Monthly Archive for February, 2008

Page 2 of 2

Norwich Order as a Pre-Trial Remedy in Fraud Cases

Published on February 7, 2008 in Canada, Courts, Fraud and Private Investigator. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

An article by John Polyzogopoulos, a partner of Blaney McMurty LLP, in the January 2008 edition of the Commercial Litigation Update explains a Norwich order can help victims of fraud determine what happened to the money.

The recent decision of Justice James Spence in Isofoton S.A. v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank should be of interest to anyone who suspects they may have been the victim of fraud. In that case, Justice Spence granted a Norwich order to obtain the banking records of a party suspected of defrauding the applicant of over $3 million. The unique nature of the disclosure order was that it was directed not to the alleged fraudster, but to the fraudster’s bank. The disclosure order was made to assist the applicant in investigating the fraud and determining what happened to its funds.

The article also illustrates the need for due diligence research prior to entering into an agreement with a previously unknown supplier. Once the victim realised that the supplier was not acting in good faith, they hired a PI who determined that the the supplier was a company without the assets necessary to deliver the contracted goods.

Faked-Death & Impersonation-of-the-Dead Fraud

Published on February 6, 2008 in Canada, Forgery, Fraud, Identity Fraud, Identity Theft, Private Investigator, Sources, U.S.A. and United Kingdom. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

We have all heard of the faked-death scams to defraud insurance companies, escape prosecution, or to start over. The latter always happens in the aftermath of mass-casualty events like train wrecks, fires, and terrorist attacks. But what about the reverse — pretending to be somebody who has died?

This is not uncommon simply because it is so difficult to uncover the truth of someone’s identity and it has been so throughout my thirty years of Canadian experience.

In Canada, registering deaths is a provincial responsibility. The national vital statistics death registration system run by Statistics Canada does not include the deceased’s name or date of birth. There are no public search facilities for determining if the identity that you are presented with is that of a dead person.

In the U.S.A., the Social Security Administration Death Master file includes 98% of deaths of persons who participated in the Social Security program. This is may be searched at several internet sites.

In the UK, Smee & Ford Limited created a database called Mortascreen, which was used to screen direct mail lists for deceased people. This data was augmented and is now used as the foundation for Halo, a database that covers 85% of the deaths occurring annually in the UK. It is updated monthly and includes historical data to make it useful for verifying a person’s identity.

According to the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, CIFAS, since 2001, impersonation of the dead is Britain’s fastest growing identity theft crime. The latest research suggests the problem has been under-stated by 3.5 times and revised statistics now indicate that 70,000 families experienced the pain of discovering their loved one had been impersonated after their death, to open accounts such as credit cards and loans.

According to the Home Office figures on crime in England and Wales in Jan 2003, “Between April 2000 and March 2001, the passport agency detected 1,484 fraudulent applications of which 301 used the identities of the deceased.”

I suspect that Canada may have a problem with this type of identity theft, but there is no way of knowing the extent of the the problem.

Ecological Search Engines?

Published on February 5, 2008 in Search Engines. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Ecological search engines use a black background rather white. Black backgrounds apparently uses less energy than white, though Google’s research tends to contradict this. Here is a list of some of these strange looking search engines:

  • Blackle
  • Eco-Find – Ecologic Search
  • Darkoogle

    • The Most Useful SEC Filings

    Published on February 4, 2008 in Company Research, Competitive Intelligence and Sources. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

    The most useful forms to examine when researching US listed companies:

  • 10-K: A yearly report that provides a comprehensive financial overview of a firm’s business. Contains more detail than the Annual Report to Shareholders that firms are also required to prepare.
  • 10-Q: An unaudited quarterly financial update that must be filed within 45 days of the conclusion of the most recent quarter.
  • 8-K: Reports events such as a senior management change or major strategic shifts such as a mergers and acquisitions.
  • DEF-14A: This is the definitive proxy statement that provides the date and agenda items for the company’s next annual meeting. Proxy statements may also provide the names of major shareholders, executive and director pay, director biographies, and any shareholder matters that may be up for a vote.
  • S-1: This is the Registration Statement filed when a company raises funds for any reason, whether to repay debt or buy another firm. The S-1 details how much money was raised and for what purpose.
  • Forms 3 & 4: These filings are the means by which company insiders (usually officers and directors) report sales or purchases of the firm’s stock. These reports inform the investors of personal transactions that may reflect the insiders’ assessment of the company’s prospects. Form 3 is an initial filing and Form 4 reflects changes in the holding.

    • Dangers of Outsourced Software Development

    Published on February 1, 2008 in Competitive Intelligence, Espionage, Intellectual Property Rights, Intelligence Services, Security and Surveillance. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

    Nigel Stanley, at Bloor Research article entitled Ounce Labs weighs into rogue code about the dangers of outsourcing software development. The most interesting part of the article follows:

    Industrial espionage, or good old fashioned spying, is as alive and well today as it has ever been. In fact, a lot of time and effort from the security agencies is tied up in dealing with this issue, and contacts have assured me it is worse now than it has ever been as developing countries try to steal a march (maybe even literally) against the developed world. Spying between developed nations is also a problem, with some larger European countries having a dreadful reputation for trying to obtain industrial secrets from so called allies. Software development is an obvious target…

    The downside of this approach is that decision makers get seduced by green lights whilst their developers look for even more creative ways of inserting malicious code. No sensible person will ever declare that a product such as Ounce 5 will guarantee that your code is 100% secure…