EXCALIBUR - Private Investigation Blog

WATCH OUT DOMESTIC ABUSERS!!!

2/28/2022

Domestic Abuse investigator in Colorado Springs

Just read this article today in Forensic about a product being used in the UK to catch domestic abusers. A man who failed to adhere to a non-molestation order, what we refer to as a protective order here in the U.S., was arrested and convicted after the victim sprayed him with SmartTag which is a unique forensic liquid the UK police have been piloting. The SmartTag system uses a pressurized canister, which looks very much like a spray can of mace, to deploy a stream of forensic liquid that can be used to tag an offender with a unique forensic code. The police can link the offender back to a specific criminal trespass or protective order violation by using a UV light as the spray is actually invisible.

The company that makes SmartTag provides it as a handheld canister for spraying, a gel for door handles and gates, and an automatic trap that sprays the liquid if someone approaches the house or residence.

As a firm that's worked many domestic abuse cases, we think this product could be used throughout the United States and, particularly here in Colorado. We see, all too often, that the abuser, normally a man, is usually really good at denying they've been anywhere near the victim and they are also pretty good at getting the court to believe them. With this type of tagging system there would be proof. Of course there would most likely have to be some type of warrant issued to gain access to the clothing that has the tagging material on it, but that's nothing a good investigator should have any trouble getting.

Are you dealing with a case of domestic abuse? Let us help you gather the evidence to make sure your abuser gets all the time in jail they deserve, plus some!

UPDATE!!!! I spoke with the UK manufacturer of this product and they are finalizing a distribution deal with a U.S. company within the next couple of weeks. I'm on the list to gain access to this product asap and will definitely be adding it to our arsenal of investigative tools.

Lee Walters
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
719.208.4088
Serving all of Colorado and beyond

CALLING ALL AMATEUR FRAUD DETECTIVES

2/25/2022

PPP LOAN FRAUD Investigators Colorado Springs

Loan Fraud Investigators in Colorado Springs

This just came across my desk this afternoon and is perfect for those of you who are internet sleuths and love tracking down fraud like we do. A software engineer in Palo Alto, California, Brian Hamachek, developed a website, www.pppdetective.com where anyone can see what businesses received PPP loans from the government and in what amount. When Hamachek learned there was a government website listing PPP loans that had been given out, he searched and discovered that several businesses in his town of Palo Alto had actually gone out of business before Covid hit or didn't have the amount of employees they claimed to have, yet got PPP loans anyway which were ultimately forgiven. Basically "free" money for these scammers. He decided to spin up a website of his own where anyone can put in a city and state and see which businesses received PPP loans, mostly forgiven, how many employees they claimed and how big their loans were. We've tried it out and it's very eye opening. You can also flag a loan that you think may be fraudulent based on your knowledge of your particular city.

For those of you who may, or may not, know there's a federal law known as the False Claims Act, also known as a Qui tam. This allows anyone who becomes aware of a fraud committed against the federal government, such as someone receiving a PPP loan when they shouldn't have, to file a federal case on behalf of the government. If the government takes the case, pursues it, and wins an amount of money from the subject, the person who brought the case, known as the Relator, gets 15 - 30% of the recovered funds. Doesn't take long to find a few multi-million dollar PPP loan fraud cases and have some nice paydays. The only catch in filing a Qui tam is that the Relator, (namely you, you Internet Sleuth), has to have an attorney to file the case. We've worked a lot of Qui tams over the last 8 years and know which law firms are great at getting the government to intervene, i.e. take the case, and those that aren't so great. Let us know if you find a PPP loan fraud case that you think has merit and we can discuss with you the possibility of success and then put you in touch with a firm that will ensure the case gets a fair shake from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Good hunting!!!

EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
719.208.4088
Serving all of Colorado and beyond

BOA fraud right here in the Springs!

2/23/2022

Fraud Investigation Bank of America Colorado Springs Investigator

It's almost like scammers read our last post about the Zelle and Wells Fargo scam, but didn't believe anyone read it. Including us! Our lead investigator received this text first thing this morning about their Bank of America debit card, they actually don't have one, and the fraud that had occurred along with the "restriction" that has been placed on their card. Two things to note on this text message: 1. It came from 804-215-6923 which a quick Google search showed that the scammer didn't even bother to spoof the number to make it look like it came from Bank of America even though it's most likely not the true number this text came from. Lazy scammer!!! 2. The number the recipient is supposed to call is also not a Bank of America number. I'm guessing this is a scammer who's just starting out as those are two things that could easily be made to look like BofA was calling.

Don't fall for this scam. If you have, or any other scam, please give us a call to see how we can assist.

EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
719.208.4088
Serving all of Colorado and beyond

!!!!!SCAM ALERT!!!!!

2/20/2022

Bank Scams investigated by Colorado Springs Private Investigator

The Zelle text scam has reared its ugly head again! First it was Bank of America customers, now Wells Fargo customers are being targeted. If you receive this text, or something similar purportedly from your bank, delete and block the number immediately. THIS IS NOTHING BUT A SCAM!!! How does it work? Like this:

The mark, or victim, receives the text, or something very similar, from what looks like their bank. As soon as they reply NO they get a call on their cell phone. The victim is told by the "bank employee" that someone is withdrawing money from their account and that they need to go into their Zelle account and replace the number listed with their first name. The caller ID even shows the call is coming from Wells Fargo Fraud Protection or something else that looks official and like it's from the bank. The scammers are then able to withdraw as much money as the account contains as they have the keys to the castle namely the name listed as a Zelle recipient.

How is the scammer able to be successful with this scam? First they play on people's fear of having their money stolen and the texts play on that fact. Second when the call comes in from "the bank" the scammers use a spoofing service that will display whatever the scammer wants it to display. Private investigators and law enforcement use these type of services quite often and they cost next to nothing to use. In some instances an astute victim has even Googled the person who claims to be from the bank and discovered that the name matches. All the con has done is a similar search themselves and knows to use a real bank employee's name when calling the victim.

Unfortunately if you are the victim of this scam your chances of recovering the money are almost zero. The banks have no requirement to return stolen funds from scams like these so you must be aware that you're going to be out the money if you do.

Our Colorado Springs professional investigators have years of experience working all types of cons/scams. If you suspect someone is trying to con or scam you, please, please, give us a call before you move forward. A conversation doesn't cost a thing and we're more than happy to provide our opinion based on over thirty years of experience. Stay safe.

EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Serving all of Colorado and beyond

THE TALE OF A BAAAD EMPLOYEE: My Paralegal Tried To Kill Me!

2/18/2022

Colorado Springs Private Investigator and employee theft

In this business, as long as I've been in it, you think you've seen it all and then a new story comes along and you realize there's always something out there that's coming to top the last story you thought couldn't be topped. In a report out of Texas, an attorney was defrauded out of at least $800,000 from a "trusted employee" (we've worked too many cases to count where a "trusted employee" defrauded their employer) as well as poisoned. Yes, you read that right. Poisoned!!!

Arturo Guzman, a sole practitioner in San Marcos, Texas, had one employee, his only employee, Ashley Szymonek, who was with him for 10 years and had his total trust. And I do mean total. Guzman allowed Szymonek to be the firm's primary contact for his bankers, accountants, and other professions and she handled almost all of the email traffic in and out of the office. We tell all business clients of EXCALIBUR Legal Support - Private Investigation that they should NEVER place this kind of trust in one employee. It's a recipe for disaster but yet we've seen it time and time again.

This all started when Guzman was sued by a client over allegations that he improperly withheld funds. Guzman, trusty guy that he is, relied on Szymonek to contact his malpractice insurance carrier to get an attorney to represent him. Of course, unbeknownst to him, Szymonek had let his coverage lapsed and no attorney was retained although, according to court papers, she led him to believe he did have coverage and an attorney. Lo and behold Guzman gets disbarred in February of 2020 which was a secret to him for weeks until a fellow tenant in his building told him he was surprised to hear he'd been disbarred.

On April 29, 2020, Guzman was discovered in an office where all the doors locks had broken off keys inside them, bloated with vomit on his face. At the hospital the doctors suspected poisoning, likely from ingesting a large amount of antifreeze. He ended up in a coma for days. To complete the story Szymonek was arrested on a property theft charge, though never charged with the suspected poisoning.

Are you a small, medium or even large business owner? If you suspect you have an employee that you've given too much trust to who may be embezzling funds, contact us immediately. We've worked literally hundreds of these cases and there's not any way of skimming funds that we haven't seen. We've seen it all and know what to look for and where to look for it.

