a stalker, or just finding out whether someone has eyes on you, a private investigator can provide you with accurate intelligence and the professional testimony to contextualize it in court.

Background Checks and Due Diligence:

Whether you’re screening someone you met online before meeting in person or checking out job candidates for sensitive positions within your organization, proper background checks take access to professional investigative resources.

Forensic Document Investigation:

Document investigation using modern forensic methods can help unearth proof of doctoring and other evidence of fraud.

General Fraud Investigations:

Fake or altered documents aren’t the only kind of fraud PIs can detect. They also uncover the workings of larger fraud and confidence schemes to aid victims or legal professionals.

Landlord-Tenant Disputes:

Investigators are often hired by one side or the other in disputes between renters and landlords. For landlords, property usage and whether tenants abide by agreements can be the key to an eviction. For tenants, an investigation can uncover past violations and ongoing landlord issues that support the lawsuit or other civil remedy.

This is just a cross-section of services, which vary if the client is an individual or a business. Laws governing corporate background checks and employment screenings allow them, under some conditions, to request information not available to private individuals who request background checks or to companies who are conducting them for reasons other than pre-employment screening.

If you’re wondering whether a private investigator can help you, chances are the answer is yes, even if you need some help figuring out exactly what that investigator should do to gather evidence for you.

Expertise and Independence

The biggest reason why people hire an investigator is to gain access to the intellectual and professional capacities of someone who understands the process of uncovering evidence. It’s a highly unique skill set that is difficult to develop. The methods used are usually very dependent on the situation. Many times the client request is for evidence about an issue. Then the investigator devises the exact range of services, who explains their necessity and obtains client approval for the expenses.

This means clear communication is key when you are hiring an investigator, and it’s an important part of the job. If you are looking to hire a private investigator in Dallas, TexasA True PI  offers a range of services and can help you navigate the legal system when you need to resolve a dispute.

Is it Legal to hire a Private Investigator in Houston?

Listening Device Detection & invasion of privacy, A True P.I
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How does a private investigator catch a cheating spouse?

Surveillance – A private investigator watches your spouse using advanced surveillance methods to ensure that you obtain the evidence you need. Some of these methods include tracking your spouse’s vehicle, searching their assets, and monitoring their internet activity.

Infidelity / Cheating Spouse Investigation

Is your husband or wife cheating?

The suspicion that your spouse may be cheating is a painful thought. Unfortunately, if you have a suspicion that your spouse is unfaithful, you may be right. According to statistics, wives who suspect their husbands of cheating are correct 85% of the time, while husbands who suspect their wives of cheating are correct 50% of the time. Therapist Peggy Vaughan’s research has suggested that approximately 60% of men and 40% of women will cheat at least once in their marriage. Despite the prevalence of cheating, 70% of married women and 54% of married men do not know about their spouse’s infidelity. These statistics do not even include nontraditional forms of infidelity. It is estimated that 40 million Americans have virtual encounters of a sexual nature on the internet which many consider to be “emotional affairs”.

What are the common signs of a cheating spouse?

Signs of a Cheating Spouse Infographic

In a cheating spouse infographic released by PINow in February 2012, infidelity investigators noted six of the most common signs of cheating:

  1. Changes in intimacy: A distinct increase or decrease in intimacy, affection levels, and/or sexual preferences may indicate infidelity.
  2. Suspicious phone habits: A spouse that hides his or her phone or is secretive about their call logs and text messages may be cheating.
  3. Changes in appearance: A marked change in style of dress, intimate wear, and/or personal hygiene can be a clue.
  4. Suspicious internet use: Much like phone habits, a cheating spouse may be overly secretive when it comes to their browser history and general internet and computer habits.
  5. Changes in work routine: It may seem like a cliche but a husband or wife that suddenly needs to “work late” or “go to a conference” frequently is a sign of infidelity.
  6. Changes in bathing habits: A spouse that showers right when they get home, switches cologne or perfume, or changes their grooming habits can be a sign of cheating.

If you have suspicions we are here to help! Call a Specialist at A True PI Now for a No Cost Confidential Consultation! 1-888-987-8374

Corporate Private Investigator Dallas Texas

When headlines blast that someone has been caught embezzling money from their employer, many think that it is an anomaly in the business world. The truth is that while it should be something that doesn’t happen at all, it’s actually more common than people realize. According to one report, small businesses are at the highest risk.

