Category: Online Dating Scams

"From Likes to Lies: The Intricate World of Private Investigator's Social Media and Dating Site Probes"

6/15/2023

Social Media Investigation by EXCALIBUR Private Investigation

A private investigator conducting a social media and/or dating website investigation would typically perform several tasks to gather information and uncover relevant details. Here are some the investigative steps the professional investigators at EXCALIBUR Private Investigation, Colorado Springs, Colorado, typically take when conducting these type investigations:

Profile Analysis: Our investigator’s first step is to thoroughly examine the target individual's social media profiles and dating website accounts. They study the person's posts, photos, friends, connections, and any available public information to gain insights into their behavior, interests, and lifestyle.

Identity Verification: The investigator next attempts to verify the authenticity of the person's online identity by cross-referencing information from various sources. They check for inconsistencies in profile details, such as conflicting employment information or mismatched photographs. We use specialized software to determine if photographs used in various profiles have ever been used anywhere else.

Background Research: EXCALIBUR’s investigators then conduct background checks on the target individual to gather information like their employment history, education, legal records, and any relevant public records. This helps establish a broader understanding of the person's background and potentially uncover any red flags.

Communication Analysis: In most social media/dating website investigations, our investigators will attempt to initiate contact with the target individual through dating websites or social media platforms using undercover identities. This allows us to gather additional information, assess the person's behavior, and potentially uncover any ulterior motives or suspicious activities.

Digital Footprint Tracing: Next we track their online activities, identify other social media profiles or dating accounts associated with them, and uncover any potential hidden connections or relationships.

Cross-Platform Investigation: In addition to focusing on a specific social media platform or dating website, such as Facebook, Bumble, Tinder, etc., our investigators expand their search across multiple platforms. This could involve examining the person's presence on other popular sites or apps, such as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or specialized dating platforms.

Gathering Evidence: Throughout the investigation, EXCALIBUR Private Investigation investigators would compile relevant evidence such as screenshots, saved web pages, chat logs, or any other materials that could support our findings. This evidence might be useful in legal proceedings, if necessary, and provides our client peace of mind that what we’ve found is the truth.

Reporting and Documentation: At the conclusion of the investigation, all our investigators create a detailed report outlining their findings, observations, and conclusions. This report is then provided to the client for their personal knowledge, legal purposes, or other specific needs they may have.

Are you communicating with someone on a social media platform or dating website and just aren’t sure if the person is really who they say they are? Contact EXCALIBUR Private Investigation to see how we can help provide answers to your questions. We cover the state of Colorado and have over 30+ years of experience. We can be reached at 719.208.4088, via our contact form, or by submitting a request via our Chat Box. We’re here to help you determine the truth.

Lee Walters
President – Lead Investigator
Colorado Springs, Colorado

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10 QUESTIONS YOU MUST ASK BEFORE HIRING A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

11/28/2022

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10 Questions to Ask a Colorado Springs Private Investigator

There are many instances where you may need to hire a private investigator. No matter what you're trying to accomplish, it's best to interview multiple investigators to see who is the right fit for you before giving one the assignment. We developed ten questions you should ask any professional investigator you're thinking about hiring:

1. How long have you been conducting investigations?

Note that this question will give you a good sense of how long the investigator has actually conducted investigations and if they have law enforcement experience where they've actually received training in all aspects of conducting an investigation. If they respond with "5, 7, ____ fill-in-the-blank years, be sure and ask if all those years of experience are only as a private investigator or not. At EXCALIBUR Private Investigation, we have over three decades of law enforcement (25 years) and private investigation (10 years) experience and have received ongoing training during the entirety of that time.

2. Are you licensed, insured and bonded?

In the state of Colorado, Governor Jared Polis vetoed ongoing licensure of private investigators effective August 31, 2021 and the industry is full of people who couldn't get licensed in the past due to a variety of reasons. Make sure to ask if they've ever been licensed in any state and inquire as to what insurance they have and if they are bonded. An uninsured, unbonded, private investigator is a train wreck looking for a place to happen. At EXCALIBUR we're insured and bonded and have held state issued private investigator's licenses in California, Virginia and Colorado.

3. What hours will you work on my case?

Never, never, never hire a private investigator who only works banker's hours, i.e. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. If you've already hired them and can't seem to get in touch with them after 5:00 p.m. fire them. Immediately! Many cases require the investigator to work nights, weekends, and holidays, and can require much more than an 8-hour day. Our investigators work when the case requires it, no matter when that may be. Private investigation is not a 9-5 job!!!

4. What type of training have you had?

Many investigators will vacillate and stumble when you ask them this question and will try to generalize their training. They'll try to tell you how many years they've been doing this kind of work, what they did in the military, etc. If they can't answer with specifics, you can assume they aren't qualified, or equipped, to handle your case. At EXCALIBUR our investigators have trained at the FBI Academy, the DOJ Advocacy Center, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Military Police Academy, to name just a few places our investigators have trained. Training is ongoing as there's always something new to learn.

