Are You Equipped? Why Security Briefings Are Important By Michael CLayton The victim of a kidnap complained after being released that he had followed the security recommendations every day. The guard at the company confirmed his boss would arrive at various times in the morning, that he varied his routes, sometimes arriving from one direction and sometimes from another. He said his boss varied how he arrived, i.e., he varied the use of several cars he owned; he received rides from others, and took taxis from his home to work. So why had the kidnappers taken him? How did the kidnappers know where he was going to be? The guard confirmed that his boss always parked his car in the same space every day, and he was kidnapped as he left his parked vehicle. The aforementioned case happened in Mexico. Though the victim had been given a security briefing and he was aware of the risks around him, he did not apply all of the tools he had learned to every aspect of his daily routine. In a review of cases managed over a six-year period, out of those briefed, only three individuals had been kidnapped. The purpose of security briefings is to enable individuals to recognize the risks that surround them, and then how to respond to those risks. However, this is only possible by following certain criteria for a successful briefing such as a wide range of topics, a qualified presenter, and continuing preventive training. The following is a list of topics that should be covered and highlighted with client-specific information: • Relevant kidnap case studies • How kidnappers work • How individuals are targeted • How to become a difficult target • Should a kidnap occur, how best to survive • problems specific to the locale The quality of the security consultant who gives the briefing is of equal importance. The consultant should have several years of onsite case management experience, he should have lived in country, or at least be genuinely familiar with the culture of the countries in which clients live and work, and have near native language capability. In times of crises, clients want to know that they will have immediate access to an experienced consultant who will give them specific and time-tested advice. Another aspect of effective preventive training is that of the follow-up briefing. To renew skills and review changing kidnap trends helps to guard against future threats. By following these standards when looking for the proper service provider to perform a security briefing, clients will be confident that they and their family members will be best equipped to mitigate risks after they are trained. (Optional paragraph) Security Exchange24 (SE24) has provided hundreds of emergency crisis response services around the world. SE24 responders have the necessary capabilities to effectively help families and companies reduce their risk by providing customized preventive training.

Seldom, potential targets know that they are being targeted. Remember, understanding that the risk is there is the first step in countering an incident. Next, make security an ongoing practice, and REACT proactively to situations. The kidnappers only need to know two things; can the victim or victim’s family or company pay a ransom, and where will the target be at a given time? If they know these two things,  it is often too late, and it is highly likely that person will be kidnapped.

Kidnap for Ransom – Part III

• Surviving a Kidnap – Scenario
• Tactics for Survival

Scenario – When the victim was released, he returned in relatively good physical condition and in spirits. He remarked that it had not gone as well for his cousin who was also taken. When he elaborated, he said that his cousin cried and complained a lot, which infuriated the kidnappers. He said that they severely beat him on a daily basis and withheld food from him. When asked about the difference with his own conditions, he said that he was able to watch television and was given regular meals as long as he kept quiet and followed the kidnappers’ rules.

At the beginning, the cousins were kept together and during that time he was able to calm down his cousin, but at the end of the second day, they were separated from each other. He said that he could hear his cousin’s cries from the maltreatment. Over the course of their captivity, the kidnappers maintained his cousin in a small storage closet under a staircase.

So what made the difference? Attitude and consequently – behavior. A victim has done nothing to deserve abuse, but because of the differences in the attitudes of these two men, their subsequent treatment was vastly different. An attitude of tolerance, but with dignity, is extremely important. Although each case is different and each person responds differently under stress, there are tactics that can be used to minimize maltreatment.

In the event of a kidnap, review all of the details of what has happened. Be aware of the surroundings and quietly review them. Meditate and know that everything possible is being done to gain a quick release. Faith is crucial, and the belief that one is not alone. Pray for strength and guidance. Do not personalize insults, denigrative acts, and threats by the kidnappers, or for that matter, others being held.

Be sympathetic to the captors; show and maintain a good attitude. A useful tactic in just about every case is, if possible, to befriend one of the guards, and rely on that person to gain information on the gang’s plans regarding a possible release and other useful information.

