We had a gentleman who was on the verge of selling his multi-million dollar company. He had a qualified buyer who he had been working with for several months and he was excited about the prospect of walking away from the hustle and bustle of owning a company to the sandy shores of some tropical island. In order to accomplish this, he would have to open his company finances to the buyer’s agent to verify his company was in fact viable. The buyer now showed some hesitation and didn’t appear to be as excited as in previous meetings. He had this feeling that something wasn’t right and he came to to hash over his suspicions to determine if that nagging warning was worth investigating.
He told us he had had several meetings in his conference room and after one particular meeting a long standing Customer called him asking indirect questions. It wasn’t unusual for Customers to call, but this time he felt the call right after the meeting was of concern.
He had done some preliminary research and asked us the possibility of phone tapping or if there could be a listening device in his office, home or even his vehicle. Once we learned he was on the verge of selling his company and the hesitation of the buyer, we agreed there was cause for concern. We recommended a spyware analysis be conducted by our cellular forensic tech in an attempt to determine if any type of spy listening device had been installed on his phone. When our report came back that his phone was clean of any cell phone tapping or an audio hijack he was relieved. We then conducted a TSCM Sweep, Technical Surveillance Countermeasures of his office, to include the conference room. TSCM services utilize very sophisticated equipment and are conducted by trained and competent technicians that have years of training and experience.
Looking for spy listening devices with bug detection equipment made him feel very uncomfortable until we located a “Bug” and then he knew his suspicions were correct. During the next meeting with the perspective buyer, we had our team in an adjoining room from his conference room and determined there was an active listening device being utilized during the meeting. We had his secretary call him out of the meeting and informed him that someone in the meeting did indeed have some type of spy equipment on them. The meeting was adjourned immediately. The sale was terminated and he learned that their interest wasn’t his company, but his Customer List. After a few calls to Customers, he learned some very informative information on the buyer. His attorney is now taking over the case and will be having our team testify on his Client’s behalf.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations
