COVER STORY:
INSURANCE FRAUD AND THE FEDS:
Cases Often Cross State Lines
By Daniel W. Draz, CFE
Complex criminal schemes, along with the potential
number of victims, often cross into different jurisdictions
requiring multi-agency (federal and state) law enforcement
cooperation. Learn about the federal government’s involvement
in investigating insurance fraud and some of the critical issues
associated with these types of cases.
Excerpt: While insurance
fraud is often committed when one policy holder files a false claim,
more complicated insurance fraud schemes may involve more than
one claimant, multiple lines of insurance, numerous insurance
companies, many states and organized rings. The complexity
of the criminal activity in these schemes, along with the potential
number of victims, often crosses into different jurisdictions
requiring multi-agency (federal and state) law enforcement
cooperation. This article focuses on the federal government’s
involvement in investigating insurance fraud and some of the
critical issues associated with these types of cases...
FEATURES:
HOW TO AVOID BILLING HASSLES
By Jane Cracraft, Associate Editor
PI Magazine asks well-established investigators to share
what they have learned about avoiding billing hassles.
Excerpt: Every new
private investigator is required to learn about billing. How stringent
should I be in billing for every minute spent on a case? How much
should I charge for travel time? What’s the going rate for
mileage? What do I do with the client who argues over the bill? And
the client who won’t pay?
THE EYES HAVE IT!
How One Man’s Vision Made a Difference
By Warren J. Sonne, BCPI, CLI Associate Editor, Law Enforcement
One man’s idea, supported by a private foundation,
combined with a technology company and a national missing
persons group created a new national database that will contain
the voluntary biometric identifiers of our nation’s
children.
Excerpt: As PI Magazine’s associate
editor for law enforcement issues, I continually look for
new trends, interesting cases, and emerging technologies.
It is the latter that I thought I would be writing about
when I began to explore the up-and-coming field of biometric
technology. What I soon discovered was how one man’s
idea, supported by a private foundation, could combine with
a technology company and a national missing persons group
to create a new national database that will contain the voluntary
biometric identifiers of our nation’s children. Here’s
who’s involved…
PET
DETECTIVES UNLEASHED
Missing pet cases are profitable for professional investigators
By Barbara E. Cohen
Strategies that pet detectives use to increase their
odds of reuniting owners with their pets and what investigators should
know about this specialty.
Excerpt: Late-night and weekend phone calls
from frantic pet owners are part of the job for pet detectives,
a breed of professional investigators trained to improve the
chances of recovering lost or missing pets. Using a mix of
profiling, search-and-rescue and surveillance techniques and
grief counseling, pet detectives offer strategies that reunite
thousands of lost pets with their
human companions....
DEPARTMENTS:
GETTING PAID ON TIME
By Marco Terry
Tips and tricks to get paid on time by your commercial clients.
Excerpt: Having to wait 30 to 60 days for attorneys’ offices
or insurance carriers to pay their invoices can be very challenging for emerging
private investigation offices. Slow paying clients drain the resources of the
office, and many require multiple calls, reminders, cajoling and visits in
order to finally pay. Slow paying clients create significant problems for an
agency, especially if cash flow is tight. Implementing an effective invoice
management program can...
ASSESSMENT TESTING:
Tools for More Informed Hiring
By Michael Alter
A valuable hiring technique that can provide you with insight into an applicant’s
skills, personality, and potential as an employee.
Excerpt: According to a Princeton University study, four
out of five people are wrong for the job for which they were hired, and 85%
of sales employees are terminated within 3 months.
To cut down on these costly errors, employers are using assessment testing
to move beyond resumes and interviews. Assessment testing can..
UNMANNED REMOTE SURVEILLANCE:
A Giant Leap Ahead in Surveillance
Technology
By Stephen Cassell
A new investigative technology available as an affordable option to many claim
handlers to more effectively fight the war on fraud.
Excerpt: With insurance fraud costs exceeding more than
100 billion dollars a year, insurance professionals are aggressively searching
for new investigative technologies to more effectively fight the war on fraud.
Unmanned remote surveillance has emerged as a popular solution to an age-old
problem.
