Cell phone ‘ping’ helps police narrow searches

By Charles McMahon
cmcmahon@fosters.com

Thursday, November 12, 2009

PORTSMOUTH — The ability to track someone’s cell phone signal to a specific area may not be something new for fans of CSI and other TV cop dramas but the use of the technology became very real this past week as police searched for a little girl abducted by her father.

Maine authorities issued an AMBER Alert on Monday afternoon to find 38-year-old Gary Traynham after he allegedly assaulted his two-year-old daughter’s mother and fled the mother’s Sanford, Maine, apartment with little Hailey in a stolen pickup truck.

The U.S. Justice Department’s Website describes the Amber Alert Program as “a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.”

And that’s what happened right after Hailey was taken. The airwaves were saturated with reports about her abduction.

Through witness reports and information received indicating that Traynham had ties to the Lakes Region, police began to scour communities throughout Central New Hampshire. Signs of the alert were visible everywhere, from the state, local and federal authorities positioned along Route 11 on Tuesday to the electronic construction signs that displayed messages about Traynham’s license plate number.

Hours into the eventual 30-hour manhunt, police caught a break when they were able to determine Traynham had made a phone call with his cell phone and the signal had “pinged” or transmitted off a communications tower in Alton.

Sanford Police Chief Thomas Connolly told WMUR that authorities were able to get an idea of where Traynham may have been headed when they received information his cell phone had used the signal from the tower.

“They were able to draw an arc on a map and said information from the cell phone indicates Traynham and his little girl were somewhere in that arc,” Connolly told WMUR. “Son of a gun they were found right in the middle of that arc.”

Hailey Traynham and her mother were reunited Tuesday night in Sanford, Maine, after a deer hunter spotted her and her father in a pickup truck on a logging road in Milton.

An unrelated incident in Portsmouth on Wednesday offered further proof that tracking cell phones for law enforcement purposes can be life-saving and in some cases an important precaution.

According to radio communications, around 10:30 a.m. local police were on the lookout for a possibly suicidal Connecticut man believed to be in the area. Radio transmissions indicated Connecticut authorities had received information that the man’s cell phone had last “pinged” off a tower in the Portsmouth area.

Police were then asked to be on the lookout for the man at area hospitals and eventually found him at a friend’s residence unharmed a short while later.

Portsmouth Police Community Relations Capt. Mike Schwartz said the effort in tracking someone’s cell phone is a team effort with law enforcement and phone service carriers and is only used in situations deemed to be an emergency. When police determine a situation necessitates using the technology, Schwartz said they contact the cell phone carrier, identify themselves as law enforcement and request a trace of the last known signal used.

Schwartz said the service is then able to tell authorities the last tower the cell phone signal “pinged” off.

“It’s for emergencies and there is tight criteria on it,” said Schwartz. “Every now and then we get people who say they lost their phone and ask, ‘can you ping it?’ We have to tell them ‘no,’ that’s not an emergency.”

The tracking is also not always 100 percent, said Schwartz, but does give law enforcement agencies a good starting point.

Michael Murphy, New England public affairs spokesman for Verizon Wireless, also acknowledged the relationship law enforcement and cell phone carriers have when it comes to potentially harmful situations.

“Verizon Wireless maintains a Law Enforcement Resource Team (LERT) that is ready and available 24/7 to assist authorities with life-threatening situations,” Murphy said.

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Call ICORP Investigations regarding GPS tracking systems – Toll Free 866.984.2677

Job Posting – Forensic Accountant

ICORP Investigations, Inc is seeking a Certified Forensic Account (CrFA) for hire. This position will assist in the development of investigative reporting and it will provide analysis of fraud.

Please fax resumes and desired salary to Steven Santarpia 631.285.7993

About ICORP Investigations Inc

ICORP Investigations Inc. is a fully licensed, insured and bonded professional New York based Private Investigation company. ICORP was founded in 2007 by licensed private investigators John L. Egan and Steven Santarpia.  ICORP specializes in  Family Law and Insurance Defense Investigations.  They’re committed to excellence and setting a high standard for the investigative industry today. ICORP’S team of investigators have over 35 years of investigative experience and are available to work throughout the entire State of New York, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Offices in New York, New York and Hauppauge, Long Island. Please visit our website for more information
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NYC Private Investigators, ICORP Investigations Gives Major Reasons Why Cheating Spouses Should Hire Private Investigators

ICORP Investigations gives top three reasons why victims of a cheating spouse should consider hiring a private investigators to find out the truth.

NEW YORK, NY, October 09, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ — NYC leading Private Investigators, ICORP Investigations gives top three reasons why victims of a cheating spouse should consider hiring a private investigator to find out the truth.

