Case Studies
Actual cases where we discovered audio and video devices.
CFO Records and Sells Secrets of a Major Insurance Carrier
Situation:
We were contacted by a major insurance carrier based in Los Angeles, California. The management staff was puzzled by what appeared to be a tremendous sales advantage by a local competitor that just didn’t add up.
Results:
We discovered who was recording and selling sensitive company information to the competitor, however it was not what the President of the company was expecting! We busted the guilty party and secured a confession.
Details:
The President of the company, based on consultation with his COO, was certain that someone must be listening to their private phone calls. Fortunately, they were savvy enough to keep their thoughts to themselves. One of our senior investigators met with the President and COO, and explained how we conduct our three-phase, two day electronic eavesdropping detection sweep of the entire office. In simple terms, we were looking to find bugs, taps and cameras.
We conducted the sweep on a weekend so as not to alert employees and make the sweep logistically much easier. At the end of the day we found that the phone lines were were perfectly clear. However, much to the surprise and dismay of all, we found not one, but two monitoring devices in the corporate boardroom. One was strategically situated under the conference room table where the President sat, while the other was placed under the center of the table to maximize hearing all board members speak. The devices were purchased either on the black market or the internet, preventing us from making a direct link to the perpetrator.
Since we knew information was being leaked, we reasoned that a board member must have some alternative reasons to record on-site and transmit to an unknown location. We discussed the possibilities and concluded it must be a board member that traveled and wanted to know what was being said in his absence. As the most likely candidate was the Chief Financial Officer, we set up surveillance on this individual. He was followed right to the Corporate Headquarters of a major insurance competitor. When confronted by our staff, he readily admitted his guilt and confessed that he was sharing his own company’s strategies and sensitive information in exchange for large monetary payments.
Cameras in Womens' Bathrooms of a High-Rise Building
Situation:
We recently were requested to travel to the Midwest to investigate a very troubling find by a female executive in a high-rise building where she was employed. A camera was found in the women’s bathroom stall.
Results:
We not only swept all the bathrooms for hidden cameras, we set up surveillance and busted the person who planted the camera.
Details:
The female executive worked on the on the thirty-eighth floor of a 40-story high-rise. One mid-week day, she proceeded to the women’s bathroom. She noticed that the automatic flush was not working and attempted to manually flush the toilet. When she bent down find the automatic flush mechanism, her eyes were directed to a silver faceplate on the wall. It at first appeared normal, however she then noticed a small peep hole in the center of the plate. She immediately left the bathroom and consulted with her supervisor. The supervisor called building security who requested the assistance of the engineer/maintenance division.
When the faceplate as removed, a battery operated small camera capable of recording a fair amount of footage was discovered. The company called our office at that point. Our team traveled to the location and, over a seventy-two hour weekend period, using six technicians, we were able to declare all the women’s bathrooms free and clear of recording devices. The disabled camera was placed back in the stall with the stall being marked as not useable.
Surveillance was maintained on the bathroom and two days later a building plumber was observed to enter. Upon exiting a few minutes later, he was confronted. The camera was found in his toolbox.
Cameras in the Bedroom of a Divorcing Mother of Four
Situation:
Our client was a mother of four young children, two boys and two girls, who was in the process of divorcing her controlling husband. She was 100% sure that he had bugged her residence, vehicles and cell phone.
Results:
We discovered that the client was indeed being monitored by her soon-to-be ex-husband, however the violation of her privacy was even worse that she anticipated. We detected and removed the devices to give her back her peace of mind.
Details:
The client had been married a little over thirteen years ago to her high school sweetheart and initially came to us as the wheels of her marriage had come off. Her husband was very controlling, and she was looking for guidance in selecting a family law attorney. As this is probably the single most important decision made by a person who is in the process of getting a divorce, she was wise in seeking assistance and we helped her select the best attorney for her situation. A few days later, we received a call from her stating she had this uneasy feeling about her residence. Her initial thought process was that her home was “bugged” and she wanted someone to check her residence, cars and cell phone.
We revisited the fact that her husband was a total control freak. She believed he was hell-bent on knowing who she was speaking with, both in her personal life and to gain the upper hand in regards to her strategy with her family law attorney. While our client was a well-educated woman not prone to exacerbation, we were somewhat hesitant to roll out all our equipment to perform the three-phase, two-day sweep of her home as this process is not inexpensive. We discussed options with the client, and having peace of mind and knowing her conversations were not being monitored was of paramount importance.
We performed the sweep while the children were at school, and no listening devices inside the home or connected to the phone lines. Her two vehicles and cell phone were also found to be clear. Unfortunately our technicians not only found a camera inside the bedroom, they found two. One was strategically placed in the bedroom armoire to capture any and all activity in the master bedroom bed. The second camera was found secreted in a lamp that was seldom touched by the client as she rarely turned on the light and, when she did, it was from a wall switch. This provided a recording of any sounds in the bedroom and a video of the top half of the bed.
In these situations, we then consult with the client, their attorney and the principal of the agency as to whether to leave the devices in or taken them out. While this may seem counter-intuitive, leaving them in would give the client the opportunity to make statements that are not entirely true so that her soon to be ex-husband makes decisions on erroneous information. The client chose to have them removed (as most do) to restore her privacy.
Bugged Coffee Maker in the Lunch Room
Situation:
A very prominent and well-known San Diego civil law firm contacted us regarding what they felt was an attack of corporate espionage by some outside source stealing sensitive information.
Results:
Our thorough and methodical sweep discovered a bug in a very unlikely place - inside the break room coffee maker!
Details:
The firm was involved in many facets of law including personal injury, employment, labor relations and the insurance industry. They had a number of attorneys who were considered some of the best trial lawyers in America. The four partners were absolutely convinced that their phones were bugged and listening devices must be planted throughout their 25,000 sq. feet of office space. A meeting was held off-site in what we knew to be a secure location. During this evaluation meeting, we proposed to them that they should consider an inside mole who might be feeding their competition. This is done not to create unwanted paranoia but to suggest alternatives before we initiate a search. The partners were convinced that it must be an outside source and did not want to purse alternative theories.
The sweep was 95% completed with no monitoring devices found. However, we sweep even areas where monitoring devices are rarely found, such as hall closets, file rooms, storage rooms and the kitchen/lunch room area. Within moments of declaring the offices completely clear, a technician received troubling signals from the kitchen area. Upon closer inspection, his attention was drawn to the coffee maker in the center of the room near the sink. The signal was extremely strong and it we decided to disassemble the unit.
We found a very sophisticated monitoring device tied to the electrical line. Upon learning of our findings, management remembered that the unit was a "gift" from a secretary who claimed she had won the unit in a drawing and it was too big for her home. The personnel file for this subject was obtained and it was determined she left about seven months early - a week after she "gifted" the coffee maker to the firm. She was discovered working for a downtown San Diego law firm that was in direct competition with our client. Efforts to speak with this former employee meet with negative results.
Over the previous seven months, all the water-cooler talk over legal cases and litigation plans in the lunch room had been overheard. The lunch room is not only a much quieter place today, it is also much more secure.
