After dealing with the very bizarre behavior of a scorned lover in another state, our female client called . Although she had relocated, she was scared because she knew he had found her.
In her previous home, the man had stalked her; repeatedly calling her house and following her around. She had tried several times to seek assistance from law enforcement officers but was told that they could do nothing to help her. Not until a crime was committed. And by then, of course, it would be too late to protect herself.
In an attempt to protect herself, the woman moved out of state. She changed her cell phone number. Only family members and a handful of close friends knew her whereabouts. But now weird things were starting to happen again. She was getting phone calls with no one answering on the other end. She felt it was only a matter of time before she actually saw him.
She asked our investigators to find out who was repeatedly calling her cell phone and hanging up. She asked us to conduct covert surveillance for as long as necessary, to rule out that this male perpetrator had not actually discovered where she was living.
Our first undertaking was a bit of mobile phone forensics. We wanted to be sure that she wasn’t carrying a mobile spy in her purse. Phone spying is not uncommon in these situations as spy software is easily accessible and easily installed. Not only can bad guys determine where their subject is, but they can also become listening devices so the bad guy can hear conversations between the subject and every caller. Text messages and emails can also be infiltrated. Nothing remains confidential or personal.
The team ran cell phone spyware detection software. When the spyware detectors were successful, spyware removal was the next step.
That done, investigators followed her while also looking over their shoulder for the possibility that someone else was sticking close to her. Within just a few weeks of staking out the client’s home and workplace, our investigators identified a late model vehicle which consistently showed up around our client’s home and office. The driver was male. After we ran the plates and used a zoom lens to get a photo of the driver, our client positively identified the suspect as the man who had harassed her in her home state.
We continued to conduct covert surveillance, providing hours of video and still shots of the male, parallel parked near the client’s home, following her to her office and to the grocery, the drycleaners, etc. With this documentation presented to the authorities and to her attorney, the client was able to obtain a restraining order. After additional surveillance proved he did not comply with the restraining order, she was eventually able to press charges against him for stalking.
The digital forensics evidence, although not tied directly to the suspect, gave the client confidence that he wasn’t able to track and intrude on her through her phone. Then, because of the professional preservation of evidence, by the time the court date came around, there was certainly enough information for stalking charges to stick. Our client could finally rest safely.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations
