Group One Investigations Connecting The Dots…

Connecting the dots: What PIs do in background checks. That’s what private investigators are best at. That’s why individuals and corporations hire our services when they want a thorough background check of an individual or a business.
Despite the unsavoury portrayal of PIs on television and in the cinema, private investigation in Australia is a legal profession and most reputable PI firms operate within a strict code of ethics and do not circumvent the law to obtain information. 
An enormous amount of information is available via open sources and public documents. It is how the private investigator uses this compilation to identify ‘red flags’ in the subject’s personal history, employment record, business dealings or financial status.
Open source and public documents can provide a wealth of information. Most importantly, you can gather information on civil litigation, criminal records, police checks, corporate and professional affiliations and licenses, judgements, liens and bankruptcies, ATO information, employment history, education credentials, internet activities, assets, drivers’ license records, voter registration and even political contributions. However, how you collate this information is the key. 
Here’s a list of what a background check with a PI would entail: 
1. Personal information 
Can include the subject’s place of residence in the last 10 years, marital status, and family ties to a business.
2. Professional history
Finding what is intentionally omitted is equally important as verifying that the information provided is accurately represented. Some of the checks a PI will verify include previous job designation, past employer, academic qualifications, working permissions in Australia and so forth. 
3. Financial
Financial checks include finding out if the subject has been party to any civil judgements, state or federal liens. This also covers bankruptcy checks and ‘red flags’ in credit rating checks. 
4. Assets
An asset check delves into the assets owned by the subject. It also investigates assets owned by entities that may belong to the individual as well as roles the individual may have held, including shareholder in a publicly traded company or board member in an organisation or LLC. 
5. Business interests
The subject’s past and current business interests are taken into consideration, including involvement in domestic, foreign or not-for-profit organisations. Also whether any of these businesses have been the subject of a bankruptcy, litigation or sanction. 
6. Regulatory
Apart from identifying all the professional affiliations the subject belongs to, the PI will also look at whether there are any complaints, disciplinary actions or sanctions against the subject.
7. Criminal/Civil Cases
The key items to investigate are whether the subject has been party to any state or federal court cases and whether there is any past or existing litigation cases against them. 
8. Character and reference checks
Character and reference checks on the individual include speaking to former colleagues, employers, and partners about their character and any other information that could be important to the background check. 
9. Social media presence
The subject matter of what they are posting on their blogs, websites, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms is important. It is equally important to collate information on what others are posting on their platforms. 
Connecting the dots for profiling
Open source information is easily attainable and if you have the time and resources, you can easily compile information about a person or a business. But the trick is not just collating the information, it is about connecting the dots to present the information in the right context. And that is where the PI comes in. 
Need a background check? Call 0415 559 943.