December 20, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Odds & Ends / 0 comments
As we close out this year, I’ll give 2021 a mixed review. Lots to celebrate, certainly. Yet sometimes I wonder how we managed to love, laugh, create, and learn during such a wild, wild year. In a year filled with uncertainty, major cultural shifts, and more than a few honest-to-goodness WTF moments, how did we […]
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Confirming what you know and finding what you don't
Holiday wishes
December 20, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Odds & Ends / 0 comments
As we close out this year, I’ll give 2021 a mixed review. Lots to celebrate, certainly. Yet sometimes I wonder how we managed to love, laugh, create, and learn during such a wild, wild year. In a year filled with uncertainty, major cultural shifts, and more than a few honest-to-goodness WTF moments, how did we […]
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Getting great search results – It starts at the source
December 6, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Information skills, Search tools / 2 comments
Online searching is about much more than finding. Once you’ve run your searches, now what? And how did you get to the point of constructing some worthwhile searches? In a previous post, I listed several steps involved in the search process, and in this and future posts I’ll go into more detail about each step. […]
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Giving thanks
November 22, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Odds & Ends / 2 comments
This week in the U.S., we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Several years ago, I wrote about how thankful I was for for the people who make a difference by sharing their knowledge. Nothing’s changed on the list, and I could have just re-posted it, but a lot has happened over the past couple of years, […]
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Hedge fund due diligence investigations FAQ
November 8, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Due diligence, Fraud / 0 comments
As a private investigator, my area of specialty is fraud. I help my clients spot it and prevent it. One way I do this is with hedge fund due diligence background investigations. Through the years, I’ve been asked a lot about hedge fund background investigations and what’s involved, and I’ve discovered that there are lots […]
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Things this private investigator doesn’t do
October 25, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigative business / 2 comments
After becoming a private investigator, I discovered that investigators are a diverse group. We have different backgrounds, areas of specialty, and clientele. We also have different work styles, and, over the years, I’ve discovered some of my non-negotiables, like doing client work on weekends and not verifying degrees until I have the proper paperwork in-hand. […]
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Investigative research – What makes it unique?
October 11, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigations / 2 comments
Research is research, right? As a private investigator and fraud examiner, I conduct a lot of research on people, companies, industries, and trends. Which is what I also did as a market researcher before becoming an investigator. Back then, I gathered information from online and human sources, looked for patterns, and transformed my findings into […]
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Not enough Google results? – Time to get creative
September 27, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Information skills, Tips/Techniques / 1 comment
Using Google for research and investigations can be a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that Google is a great starting point for finding answers and leads to even more answers. The bad news? Sometimes, it’s not so great. Most often, you get too much information, increasing the risk of missing something important. […]
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Spotlight on fraud: Catching up on the Elizabeth Holmes trial
September 13, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Due diligence hall of shame, Fraud / 2 comments
For fraud fighters worldwide, the spotlight is currently on the Elizabeth Holmes criminal trial, which started last week in San Jose, California. The case, U.S. v. Elizabeth Holmes, et al., is the culmination of a broad investigation into Holmes’ and her then-boyfriend Sunny Balwani’s…”allegedly deceptive representations about their company and its medical testing technology” and […]
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Top post: How to become a private investigator
August 30, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigative business / 0 comments
This updated post was originally published in May 2020. How do I become a private investigator? People often ask me this question, and I generally offer some standard advice, but I decided to tap into my network of fellow PIs to see what else I should be telling others about breaking into this exciting and […]
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The best parenting skills for working with clients
August 16, 2021 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigative business / 4 comments
Some of the best client management tips come from the parenting experts. No, I’m not advocating that we treat our clients like children. In fact, my favorite advice is based on the Golden Rule and treating children–and our clients–like equals. Treat them just the way you would want to be treated if the roles were […]
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