5. What kind of report will you provide?

No matter what kinds of evidence a private investigator collects, if it isn't properly documented, via written reports, chain-of-custody recorded, videography, photographs, etc., it does no one any good. Many times a case has been defeated at trial due to shoddy or incomplete reports. Unless the private investigator has been trained in how to properly document evidence, they'll fail every time. A good professional investigator will give you frequent updates on all investigation conducted including what they've discovered, and what remains to be discovered. At EXCALIBUR Private Investigation we update all clients any time there's activity in a case and we provide a detailed, written report, that references all audio, video, photographs, surveillance activity, GPS tracking, etc. collected during the investigation. We hand deliver our reports with all of the collected evidence and take the time to go over our findings with the client.

6. How should we communicate with each other?

Many times in an investigation the client may still live with the subject of the investigation. If the private investigator you're interviewing doesn't have alternative communication methods in mind, find another investigator. We use a variety of apps and burner numbers untraceable to our firm as any investigator worth their salt should.

7. Can you recommend a good lawyer?

This question will let you know immediately if the investigator is respected by those in the industry. All good investigators should at least have a few law firms as clients and should be able to recommend which lawyer would be the best for your particular matter. Our firm has worked with law firms all over the country and can recommend the right firm no matter what type of case you need help with.

8. Are you willing to testify in court?

Any private investigator should be willing to testify in court. If the investigator you're interviewing hesitates, even momentarily, that's a huge red flag! Individuals who have presented themselves as PI's may have something in their background that they know will come out in any trial, such as criminal convictions. Without licensing even an individual with a criminal past can claim to be a private investigator. The investigators of EXCALIBUR Private Investigation have all testified in federal, state and local courts numerous times.

9. Will you guarantee your results?

If an investigator tells you they can guarantee the outcome of an investigation they are either lying or have never worked an investigation. An investigator with any experience whatsoever, understands that you never know where an investigation will lead. We guarantee we'll work your case with all available tools and expertise, but we can never guarantee a particular outcome. If the investigator tells you they guarantee their results hold on to your wallet and be suspect of any information they provide.

10. Do you have references?

Any private investigator with a level of experience should be able to provide references when requested. Most reputable PI's will have plenty of clients they can't provide as references due to confidentiality, but they should have some, such as law firms and other professionals, that can speak to their work product. Another red flag if the PI you're interviewing can't, or won't, provide references.

I recommend printing these questions out any time you are thinking of engaging a private investigation firm. I'm sure our competitors will be practicing their answers should one of our readers call them. If we can help you in any way, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Lee Walters
President-Lead Investigator
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
719.208.4088

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

2/13/2022

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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

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PART IV: ONLINE DATING SCAMS

11/29/2021

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Colorado Springs Dating App Investigator

In part IV of our series on scams, today we're going to go over Online Dating Scams. To date we've worked hundreds of these cases with that number growing each week. It's easy to understand why these have become so prolific, almost prolific as the number of new dating sites that seem to be popping up overnight, as they can be easy pickings for a con man, or con woman, yes, we've worked cases on both types.

Some of the sites we've actively worked Online Dating Scam cases on include, but are not limited to: Bumble; Zoosk; Plenty of Fish; Tinder; Grindr (yes, there's even cons on there), to name just a few. Most of these sites, if not all, require some type of limited verification but these are easily bypassed. We have accounts on all of them under a variety of aliases and have passed all verification that has ever been presented, so please don't get a false sense of security that the person with all of those great looking photos is who they claim to be.

Some of the clues we look for in determining if a profile on ANY dating site is legitimate are the following:

1. Do the photos just look TOO GOOD??? You know what we mean. Most, legitimate, profiles don't have professional looking photographs, they just don't. We use techniques that can determine if a photo has been used on multiple dating sites or if it's ever been used anywhere else other than for one particular profile. I can't tell you how many times we've found a supermodel's photograph being used on a fake profile. Or the photo of the CEO of Coca-Cola Europe being used by "Stan" who lives in Northern California. Yep, discovered that in one of our cases.

2. Is this really great guy/girl you've been chatting with for two weeks now just too busy to meet in person? Are they an engineer on an offshore oil platform and travel all the time? Yes, that was one such profession that was in vogue, and still is, by the scammers who frequent many of the online dating sites, particularly Plenty of Fish for whatever reason. The quickest way to cut to the chase, and which we advise all of our clients, to see if an individual matches the photos on their profile is to demand they video chat with you if they won't meet in person. (Side note: Never have the first in-person meeting at night. Only agree to meet during the day at a very public place with plenty of other people around) If they come up with an excuse, the computer is broken, the computer's camera is broken, the computer doesn't have a camera, then you have your answer.

3. How soon does the person ask for money or start sending you small gifts? The really accomplished cons don't push it too early as they're going for the big score and will usually have 8 - 10 women/men on the hook at any given time. They normally don't come out and ask for money for themselves, but to help a grandchild, friend, dog, you name it. We've seen it it all. Sometimes their bank accounts get mysteriously locked for a day or two and they just need a little to get them unlocked. Just when we think we've seen it all a con will come up with a new reason why they need money. They are constantly evolving.

4. Last, is the person you've been chatting with for the last week and a half totally head over heels in love with you after such a short period of time?? I know it's flattering, but they are looking for something and, 99% of the time, it isn't love. Listen to those spidey senses telling you they're too good to be true because they are. Too good to be true.

If you suspect that someone you're chatting with through an online dating site/app may not be telling you the whole truth, or you just want to make sure you vet them before going much further, give us a call. We work these types of cases all the time and would be happy to help you achieve peace of mind.

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

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