A victim of a kidnap for ransom should avoid the following conduct:

• Do not be irritating, intolerant, show extreme insecurity like crying, and inability to adapt.
• If asked to do some work like cleaning up an area, do it diligently.
• Do not be verbally abusive to the kidnappers or try to dominate the person guarding you.
• Do not cry and show vulnerabilities.
• Do not refuse a meal from the kidnappers.
• If you attempt to escape and fail, the consequences may be devastating.

Awareness of behavior modification may help individuals survive a critical situation. Remember, these tactics have helped in the past, and be encouraged that new ones can be developed as circumstances play out. The key is to be able to adapt to the situation and return home in the best shape possible, both physically and mentally.

End

Robert Mann of Worldwide Intelligence Network has been at the helm of his company for twenty-two years.  It seems incomprehensible at times when his firm receives requests from women who ask if we can locate and identify someone they met online. These are men the women apparently feel in love  while online but they had never met that man in person. As it turns our the female (our client) was conned into sending her alleged lover a large amount of money and after that he disappeared. It is astonishing to hear the same story over and over again and it breaks our hearts to learn how so many naïve women lose so much money and their self esteem because of those con men and woman. That’s right women are also behind these schemes because they know the right buttons to push when corresponding with their female victims. They way it works is simple. The con men and women enroll in Match Maker type websites. They post photographs of very handsome men they make copies of and then they register with false identities. Then they set out to bait their victims who are the women who reach out to these alleged members to introduce themselves. A dialogue is established and one that usually places the male con person outside of the USA allegedly stuck in a country they cannot leave from until they pay a large amount of income tax to the foreign government of that country. They don’t ask their new female friend or lover for money immediately because they want to establish a bond that appears to undeniably be true love because true love never says no. Here’s an example of one such case we worked on. After sending two bank wires to someone she thought was truly in love with her amounting to $25,000 she never heard from him again. There was a second con working her simultaneously and that person was a female who said she was the young man’s mother and she stated that she lived in the USA. The alleged mother not only corresponded with her via email she also called her via phone. The alleged mother filled in during the time gaps when her alleged son was busy working on other victims. Dearest mom did her part until the $25,000 was wired. A few weeks later both the alleged lover and his mother were back online trying to run a new con on our client who was then under our tutelage.  The result of the investigation led us to an address in Alabama that looked like a shack. The second address turned up an operation in Nigeria where there was a boiler room type operation working with dozens of people on keyboards and scripts posted on the walls for them to quote from. The end result, our client had no further funds for us to continue the investigation which would be to travel to Alabama and present our evidence to the local police. We charged the client very little and we went far beyond our retainer budget to help her.  We presented her with hard evidence of the alleged man’s photo showing up online in multiple websites and we gave her a list of other female victims. The good news and ending to this story is our client actually met someone local and married him to our delight.  May she live a joyful life. Our advise, never ever commit to sending money to someone you have never met in person and if something said to you doesn’t add up, take a pass.

One of the most fulfilling and utterly devoted occupations in the world is that of a Bodyguard also known as an Personal  Protection Specialist. A professional Body Guard’s job is to assume the  awesome responsibility of protecting someone’s life. A Personal Protection Specialist makes certain that all possible contingencies are investigated in advance so their client’s passage is safe and secure from possible threats. Many lay persons believe that a tall heavyset foreboding appearing man is enough to scare off a possible perpetrator, Unfortunately, that’s not realistic in the world we live in. A bullet brings down Mr. Big as does a explosive bomb vest and a thrown dagger. What keeps a client safe is intelligence gathering, advance planning and in-depth knowledge of the geographical location the client will be traveling in. A Personal Protection Specialists’ first order of business is to become familiar with the local emergency hospitals and the best routes to those emergency facilities. Quite often local Police Officers are asked to join one of our protective details in foreign countries where their expertise is required.  With a high profile client who has been threatened with violence searching all vehicles in and around the client is crucial to make certain there are no explosives hidden under the vehicles.  Ask yourself one pertinent question when thinking about going into a career as a Body Guard. “Are you willing to jump in front of your client to take a bullet?’ If you replied affirmative then ask yourself another question; “Do you have a death wish?’ Personal Protection Specialists don’t rationalize about taking a bullet for their clients, they focus on a chronological list of all the obstacles they need to avoid. Each client assignment is different and evaluated upon the risk associated with the client. For example, a dignitary or high profile political figure is more likely to be under imminent threat of physical violence than a Rock Star. Unless the Rock Star received verbal or written threats to his/her personal safety they do not generally undergo the long list of precautions used for a political figure.  Regardless, what kind of client a Personal Protection Specialist is assigned to, an in-depth one on one discussion is mandatory between the Body Guard and the client to conduct a professional Risk Assessment.  Protecting people or property is a huge responsibility and Worldwide Intelligence Network (wincor) believe we have the finest Personal Protection Specialists in America and around the world, many of whom are former Government Protection Agents and Detectives who have worked on Official Protection Details.   

We received a call from a very concerned mother about her daughter who was a young adult. The mother explained that her daughter had been receiving very graphic, violent and disturbing text messages and emails from an anonymous person. The daughter lived with her significant other (a female) and they both appeared terrified by the verbiage in the texts and emails. They were so scared that that they eventually resigned from their soccer ball team and never returned to the practice field which was something they enjoyed doing each week. That was one of the few enjoyments they shared after work. The reason they discontinued  going to play soccer was due to the text messages actually providing glues that one of their teammates was the one sending the messages . Our take on this investigation was that the clues were simply too obvious and we thought we should look elsewhere other than one of the teammates. We then learned after asking to see the text messages and emails on the victims’ cell phone that the victim’s text messages and emails suspiciously disappeared from her cell phone without her deleting them. It was at this time we knew it had to be someone very close to the victim who was deleting the messages. The one person who would have constant access to the victim’s phone was her significant other. With the significant other’s permission we interviewed her and during the interview she revealed certain aspects of her life which included a Court Ordered Retraining Order and a host of other women she lived with prior to the victim. After conducting a Superior Court record search and finding the Court Ordered Restraining Order we then set out to find the person who filed that Restraining Order which was successful. After interviewing that victim, we began see a frightening parallel between the actions of the significant other and the victim she terrorized while living with her. The actions of the significant other were identical to those both victims. All of our evidence lead us to the significant other as the perpetrator who was clearly mentally disturbed. When given all the evidence we gathered and our client’s daughter packed up all of her belongings and immediately severed all ties to her significant other. This was a case that was very difficult to handle because the victim was in love with her significant other and she had a very difficult time trying to understand how a person who professes to loving you can be so hateful and vicious. This is far from a typical stalker investigation but it is one that should be told for the benefit of others who might be experiencing a like scenario. Investigated by Robert Mann and Desi Riley Senior Investigators.

Robert Mann of Worldwide Intelligence Network has been conducting infidelity investigations for over 22 years. Our clients are either spouses or significant others who have been involved in fairly longterm relationships.  What usually promulgates an infidelity  investigation is one of the parties in the relationship experience an intuitive feeling that something has changed within their relationship and that odd behavior has interrupted what used to be the norm. As a couple they once enjoyed everything together then, all of a sudden one tells the other they have to work late far too many times or they have to leave town on business with no prior discussion.  We are most often told by a client that their sexual interaction with their spouse or significant other has diminished or stopped altogether. Cheating can be discovered in many ways, among the most foolish is the unfamiliar perfume  found on clothing or lipstick on a shirt collar. Among the most egregious mistakes are leaving text messages and emails from a lover on your phone or laptop where they declare how much in love they are your other half.  There are hardly any words that can describe the pain, disappointment, betrayal and anguish one feels when they have learned that the trust they had in their significant other is in jeopardy or has been lost completely. Losing trust in one another is a very traumatic experience and a horrible lonely feeling. When it becomes apparent that evidence of an affair is required we enter the picture. So many people over the past 22 years seem to smirk when they learn what we do for a living. Seems Private Investigators are most often associated with following cheating husbands and wives and people think that is so cool to be out there catching a cheater. Here’s a reality check, its not cool at all and it is at times heartbreaking to see someone’s world fall apart and especially when there are children involved in the relationship. Divorce is very destructive to a family with children but to stay in a marriage for the sake of the children can at times be even more destructive to thee family. We have seen couples  overcome this very emotionally charged experience by working things out and reconciling. We’ve seen the most abusive cases somehow overcome their lack of trust and reunite. Unfortunately, cheating is usually a deathblow to a relationship and when we evidence cheating we’re not pleased about it. Our job is to bring truth to the issue at hand while making sure we treat the victim of unfaithfulness gently and with a great amount of understanding and compassion.  Robert Mann, Director of Worldwide Intelligence Network.

Billions of dollars in premiums are collected by insurance companies that provide Workers’ Compensation Insurance coverage to businesses and municipalities of all sizes. Premiums are predicated upon the risk within a specific category of work being performed.  As an example, a clerk would not be considered a high risk while a construction worker who works on high rise buildings would be a high risk.  In other words the more likely to be injured on the job the higher the premium.  However, that is not the problem within the Workers’ Compensation Insurance industry. The problem lies with fraud.  Back in 1991 our CEO Robert Mann of Worldwide Intelligence Network (wincor) first started to investigate alleged fraudulent Workers’ Compensation cases the insurance industry in California was burdened with thousands of claims.  Employees were filing claims to collect a check every month without having to work for living. Stress was the most frequent claim and all an employee had to do back then was say they were too stressed to work and then they would find themselves an attorney to file their claim for them and offer to give the attorney a percentage of what they collected. Then the attorneys would refer these fraudulent claimants to doctors that would verify that the claimant was simply too ill to return to work due to stress on the job.  The claims back then were off the wall and at that time, Hughes Aircraft was the largest employer in the state of California. Hughes lobbied Sacramento heavily to have the legislature pass a law that quantified what constitutes an actual work related stress claim that realistically was actually caused by an employee’s work environment. A new law was passed that rid the claimants’ ability to simply claim stress due to their work place. Once the new law was passed medical clinics that specialized in Workers Compensation medical claims were shut down all across the State as were the law firms that perpetrated fraudulent stress claims with the Workers Compensation Appeals Boards up and down the state. District attorneys were called upon to form a special division to prosecute those who were perpetrating fraud upon the State’s insurance companies. Claims went from 85% to 5% within a year and eventually the insurance industry was able to reduce the Workers’ Compensation insurance premiums to business owners and municipalities and businesses grew exponentially.   Here we are in 2013 and it appears that we are nearly right back to where we were in 1991. Claims are being filed like crazy because so many employees have been laid off or fired due to the economy and they fear their unemployment insurance won’t be able to sustain them until they find gainful employment.  Our job here at Worldwide Intelligence Network is to fairly investigate suspected fraudulent claims and report our findings back to our clients, the Workers’ Compensation insurance companies. It’s a never ending battle between the good and bad in this country. When businesses are forced to pay increased premiums while struggling through surviving a very difficult an economy it slows the growth of our economy not only here in the USA but around the world.  We actually need much stricter laws dealing with fraudulent claims.

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Robert Mann

Worldwide Intelligence Network aka Robert Mann wincor, has been in business for 22 years. I have enjoyed a fabulous career as a Private Investigator and Personal Protection Specialist.  Sometimes I’m asked “what is it about your profession that you enjoy.” The answer is simple, although we contend with a significant amount of sadness and tragedy, fixing someone’s problem satisfactorily is very rewarding. Each and every case is a challenge and each and every case brings with it a new learning experience. What did we know about Counterfeiting in China or Internet Identity Theft, or Infidelity and Criminal Defense prior to becoming a Private Investigator, the answer; little to nothing. We studied each task, we worked hours on end researching and eventually we learned what had to be done and we did it with a fervent desire to help our clients. Now 22 years later we are very proud to be recognized throughout the USA and around the world as one of the very best, trusted Investigation and Personal Protection firms.  So many clients have written us letters thanking us for our assistance in their time of despair and need. Please see Worldwide Intelligence Network at www.wincor.com /testimonials. Multiple law firms across the USA have repeatedly ask us to assist them with their complex litigated matters. Honesty and integrity is what we believe in and we refuse to accept any case that we do not feel we can resolve to our client’s satisfaction. It is a great feeling to wake up in the morning with a clear conscience and to look forward to helping someone who needs us.  All we ever want to do, is our very best. Please visit us @ www.wincor.com which is Worldwide Intelligence Network’s website.

Frantic Parents Searching For Their Missing Son.

Just before the Memorial Day Holiday this year we received a phone call from a gentleman in Florida who told us that his twenty one year old son who is attending college in Santa Monica California suddenly went missing. He and his son communicated everyday either by phone or text messages. Of course our concerns were; was his son abducted, kidnapped, perhaps even murdered. The father told us he had not heard from his son for three days. The father was beside himself with worry, understandably.

We were retained to try and locate his son and the father was very well informed about his son’s cell calls, his classes in college, the balance in his bank account and the balance of his small credit card balance. All of these documents were sent to us by the client. The young man’s father told us that he also had his son’s bills for his gasoline credit card. We reviewed those charges and noticed that until the week he went missing he had driven to the same gas station he always used which tended to dispel the horrible thought that he was abducted and or murdered at least not so up and until the last day he bought gas at the same gas station.

A Private Investigator is only as good as the sources he/she has cultivated over the years and his/her knowledge of the technology available when performing various investigations. One particular source was contacted by us who has a unique technology tool that assists in possibly locating a person anywhere on earth. Sorry we cannot disclose the tool or the method as that is proprietary technology known only to a few.

Within 24 hours we developed a location on the missing young man in San Diego, California and in less than 24 hours we had his location surrounded by off duty police detectives who confirmed to us that our intelligence gathering on the young man’s location was accurate.

Two hours after departing Los Angeles we joined our detectives in a surveillance of a motel where the missing young man’s car was observed and we also acquired his room number (not an easy task). When the young man emerged from his room we approached him very cooperatively announcing who we were and that his father retained us to locate him. We asked if he would be willing to talk to us and explain why he ran away and tried to appear to be missing. Yes, he was willing to talk to us and did so for several hours. We put him In touch with his frantic parents and his sister who were delighted to know he was alive and well.  Since he is an adult there was nothing we could do to force him to return home to Santa Monica or to his parent’s home in Florida. Everything we were going to do from this point forward would have to meet with his approval. What did he insist upon? He wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo the following day. So we asked if we could accompany him to make sure he wouldn’t take off again and go missing. We also asked him if we could have his car keys and his hide a key which he willingly gave to us.

The following day we were off to the Zoo and he became more and more relaxed throughout the day and evening. His reason for going missing had to with his failing his classes in college and he was incredibly ashamed of his failures. We are pleased to report that he’s back home in Florida with his parents and his entire family is in therapy working out their problems. Great ending for the family, the young man and us.

A victim of a crime called us very disturbed about the failure of law enforcement to act upon his US Post Office mail box being broken into and as a result his mail was stolen that contained newly issued credit cards. The client retained us to find out who broke into his Post Office Box. Since his credit cards were stolen fraudulent charges were made into the thousands of dollars. To add insult to injury his 1099’s were also stolen and that enabled the thieves to acquire his and his wife’s social security numbers. Law enforcement at the state and federal levels were notified but hadn’t done anything. Inside of three weeks, we identified the suspects, then located their place of residence. We brought all of that information and documented evidence plus a videos that was taken  of the suspects inside the stores where they used the stolen credit cards to a United States Postal Inspector. Further investigation revealed that the same suspects had been breaking into US Post Offices Boxes throughout two Counties in Southern California and had subsequently charged hundreds of thousands of dollars on stolen credit cards. They even applied for new credit cards in the name of their victims but requested they be mailed to their own Post Office Boxes. Who were they? The ring leader had just been paroled out of a Federal Prison for the exact same crime we caught him for. He brought his wife and adopted adult daughter into his scheme along with with his daughter’s  heroine addicted boyfriend. Within a week the US Attorney issued Federal Search and Arrest Warrants on all of the suspects and found nearly all the loot in their home. End result, those bad guys are going away for a very long time.