Most employees complicit in fraud, theft, forgery, and other illicit acts resulting in huge consequences for the company are smart enough to cover their tracks and escape the monitoring eye of surveillance cameras (where installed). In situations where employees work to defraud their employers by embezzling funds, discovering the fraud and identifying the culprits may be quite difficult. Only the intervention of a private investigator can solve the issue while also saving the reputation of the company from being damaged. Corporations and businesses will always need the help of corporate investigators.

What is a corporate investigation?

A corporate investigation can be defined as the rigorous investigation of a corporation, an organization, or a business to uncover illicit acts/activities perpetrated by staff members of the corporation or third parties that could harm the company, thereby ensuring the effective running of the organization’s workflow. Investigators who specialize in this type of work can be incredibly valuable in preventing and catching these types of criminals.

Let’s explore some of the scenarios in which a corporate investigator can be beneficial.

Employee theft

Employee theft, regardless of how big or small the item stolen, can cripple a company’s finances either rapidly or in the long run. It could involve a manager, a supervisor, or other superiors with or without the help of other employees. Staff members of an organization may steal large amounts of money, company items or equipment, and in extreme instances, intellectual property of the company. In some cases, employees may work in collaboration with the accounts officers to cover up their tracks. Some organizations use CCTV surveillance to catch such activity on camera but, in situations where the staff member(s) is working hand-in-hand with the security person, such footage may be deleted. Employee theft can leave a devastating effect on an organization’s finances and the organization itself.

Enlisting the services of a corporate investigator will help the organization uncover and curb employee theft and fish out the culprits. Investigators are experts at surveillance and interviewing subjects so they can uncover responsible parties with or without the aid of security camera footage.

Sexual harassment

Another reason for an organization to hire a corporate investigator is to root out sexual harassment. Sexual harassment may be defined as any form of unsolicited, unrequested, and unwanted sexual behavior or misconduct committed by an individual to another individual either verbally through sexually offensive language, by asking for sexual gratification, or physically through direct contact.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 60% of women say they experience sexual harassment in the workplace. Most of this sexual harassment is perpetrated by a superior to a junior colleague either by requesting sexual gratification subtly or making sexual comments at the individual, sexually-suggestive behavior, or full-blown unwelcome advances. Although some companies have sexual harassment policies, very few implement them, and sexual harassment at the workplace continues to go unchecked.

Because a culture of silence is still predominant even in today’s society, more than 85% of victims of sexual harassment at the workplace do not report it. This can interfere with an employee’s attitude towards work: a decrease in productivity level, cause distraction with work, and in serious cases may lead to an employee neglecting their work or resigning from the organization.

In cases where the productivity level of female employees is low or they keep turning in resignation letters without a tenable reason, the help of a corporate investigator comes in handy to help identify such culprits and put an end to such inappropriate action in the organization.

Fraudulent activities

Fraud activity is one of the major reasons that corporate organizations and businesses go bankrupt or eventually fold up. Even though it is rife, very few companies take precautions in preventing it from getting to the extreme. Examples of some types of fraud activity in an organization include:

Misappropriation of assets

Misappropriation of assets includes tampering with financial statements, cheque forgery, inflating expenses incurred, forging receipts, increasing account figures, signature forgery, defalcation (also known as skimming in which sales made are not recorded and the money is pocketed into the salesperson’s hand), inventory theft (where the money is either diverted to another account not belonging to the company or is physically stolen), or theft of service where an employee uses the company’s services for his own interest.

Vendor fraud

Vendor fraud happens when an employee of an organization enters into an alliance with vendors used by the organization to defraud the organization. This happens in different ways. Staff members can ask a vendor to overbill an organization for shipping and waybill costs. Bribery also happens when an agreement is made between the employee and the vendor for the vendor to pay some amount of money in exchange for a service that the company renders without the company’s knowledge.

Accounting fraud

Another type of fraud that happens is accounting fraud. Accounting fraud usually involves the participation of an employee or an accountant to mislead an organization. Instances where accounting fraud could happen include when staff members set up a fake supplier and make the company pay for nonexistent goods and services. It could also happen when an employee conspires with a supplier to bill the company for twice the amount of goods and services supplied.

