Caught Cheating on WebCam (Is it real?)

February 25th, 2008

I’m not sure if this bit of video is real or not but is a great example of how cheaters get caught.

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The surveillance van, the old couple and the police.

February 20th, 2008

There I was parked in a quiet cul-de-sac watching a building across the other side of a T-junction. My colleague is inside a surveillance van parked very close to the buildings front door. I am there purely as backup and to coordinate the job.

The job consisted of following a target to work and I needed to get a few minutes video of them going into the building. Cause it was very foggy, i decided to use the surveillance van close up.

After 10 minutes I decided to move away from the area and went and parked in another street about 2 minutes away. I then get a call from my colleague in the surveillance van whispering, “help, the police are here and they are banging on the van doors”

It was every PI’s worst nightmare and I knew I couldn’t help him. I decided to drive by the van and see what was going on. As I drew level in traffic, I could see a police van and 2 Police Officers walking around the van and peering into the windows. One of the Police officers was talking to an old couple who were pointing at the van and also pointing at the cul-de-sac. I knew then that we must have been seen by them preparing for the surveillance prior to inserting the van in place.

My main concern was to get the van and my colleague out of there with the minimum of fuss and if possible without showing out to the target who as luck would have was at lunch at that present time but who was due to return in minutes.

Many plans were formulated and discarded within seconds as unpracticle and eventually we ended up doing nothing and the police got bored with it and went on to answer a 999 call elsewhere.

My colleague with great presence of mind had curled up into a ball on the floor of the van throughout the event and then managed to take the necessary video when the target returned to the building. He then simply drove out when everything was calm again.

He later told me while we were reviewing the video of the entire incident that the police had been told by the old couple in the cul-de-sac that they had seen 3 men watching the houses with binoculars and then all three had proceeded to get into the back of the van and that they were still in there. The police was overheard telling his controller over the radio that he thought in his opinion that it was a “prelude to a burglary”. Why he thought burglars would hide in a van, i don’t know.

So the lesson here boys and girls of the PI world is always be very aware of the “curtain twitchers”, there’s always one in every street.

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It’s Official! 10YETIS are PR kings

February 12th, 2008

There’s so much going on and about to happen in the near future that I really needed a PR company to advice me on how best to get my message across.

To this end 10YETIS approached me and offered me a deal that could not be refused. They are now on the case and are busy writing stuff and sending it out to all the journalists out there. I will keep you posted on what is published and where.

In the meantime here is a taster just for Valentine’s Day.

The Cheaters Guide To Valentine’s Day

A loved one buying themselves a PAYG phone has been revealed as the No. 1 way to spot that they may be cheating. Love is in the air, but for many couples the black cloud of infidelity could rain on the amorous parade. Private Investigator Jorge Salgado-Reyes is a man who specialises in catching people “at it”, and claims that highly effective cheaters often display the following tell-tale signs.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, many partners across the UK hide their guilty betrayals so well that many lovers just never catch on. A leading UK Private Investigations company is now helping people beat the players at their own game by revealing the top 7 signs of cheating.

The Cheaters Guide to not getting caught…

1. Always use a Pay as You Go phone.
2. Give your lover a fake, same gender name
3. Never say you’re working late
4. Get a close friend to provide regular alibis
5. Try not to treat your partner differently
6. Don’t change your appearance
7. Finally, deny, deny, deny. Everything.

Croydon based Jorge Salgado-Reyes, owner of Private Investigation website www.salgadoinvestigations.com believes that it’s better to have loved and left than to never have found out at all, and encourages partners to never turn a blind eye to these common signs of cheating.

Speaking about the revelations, Jorge said,

“Many cheaters have taken to buying a Pay As You Go phone, seeing as they are becoming increasingly cheaper. Mobile phone records are now the #1 way that cheaters are caught out thanks to itemised billing. Cheaters can easily delete any naughty texts and their call records, covering any potential tracks entirely. If you find that your partner has a mobile phone that you did not know about, chances are they are hiding something from you. Or have turned to drug dealing.”