According to a recent survey, 92% of participants admitted they would be unfaithful if they knew they wouldn’t get caught.

Although there are many people who discover their spouses have cheated on them, there is an enormous amount of people who will probably never find out the truth.

Married couples who are unaware their spouse is cheating are putting themselves at high risk legally, emotionally and they are putting their health at risk as well.

1. Legally protect yourself. In some states, when a spouse commits infidelity, this can be used as grounds for a divorce including states with no-fault divorce laws.

2. Protect yourself emotionally. If you have a constant unsettling feeling that your spouse is cheating on you, this can cause emotional wear and tear on your body. Once you discover what is truly going on with your spouse, you can finally begin to handle the situation.

3. Protect your health. When your spouse is committing adultery, this can put you at risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). If your spouse is involved in adultery and he/she is not using condoms, they are ultimately putting your health in jeopardy. If you find out your spouse is cheating on you, you can take the necessary precautions to protect your health.

ICORP Investigations led by Steven Santarpia and John Egan has become a leader in the investigative industry by helping several clients save time and money. They utilize a state-of-the-art online database system to keep their clients updated via phone and email 24/7.

In a recent interview ICORP’s CEO Steven Santarpia stated “Helping clients who are the victims of their spouses cheating give me hope, knowing that they will not be going through that anymore and can start to repair their life.

The private investigations team at ICORP Investigations has years of experience and only uses in-house employees. Unlike many private investigative companies, they do not subcontract investigators from other agencies to work on their clients cases.

Most of all, ICORP Investigations is fully licensed, insured and bonded in the state of New York.

The private investigation team offers free consultation for all of their private investigative services. Their private investigative services includes: Domestic, Spousal Surveillance, Child Custody, Background Checks and Insurance.

For further details about ICORP, visit: nycprivateinvestigatorsinc.com.

ICORP Investigations
New York City
300 Park Ave, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10022
T. (212) 572-4823
F. (212) 572-6499
http://www.nycprivateinvestigatorsinc.com

Private Investigators – Soho, Financial District, Lower East Side, Battery Park City, Meatpacking District, Gramercy, Tribeca, West Village, Upper East Side, UES, Upper West Side, UWS,  Midtown, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island.

New York Private Investigators, ICORP Investigations helps stop Fraud in Workmen’s Compensation Cases.

HOLBROOK, NY, October 10, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ — New York Private Investigators, ICORP Investigations helps many small business owners and corporations fight against Workman’s Compensation Fraud, Personal Injury and Liability Claims.

According to experts, 16,000 workplace injuries happen daily in the United States and approximately, 192 million are covered under workers’ compensation.

Although it is considered illegal for an employee to falsely claim benefits from workers’ compensation, there are countless people who are never brought to justice.

How does an employer know for sure that their employees who are currently collecting workman’s compensation benefits are being truthful? Unfortunately, many employers are unable to answer that question.
Many companies hire a professional private investigation team to investigate employees who are on disability in order to determine the truth.

Statistics show that companies who hire private investigators have a higher success rating than companies who do not when it comes to catching untruthful employees in the act.

ICORP Investigations Saves Business Owners Thousands of Dollars

Companies across the country have hired private investigators to use surveillance technology such as videotape. Many surveillance videos have exposed employees involved in sports, yard work, heavy lifting and other strenuous activity.

Fraudulent insurance claims cost business owners hundreds and thousands of dollars annually. The astronomical costs of worker’s compensation have resulted in several business owners applying for bankruptcy.

The Private investigation team at ICORP Investigations has solved many cases involving workers compensation. This has saved Long Island business owners a considerable amount of money in workers’ compensation costs. ICORP keeps their clients updated 24/7 via telephone and email. This is made possible through their web-based system.

About ICORP Investigations.

The private investigation team at ICORP Investigationshas combined years of experience in surveillance and has successfully conducted surveillance on Workman’s Compensation Claims including Personal Injury and Liability Claims. Their private investigative team thoroughly verifies whether or not insurance claimants are being honest about their disabilities.

Unlike many investigative agencies that only spy on a claimant at their place of residence or at work, ICORP is completely hands-on when it comes to investigating each assignment.

ICORP Investigations has developed a reputation for being persistent with their video documentation. When business owners challenge false claims, ICORP is considered number one.

To find out further information about ICORP Investigations workman’s compensation investigation service including personal injury and liability claims long onto: http://www.newyorkprivateinvestigatorssite.com

ICORP Investigations
New York Office
300 Park Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Tel: 212.572.4823
Fax: 212.572.6499
http://www.newyorkprivateinvestigatorssite.com

Internet Infidelity

Do you suspect your spouse of cheating on you? Are you worried about extramarital affairs? These days, cheating husband and wives are all too common.