Lee Walters
President
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
www.excaliburlegalsupport.com
719.208.4088
Serving all of Colorado and beyond

EQUIPMENT REVIEW: SECURITY CAMERAS

2/15/2022

Security Cameras used by Colorado Springs Private Investigator

As this is the first product we've recommended on any of our blog posts, we just want to point out that any product, such as the Reolink system pictured above, that we write about is a product we have used for some period of time and can honestly recommend. In the case of the Reolink security camera systems, we've used them in our office and home for almost 2 years now and have nothing but great things to say about these security camera systems. They are just packed with so many features. What features you ask? Well these to name a few:

SMOOTH 4K ULTRA HD resolution with real-time 25fps recording.

ALL-NIGHT COLOR NIGHT VISION which features 4pcs spotlights that provide full-color all night long which is unheard of for a security camera at this price point.

SMART HUMAN/VEHICLE DETECTION that can be set to alert you via email, text, FTP or siren.

TWO-WAY TALK where you can talk from wherever you are through any of the cameras set up in the system. See someone lurking around your garage or back door, you can now yell at them or tell them the police are on the way directly through the camera.

DEDICATED APP where you can log in and view your cameras while also listening to crystal clear sound. We eavesdrop on our office on occasion, don't tell staff, and it's interesting to listen to the interaction between staff and customers.

2-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY:Reolink provides a two-year warranty and lifetime technical support for their customers and we've found that customer support is excellent.

Having used security cameras for many years, some good and some not so good, I'm truly impressed with how reliable these cameras are. In the two years we've had the two systems in place, we've yet to have any downtime due to system malfunction. In today's society I truly believe that a camera system is a must for any business or residence. Not only do they act as a deterrent, but they can also capture evidence that can be used to help solve crime. Criminals are still not the brightest bulbs in the box, that's why they're criminals, and often forget about the potential of a security camera catching them in the act. The Reolink systems, they offer numerous models, do a great job of doing what they're supposed to do and we can't recommend them enough for that extra peace of mind they provide.

EXCALIBUR Private Investigation is a participant in the Amazon Services, LLC Associates Program and may earn a small commission on products sold through links in this article.

SECURITY TIP #3: BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THESE BEHAVIORS

2/13/2022

Dating App Scam Investigator in Colorado Springs

Today's Security tip involves those of you who are on the various dating apps. It's an area we written about before, but we're revisiting it because there are so many victims of dating app scams that we want to make sure you don't have to contact one of our Colorado Springs private investigators after you've lost money. Statistics show that hundreds of people have recently lost $32 million in romance scams with 200 of those living in Colorado and Wyoming. The people most victimized are women over 40, the elderly, widowed, divorced or disabled people due to perceived, and real, vulnerabilities.

Some of the things you should look out for when getting involved with anyone you meet on a dating app:

1. The individual presses you to leave the dating app and turn solely to message or email and somewhat soon.

2. The individual uses a photo that appears to be a glamour shot or looks like it has been professionally done. We've seen scammers download photos of unknown professionals, usually men, that have been professionally done. At EXCALIBUR Legal Support - Private Investigation we use proprietary software to scan the internet and dark web to find if a photo has ever been used before. In one case we were able to show our client that the photos of a guy claiming to live in northern California and working on an oil rig, were actually photos of the CEO of Coca-Cola Europe.

3. The individual professes love quickly, much more quickly than if you met in person somewhere.

4. The individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family. These scammers don't want any other party to be able to point out inconsistencies in their stories.

5. The individual claims to live or work far away. We've seen numerous scammers claim to be working on oil rigs or in the Middle East in the oil or gold business. Not sure why these two professions are chosen by scammers, but they are.

6. The individual makes plans to meet in person, but always cancels because of some emergency. Along with this, the scammer will always have an excuse why they can't get on a Skype or other video call. If you want to test early on if a person is who they claim they are, demand they get on a video call. A scammer will never agree to that. Or if they provide an excuse why they can't get on a video call, their computer doesn't have a camera, etc., etc., then have them take a photo of themselves holding a sign with your name and current date handwritten on it. A scammer will also never agree to this as you'd then see the photos on their profile are fake.

7. The individual asks you for money. That's all of these scammer's ultimate goal. To separate you from your money. Sometimes they will wait 6 to 8 months before asking to "borrow" money or they will claim their account is frozen and they can't pay for the ticket to come and see you in person. Believe me, we've heard it all.

Think you're talking with someone legitimate on ____________ fill-in-the-blank dating app, but your spidey senses are tingling? Contact us and let us vet the person you're in contact with. You've got nothing to lose and will gain peace of mind knowing if they are who they say they are.