Losses are incurred and debts are piled up as a result of fraudulent activities in an organization and thus, the company’s finances suffer the consequences. Plans to expand the company are put on hold and there is a struggle to pay salaries. In a situation where staff members involved have sworn to secrecy, fraud activity in an organization can continue for a long time without the root cause being detected. This is where the help of a private investigator is enlisted to thoroughly investigate the root cause of such activities.

How a corporate investigator can help

Corporate investigators act as unbiased watchdogs who can not only catch perpetrators of corporate fraud and misconduct but also help to prevent it from happening in the first place.

An investigator could perform background checks on a suspected staff member, carry out thorough research, and perform financial investigations to uncover embezzlements, bribery, accounts manipulation, etc. Investigators can also assist with surveillance, technical surveillance countermeasures (bug sweeps), and computer forensic investigation. Corporate investigators also specialize in undercover work where the investigator is given fake employment as a staff member, blending in with them in order to discover hidden activities.

Furthermore, PIs specializing in corporate investigations can assist with due diligence investigations, which are important to conduct before a company is acquired, is purchased, or goes through a merger. These types of investigations help to ensure the secondary company or new business owner is not going into business with a company that would be a severe liability.

The negative impact that fraud can have on a business is palpable. Businesses’ reputations can be destroyed or at least hurt significantly. According to a 2018 Embezzlement Study by Hilcox, “Companies that were victims of embezzlement lost far more than money: they lost customers, had more difficulty attracting new customers and lost business partners. They admitted the D embezzlement negatively impacted the company’s reputation.”

Bottomline: your business needs a corporate investigator

The importance of a corporate investigator to a corporation cannot be overemphasized as it aids in both precautionary measures and in the ability to weed out bad actors in a company. And as reported, a corporate investigator can help save a company from going bankrupt or closing altogether. It’s always a good idea to invest in corporate investigation as it might save your company money and its reputation.

Contact a specialist today for a no cost confidential consultation @ 1-888-9-TRUEPI (87-8374)

Is Your Partner Having an Affair?

Do you have suspicions of a cheating spouse?

This is the question that goes through the mind of any individual who has raised suspicion about his/her spouse. Do I have a cheating spouse? This is a very painful and dreadful question to ask yourself, but if you have strong feelings that it may be happening to you, then most likely it is. Although the media may have planted this thought through shows like Cheaters and many instances blasted on social media of a cheating spouse; the signs that slap you in the face in your own relationship may be a strong indication that it’s your reality as well.

Cheater

Signs your partner is cheating

It is understandable to think that your spouse is cheating when you see strange behavior, especially if the relationship seems a bit rocky at the time. Changes in your spouse’s habits and odd behavior may be very well linked to infidelity, so keep a very good eye on these things. While every situation is different and cheating can manifest itself in many forms, the following are definitely a few signs to consider as possible links to infidelity when they come up:

  • A decrease in sexual intimacy and affection.
  • Suspicious habits with their phone such as, changing the passcode, hiding the screen when receiving a notification, clearing the browser history, etc.
  • Sudden changes in work schedule and coming home late from work.
  • Constantly moving to a different room in the home that you’re not in.
  • Making sudden improvements to their physical appearance and hygiene.
  • Being less communicative and avoiding any conversation with you.
  • Seems nervous every time you try to have a talk.
  • You sense indifference from your spouse and don’t seem interested in any activities with you, inside or outside the house.
  • Excessive spending on unknown items and bills are not being paid.
  • Leaving the house late at night, while you’re sleeping.

These signs may be the determining factor that your spouse is in fact cheating. However, it also may be a mirage, deceiving your sight and leading you to believe something that is not happening. So be very careful to go on accusing based on signs and gut feeling alone, without having the facts lined up.

Do not confront your partner until you find evidence

When you see signs of infidelity, your immediate reaction may be to confront your partner, but this may not be the best idea right away. Confronting your partner directly about how you feel, may not be the best idea without strong evidence. Your spouse may just simply lie to you and tell you that nothing is happening if you don’t bring solid proof to the table.

The next time they do it again, they will probably begin to be more careful and secretive with everything they do, to prevent you from discovering the truth. So don’t go on immediately accusing your spouse without the facts. Be prepared and emotionally ready with strong evidence before you bring it up at the dinner table.

There may be indirect conversations you may be able to strike with your partner concerning infidelity that may provide you some strong leads. This is a very delicate topic, especially if your spouse is actually cheating, so make sure that the conversation you have isn’t raising suspicions to them that you have concerns of infidelity. Be patient and look for signs in the conversation, because if they are or have been actively cheating, they will tell on themselves.