Suspicious lovers are likely to go through phone contacts whether right or wrong, but are unlikely to pay much attention to somebody of their partners own gender, which is why many effective cheaters store their illicit lovers’ numbers under a fake name of their own sex. Jorge offered the following:

“If a partner has a lot of contact with somebody that they have never mentioned, even if they are apparently of the same sex, it should not be a problem to ask who they are. As long as you are not too aggressive with your questioning, your partner should be happy to ease your worries. If they are not, alarm bells should start ringing.”

Partners often use the almost laughably tired phrase, “I’m working late.” Spouses who often use this should be under suspicion if no extra money is actually being earned. “If however, the money bought home is a bound wad of £50 notes, I would question any extra-professional activities your partner may be engaging in…” Jorge joked.

People who are being unfaithful generally tend to start treating their partners differently, either by overcompensating or turning off affection entirely. According to Jorge, “Any changes in affection, whether positive or negative could be a sign of dishonesty. Unless the cheater is a sociopath, he or she will treat their partner differently, it’s all a question of degree: some people have far more self-awareness and self-control – better actors, basically - and they’re the ones that are best at hiding affairs.”

The biggest mistake cheaters seem to make is to take more care of their appearance where as they previously may not have. When coupled with unusual behaviour, it could be time to talk to your other half.

Complete denial can often convince a partner that it’s “all in his or her mind”. Without concrete evidence and faced with a resolute denial, many partners ignore their head and listen to their heart.

“In my line of work, I’ve learned two things about infidelity. Firstly, I’ve seen the hurt and suffering experienced by the victims. Secondly, I’ve seen how difficult it is to hide an affair.”

And his real advice for cheaters?

“Don’t do it. It’s likely to destroy your relationship, cause lasting damage to your partner, and your kids if you have any, it will create resentment that’ll linger and you’ll be burdened by feelings of guilt … it’s just not worth it.

“Ask yourself “would I do this if I knew I’d be caught”. If the answer is ‘no’, don’t do it.

“Because, if you do cheat, and your partner hires me, you will be caught!”

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Tracing a 12 year boy for his estranged father

February 2nd, 2008

Last year I was involved in a trace and subsequent service of a court order on the mother of a 12 year old boy. The mother had broken off all contact with the father after their difficult breakup and decided to lose themselves in the bustle of the big city (London).

The instructing Solicitors had previously served the mother with a court order for contact but the mother promptly moved house and ignored the court order. They then came to me to trace them in order to serve another Order.

After some exhaustive tracing, I managed to locate the mother at her new boyfriends mothers house and even located the school that the boy attended. Although I caught glimpses of her at the address, I was never able to serve her personally. In the end the court order service via letter boxing and I did so and went on to the next job.

Last week, I received further instructions from the Solicitor to serve the mother yet again with another court order and the Judge in the case had ordered that the serve be letter boxed.

I decided that I would see if the mother still lived there (I suspected that she did not) and low and behold, she had moved yet again.

It gave me immense satisfaction to serve her personally this time as well as the letter box serve. The mothers face was a picture to behold because she couldn’t believe that it was possible to find her.

Posted in Surveillance, Tracing, Process Service | 1 Comment »

Jorge Salgado-Reyes - Private Investigator

January 6th, 2008

Magnum - P.I., Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes, Simon Templar, Crocket, Vincent.

Of the fictional PI’s that I’ve watched in my (sometimes) misspent youth, the character that has had the greatest impact on me was Rick Deckard from the Hollywood movie BladeRunner. Especially the part were he is looking in a newspaper for a job and the voice over says “They don’t advertise for killers in the newspaper. That was my profession. Ex-cop. Ex-blade runner. Ex-killer.”

The impression that most people have of PI’s is very much what they see in the American movies. AS we all know, the reality is a whole lot different. For starters I don’t drive around in a white Ferrari and I don’t carry a gun or any other weapon.

The investigations are, for the most part routine and tend to consist of lots of process serving, tracing down people who are lost (for one reason or another) and spying on people’s partners.

For me the most exciting types of investigations are the commercial and retail frauds where I get to gather evidence about employees and once gathered i get to interview them. It is satisfying to obtain a confession as a culmination of several months work.

So remember the next time you meet me, don’t expect me to show up to the meeting in a white Ferrari wearing a mac.

Posted in Surveillance, General, Tracing, Retail Fraud Prevention, Process Service | No Comments »