In today’s world, with modern technology, a person looking for an affair doesn’t even have to leave their home. the ease of internet chat rooms, online dating sites and secret email accounts has caused an alarming increase in extramarital affairs.

Some of the signs that your spouse is cheating are:

• The cheating spouse is spending an unusual amount of time on the computer.
• Internet web browser history list (record of web sites visited) contains unusual sites.
• The cheating spouse begins to use new or free e-mail account.
• The cheating spouse is suddenly deleting e-mail messages.
• The cheating spouse is involved in chat sessions or instant messaging.

ICORP INVESTIGATIONS CAN HELP!

We can uncover relevant information from you computer such as: deleted files, internet history, emails, images viewed, and chat history. We have the knowledge and the tools to find the information you need.

HOW CAN ICORP HELP YOU?

TOLL FREE 866.984.2677

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Marital Infidelity: How Common Is It?

by Michael Castleman
October 15, 2009
Psychology Today

No one knows the true prevalence of infidelity.

Marital infidelity is difficult to research because most people are reluctant to admit it. One survey made headlines showing that only a tiny percentage of spouses cheat. But the researchers interviewed respondents with their spouses present. Duh!

Even without spouses, results depend on how questions are asked. University of Colorado researchers surveyed 4,800 married women using face-to-face interviews and an anonymous questionnaire. In the interviews, only 1 percent said they’d cheated during the past year. But the anonymous questionnaire showed 6 percent.

Meanwhile, controversy clouds the definition of “infidelity.” Most say it’s sex with anyone who isn’t your spouse. But what about spouses who are separated but not divorced? What about open marriages? And don’t-ask-don’t-tell marriages? Is infidelity any sex outside of marriage? Or secret sex? What about people in heterosexual marriages who have homosexual flings? Finally, does cheating require intercourse? What if you have only oral sex? Or handjobs? Or passionate kissing?

Arguably the best research on this subject is the General Social Survey (GSS) conducted annually since 1972 by University of Chicago researchers. For 37 years, they have asked a representative national sample about infidelity. The results have been consistent. Every year, 10 percent of spouses admit cheating–12 percent of men, 7 percent of women.

But in our culture, men with multiple partners are often envied as studs, while similar women are dismissed as sluts. As a result, we would expect men to admit infidelity more freely. In many non-Western cultures, anthropologists have found no gender differences in infidelity rates. Perhaps the same is true for us, but cultural assumptions color admissions.

Recently, the GSS has shown two notable changes–more cheating by spouses over 60 and under 35. These changes have been modest, so it’s hard to know if they are real. But many social scientists contend they are, and have proposed explanations.

Among older folks, the reason most often cited is health. Sex tracks health. Today 60 is the new 40, which might explain the rise in cheating among older spouses. However, while many of today’s 60-somethings are healthier than their counterparts a generation ago, today we have much more diabetes, a condition that often causes sexual impairment, and substantially more obesity, which may make people feel unattractive, and raises risk of arthritis, heart disease, and cancer, all of which reduce libido and sexual function. In addition, older adults take considerably more medications than they did a generation ago. Many drugs cause sex problems, notably, antidepressants and blood pressure medications. So, does better health in those over 60 explain the increases in infidelity? Maybe, maybe not.

Another oft-cited reason for horny elders is erection medication, which some say has encouraged older men to cheat. But two recent studies show that only 10 percent of men over 50 have even tried these drugs, let alone become regular users. With erection medications used by so few older men, how much of a difference could they make?

Maybe rising infidelity has to do with more working women, particularly women traveling on business, which provides opportunities to dally discreetly. But homemakers of yore had plenty of opportunities for extra-marital sex: the postman, milkman, repairmen, and delivery men of all stripes. Meanwhile, cheating is up only in women over 60 and under 35. If travel explains the increase, why hasn’t it risen in women 35 to 59? Most of them work outside the home, and many travel on business.

The fact is, no one knows the true prevalence of marital infidelity and every explanation for supposedly rising rates is open to serious question. What do you think?

Some Software Can Turn Mobile Devices Into Tools Of Espionage, Harassment

By Sonya Colberg

Published: October 12, 2009

Sneaky people and technology can turn your cell phone against you.

Cell phone spyware makes it easy for someone to eavesdrop on your conversations, intercept text messages and identify your location. And you may never know it’s happening, experts say.

“You are so dead,” an electronically altered voice taunted Courtney Kuykendall from her cell phone. Courtney’s mother, Heather, told a television station that someone used spyware to terrify her daughter with harassing calls that revealed the caller knew the teenager’s location, what she was wearing and saying.