Unmanned remote surveillance is now commercially available as an affordable
option to many claim handlers...
THE ART OF THE CANVASS
By Thomas R. Joyce
What investigators need to do to conduct a successful canvass to gain tips
and information.
Excerpt: Canvasses are conducted by both criminal and private
investigators and should be considered extremely vital. Often though, the
canvass is regarded by investigators as a tedious, insignificant and frustrating
endeavor. However, when conducting an investigation, regardless of the size
of the case or its importance, canvasses should be conducted. Even in the
event there seems to be enough evidence in a case, the canvass or re-canvass
may uncover an additional witness or more intelligence. Ask any prosecutor
or litigant if there can ever be enough evidence...
INVESTIGATING AND SEARCHING
ON THE DEEP WEB
By Richard Heinz
Search the area of the internet that is not typically indexed
by the major search engines and includes information that
is not readily available from standard search engine queries.
Excerpt: The most important part of the internet for private
investigators and online researchers may be the part that is commonly referred
to as the “deep web.” Oddly enough, it is often the most difficult
area to find. The deep web is the area of the internet that is not typically
indexed by the major search engines like Google and Yahoo and includes information
that is not readily available from standard search engine queries. As a result,
the deep web is the hardest section of web information to collect and track...
GETTING READY FOR COURT
By Michael Koryta
How to be prepared with a court-ready work product, whether
it involves reports and statements or includes an afternoon
on the witness stand.
Excerpt: The more than a thousand investigators from around
the world who gathered in the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for
the World Investigator’s Conference in September were treated to an
array of seminars that covered many facets of the profession. Two of the
speakers focused their lecture on preparing a case for court — either
with personal testimony, in the case of Judge Andrew Napolitano, or with
a professional witness statement, which was Julius “Buddy” Bombet’s
topic of choice.
Statements and courtroom testimony go hand-in-hand. Many investigators receive
a majority of their work from attorney clients, and in such cases they must
always be aware of the ultimate goal—a court-ready work product...
TEAM ADAM:
John Walsh Challenges PIs to Volunteer
By Jane Cracraft, Associate Editor for Legal Investigations
Walsh urges qualified PIs to get involved with a group who volunteer to help
locate missing children and see that crimes against them are prosecuted.
Excerpt: Until July 27, 1981, John Walsh was a successful
partner in the development of luxury hotels, a devoted husband and the father
of “a beautiful 6-year-old son.” His office was in Miami, but
his home was in suburban Hollywood, in a neighborhood that he believed would
insulate his family from South Florida crime. That notion evaporated when
his son Adam was kidnapped from a shopping mall.
Frantically, he and his wife tried to mobilize police agencies and news media
to search for their son. In that era, crimes against children were a low priority...
FIRST TIMERS AT THE WIC
By Jane Cracraft, Associate Editor for Legal Investigations
Accounts from new PIs on their experience at the World Investigators Conference.
Excerpt: Long time investigators linked up with friends and
colleagues at the World Investigators Conference and reminisced about other
seminars they’ve attended over the years, but it was an entirely new
experience for some younger PIs.
“This was my first time ever at a conference,” said Tina Kunkle of
New River, Arizona. “It was great. I had a blast. I brought six books home
with me so I am still reading and still learning.” As a relatively new
investigator, Kunkle said she especially valued the lessons she learned from
Brandon Perron and Vernon Geberth. “Those were my two favorite classes,” she
said. Books by both speakers/authors were among the items she took home...
JIM CARINO:
LIVING HIS LIFE’S WORK
By Kitty Hailey
A profile of a PI who lives by his convictions and is founder of the International
Intelligence Network, among many other association positions.
Excerpt: “There are two types of people in this world.
It’s either us or them. Us is everyone connected with law enforcement,
investigations, military intelligence, special investigations, etc. Them
is everyone else.” That’s what Jim Carino has to say about his
world. He’s a man who lives by his convictions...
GADGETS, GIMMICKS & TRICKS OF THE TRADE
By Julius “Buddy” Bombet, Associate Editor
New technology, equipment and advice that every
PI should know.
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