Upcoming Events
On Monday, February 19, many government offices will be closed in observance of Presidents' Day. Also, don't forget to "spring forward" with your clocks on Sunday, March 11, as Daylight Saving Time returns to most locations.
Call to find out how to arrange a convenient presentation, in your office, of our continuing legal education (CLE) program, approved by the State Bar of Texas. It will provide you with ways to ensure your investigations add value to your case.
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Next Edition Topics:
Next month we will begin a series of articles about investigations and investigators in other countries with strong ties to Houston.
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This month in VantagePoints, we present two articles with topics of growing relevance in a computerized society.
The first addresses the benefit of the methodical analysis of a skilled background specialist, in contrast to automated background checks that rely on computer software to do all the work. The difference can be useable findings, as opposed to volumes of superfluous data.
The second discusses the potential damage of ex-employees who recruit their former co-workers to access company databases and steal intellectual property. Unfortunately, such theft is often aided by an avoidable lack of internal controls.
Thank you for your comments on VantagePoints. We hope you will recommend our newsletter to those in your professional circle. If you have any specific topics of interest, please send them to: [email protected].
J.R.Skaggs
Founder, Owner, and Manager
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Stacking the Deck: Maximizing investigative success through effective analysis
 These days, the investigative process is prone to become bogged down in data. The wide array of systems and sources that supply information about companies and individuals frequently throw out volumes of chaff. Thus, separating out the kernels of wheat among the superfluous reporting requires patience, persistence, and skill.
A simple background check on a person can mushroom into a voluminous matter, especially when dealing with someone with a very common name. The ability to methodically sift through and extract pertinent findings is somewhat of an art form.
The skilled practitioners of ResultQuest® employ an analysis technique honed from thousands of inquiries, to mine the nugget that is often hidden in the electronic dredging. We have routinely located pertinent evidence that has eluded others.
In one recent case, by means of effective cross-referencing, we located a link between a corporate executive and a contractor firm owned by her mother-in-law. The arrangement was not only a violation of...
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Left Behind: Employees who supply information to corrupt former co-workers
 It often seems that company loyalty has gone the way of the cassette tape. Businesses are increasingly being put at risk by employees who conspire with former co-workers to siphon out information or intellectual property to market to competitors or others with profit motives.
Misappropriated corporate data can be enormously profitable to the end user. People employed in positions with access to closely held information are typically aware of its uniqueness. When fired or otherwise separated from employment, the access these individuals had is usually shut off. However, this does not prevent them from recruiting their former colleagues. This is especially true if they have an axe to grind.
In one particular case handled by ResultQuest®, a company terminated a contentious, highly-paid technician who, unknown to the employer, had a live-in girlfriend who remained employed by the firm. Under his guidance, she gained unauthorized access to a patented proprietary system and copied certain platforms. Using the data, the former employee launched his own successful business and was joined in short order by the girlfriend.
In another matter we investigated, a fired plant manager recruited his underling, a drinking buddy, to gain illicit access to computerized drawings of a patented machine that...
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