However, some people are very good at disguising and masking the truth, so make sure you are also doing your due diligence and research outside of these conversations, to find out what’s really happening.

How to conduct a cheating spouse investigation

It can be quite challenging to identify if a spouse is cheating, because they lie and take advantage of the trust that their spouse has in them. This allows them to easily disguise themselves and put on a mask to not get caught in the act. However, there is always a trail of signs left behind and if you become suspicious, it is your job to begin investigating and finding out if your intuition is telling you the truth about what is actually going on.

You may ask yourself “well, where do I begin my investigation?”. Below is a list of steps you can take towards your discovery:

  1. Check yourself for STD: Although this is something that should be done regularly, the best time to get tested is when you have suspicions that your partner is cheating. If the results come back positive and you have only been intimate with your partner, this may be a huge sign that your partner is being unfaithful to you.
  1. Look for receipts or random documents: Check around your home for receipts or any paperwork that seems suspicious to you. You can check in areas in your home where your spouse spends most of their time, in their vehicle or even in the trash. Anything you can find that doesn’t seem normal can be an indication that they are up to no good.
  1. Check bank statements: Seeing what your spouse is spending their money on can be a great way to find out if they’re cheating. Taking random restaurant or liquor store visits without your knowledge can be a major indication of this. Check their bank statements if you have access to this to verify any unusual activity.
  1. Check or set up a home security system: If you have a home security system, this may be a good way to see if you can find any unusual activity, especially while you’re at work. However, if you don’t have one, you may want to set one up in your home, but be very careful to not identify it as a means to discover infidelity in your relationship. Talk to your spouse about it to see if they are fine with it. If they seem resistant to the idea for no apparent reason, then this could be a sign.
  1. Check their phone records: If you’re under the same phone plan with your spouse, you can request a print out of call history and text history from your carrier. If not, see if your spouse receives a bill in the mail and check for any unusual activity.
  1. Check their cellphone: If you have access to their phone or can somehow gain access while it is left unattended, this may be one of the best ways to dig up some dirt. Go through text messages, email photos and random documents saved on the phone. Also check their browsing history or even GPS history to see where they have recently gone. Checking messages, comments and what has been searched on social media is also a good place to check. Be prepared to discover the worst possible, because this is where most of the dirt can be found.
  1. Follow them around: Your partner may leave at random hours of the night or times of the day without not knowing exactly where they are going. Get in your own car or find a way to get around and follow your partner. This is a good way to see if they are on their way to have an affair.

Hire a cheating spouse investigator

This may be too much work for you to do or perhaps you’re too scared to do it yourself. This is one of the reasons why there are professional private investigators who handle these types of investigations. You may have to go to the bank with this option, but it’s the professional way to go about it and it will alleviate the stress and fear of doing it yourself. You may be feeling too overwhelmed and stressed about your concerns anyways, so why not leave it to a pro, who can probably do a better job in digging up some dirt on your spouse.

Every situation is different, so the cheating spouse investigation may vary based on your needs. Be very specific and thorough with your private investigator, because they will need as much information as possible to do their research effectively. Keep in mind that there are laws in place, so they’re unable to take certain actions such as:

  • Act as law enforcement
  • Use wire tap
  • Obtain cell phone records without consent
  • Tamper with mail
  • Trespass private property
  • Hack personal accounts

However, here are some means they use to conduct their investigations:

  • Search public records, such as run background check, social media and search engines.
  • Set up hidden cameras and obtain access to surveillance.
  • Use GPS tracking to track their every move and see where they’re going.
  • Use a decoy to tempt the cheating spouse and see if they will fall for the bait.
  • Work with other investigators and lawyers to help them with their investigations.

Hiring a cheating spouse spy or private investigator is definitely a solid means to obtain all the evidence you need to confront your spouse who is cheating on you. These are professionals, so they can conduct an investigation without the risk of your spouse finding out that you are monitoring them. Private detectives have a fiduciary responsibility when you hire them, so they will provide a truthful and accurate report of their findings. We have Boots on the ground 24/7 in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

Consider A True P.I. to investigate your spouse and find out the truth about their secret activities. We will provide a free consultation if you need help.

Give us a call today at 1-888-9-TRUEPI (87-8374)  to set up an appointment with a specialist today!