Lee Walters
President
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Serving all of Colorado and beyond

SECURITY TIP #2: WATCH FOR SMISHING

2/8/2022

Security tips on Smishing by Colorado Springs Professional Investigator

Today's security tip involves "smishing". Smishing you say? What's that? Although it may seem like a strange word it's used to describe something very serious. Where "phishing" involves a bad guy sending an email with a malicious link, "smishing" involves send a malicious link via a Short Message Service (SMS) text that we all get numerous times a day. In our case sometimes a hundred or more!

It all begins when the person receiving the text clicks on the link. According to Aaron Rouse, SAC, Las Vegas FBI, “You'll have a loss of access to your device, sometimes. You'll have afforded somebody access to your device, and you'll possibly lose personally identifiable information. So it's something that we just like we say with email. If you didn't ask for it, don't click on it." Rouse also described a couple of ways "smishing" is being used at this very moment. Individuals receive a text claiming to be from AT&T saying their bill has been paid, followed by a link to claim a prize, or a text claiming to be Netflix telling the target they need to click on the attached link if they want to "keep watching." Both of these give the bad guy control over your phone in most instances.

Lisa Mesa, a smartphone user who has received numerous "smishing" texts says, “I get pre-approved for certain things, or really weird texts. They actually get kind of personal. They make it sound like they're a friend reaching out to you sometimes too. It says your appointment is ready - click on this link.”

SAC Rouse further states, “They can be anywhere. It really does depend on the scheme that's being perpetrated, and the amount of effort behind it. Sometimes we see very widespread scams. It'll go out and we quickly become aware of it because people will do the right thing, they report it to IC3.gov.”

Reporting to IC3.gov is definitely the first step if you receive one of these "smishing" texts. And it should become a habit to never click on a link you receive in an unexpected text, even if it seems to be legitimate. If you have any doubts at all contact the person who supposedly sent it and see if they actually did. If not, delete it immediately.

If you think you may have become a victim of "smishing" contact one of our Colorado Springs professional private investigators who can discuss different options you pursue.

SECURITY TIP #1: REBOOT YOUR PHONE

2/5/2022

Security tips from a Colorado Springs Private Investigator

In a continuing effort to get useful information out to our clients, potential clients and the general public at large, today we're starting our series of Security Tips that everyone should be aware of.

REBOOT YOUR PHONE EVERY WEEK

According to the National Security Agency's (NSA) "best practices" guide for mobile device security, everyone should reboot (totally shut down your phone and restart it) their phones at least once a week. Neil Ziring, technical director of the NSA's cybersecurity directorate, was quoted in the AP as saying, "This is all about imposing cost on these malicious hackers." While it won't stop a sophisticated hacker, it will make them work harder to maintain access and steal data from your phone. The reason is that the latest malicious software typically targets your phone's root file system. But the newest phones can detect and block such malware during a reboot.

Make it a weekly habit, maybe even set a calendar reminder to do so, to turn your phone off and on.

THE EMOTIONAL CON

2/3/2022

Colorado Springs Dating Sites Investigator

In an exceptionally well done documentary now playing on Netflix, The Tinder Swindler, perfectly illustrates the lengths a person will go to con someone out of their money using a dating site, this time Tinder, but which we've seen on almost all of the mainstream, and some not so mainstream, dating sites.

Some of the takeaways from this documentary and proven out by all of the social media/dating site investigations we've conducted, is how the con man, or woman, sets the hook. In this case, Simon Leviev, not his actual name, claimed to be the son of a wealthy, Israeli diamond dealer. In order to set the hook with his first victim, he met her at the Four Seasons, initially, then that very same day invited her to fly with him on a private jet to a business meeting. Little did she know that all of this was being paid for by another woman who knew nothing about this new woman. Leviev waited eight months, which is not unusual when a big con is in play, to actually ask the young woman for money, ostensibly a loan. Cecile Fjellhoy, the first victim, thought she was in love, Leviev had played The Emotional Con exquisitely, and gladly gave him the money. When it was all said and done, she was out over $200,000. Leviev operated what was a ponzi scheme, a scheme were the con man takes money from one person and provides it to another. We usually see ponzi schemes involving investments, but he used it to convince his next mark that they were meant for each other and that he was a rich, billionaire businessman.

We won't provide any more details in case you end up watching this, but it is truly a cautionary tale and happens more than anyone ever thinks.

Concerned that the person you met on an online dating site or other social media may be pulling, or trying to pull, a con on you? Give us a call. We'll find out in no time if they are legitimate or not.