“This type of issue is almost out of an outlandish sci-fi film. The reality is that there is no question about it, it is happening,” said Robert Siciliano, chief executive officer of Web site IDTheftSecurity.com.

Oklahoma private investigators say they’re getting many requests for listening in on private conversations. But Colin Pressley of Barrington Investigations LLC in Oklahoma City and Larry Mulinix of MPI Agency in Norman said they won’t touch it.

The private investigators said most requests revolve around trying to catch cheating spouses. Other popular requests are from clients who want to ensure their phones contain no spyware.

In most instances, cell phone spyware is illegal, said FBI spokesman Gary Johnson.

The Internet contains numerous ads for cell phone spyware, with software ranging from several hundred dollars to $69.95. Ads contain claims and testimonials such as: “Catch that cheating spouse,” “I learned all I needed to know the very first night,” and “I could not believe what that boy was saying to my 13-year-old.”

Mulinix said some software creates GPS logs of where the target phone has gone. Someone can sit at home and map the phone’s location.

“If I get hold of your phone I can install this, like a SIM chip, open the door up and put this in there, and I can monitor you,” he said. “You won’t even know it.”

The investigators say they stick with legal surveillance techniques.

“You get a lot of people that call up and just want to monitor their wife or spouse. A lot of times I spend hours watching a guy late at night while I’m out there (in the car) drinking Dr Peppers and eating Twinkies,” Mulinix said. “There’s a lot of boredom interrupted by terror.”

Average people can face nearly as much terror from Internet ads that harangue viewers to buy instant downloads. Some boast that, in just minutes, downloaded spyware can begin intercepting text messages and sending text messages notifying the spy every time the target phone makes or receives calls so the spy can listen in on the phone calls.

“Until now, the most bad guys could get are phone lists and the like,” said Sujeet Shenoi, computer science professor at the University of Tulsa, “which would be fine for the National Enquirer getting Paris Hilton’s phone number.”

The celebrity became a victim of cell phone trickery in 2005. T-Mobile and the FBI reportedly launched an investigation after the contents of Hilton’s cell phone appeared online. Numbers and e-mail addresses of celebrity buddies such as Lindsay Lohan and Ashlee Simpson were apparently hacked from her cell phone.

“You’re going to see more people reveal themselves in ugly ways. Right now they’re doing it for fun. They’re doing it for stalking and harassment. And as time goes on, you’re going to see it being used more for financial gain,” Shenoi said.

Courtney Kuykendall, the Tacoma, Wash., resident whose daughter was harassed by someone using spyware, said the calls stopped last summer without police finding a suspect. She said she would like to raise people’s awareness that spyware can be used to terrify.

SpywareA recent study indicated that one out of every 63 smart phones powered by a common operating system, Symbian, were infected with spyware or malware, a disruptive program or software. However, experts say you can take measures to help keep your cell phone safe.
Staying safe

Some examples of anti-spyware that work on most cell phones include Spybot Search and Destroy, and SMobile Anti-Theft and Identity Protection. Other suggestions include:→ Inconspicuously mark your SIM card with a scrape or initial.

→ Before meetings, remove batteries from cell phones.

→ Avoid reading texts or accepting pictures from someone you don’t know and trust.

Most secure

“Nothing can really be safe,” said University of Tulsa computer science professor Sujeet Shenoi. He said the most secure way of making a phone call is to use a landline.

ICORP Awarded A- Better Business Bureau Rating

ICORP Investigations, Inc. is proud to announce it has been awarded an A- rating by the BBB for its exceptional services in the Private Investigative industry in Manhattan, Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens, New York. ICORP Investigations, Inc. is a BBB accredited business.

ICORP will continue its commitment to excellence and setting a high moral standard in the investigative field.

Our investigators are aware of the sensitive legal issues regarding surveillance and will continue to ensure that the use of the obtained information in court cases is not put at risk. You can be certain that your surveillance cases will be handled in a confidential and professional manner by the highly skilled and experienced private investigators at ICORP Investigations Inc. Our investigators conduct discreet surveillance’s in order to reveal the truth of a situation. You can be confident that our determination, diligence and attention to detail will expose what you need to know

Please visit ICORP Investigations NYC Website

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NYC Private Investigators, ICORP Investigations

ICORP Investigations Inc is a licensed, bonded, and insured, full-service investigative agency based in Manhattan and serving all of New York. All your investigative and information needs are processed by highly trained investigators with prompt and detailed responses.

ICORP specializes in Insurance and Domestic Investigations.

When you have the need to know, call ICORP Investigations, Inc. You’ll be glad you did. Toll Free 866-984-2677

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