PRIVATE investigator, Rick Crouch, presented an interesting talk on private investigating and cyber crime at the Bulwer Community Safety Forum monthly meeting on Tuesday night.
Crouch is a Kloof and Hillcrest ward councillor, and has 30 years experience in law enforcement and investigating. He is a licenced PI in California, USA, a registered PI in South Africa, a certified criminal investigator, a certified criminal defence investigator and a certified computer forensic examiner.
He has worked with the FBI and as a PI to the stars, and was rated by Science Channel as number six out of 10 of the World's top 10 bounty hunters.
Crouch spoke to residents about private investigators, and appealed to residents when hiring a PI, to always check they are registered by PSiRA and have a legitimate ID card. He urged residents to check credentials of PIs on the website: https://www.psira.co.za/Statements/
“It is a criminal offence to hire an investigator who is not registered, and could mean jail time or a large fine for clients, and any evidence will be thrown out of court,” he said.
Crouch spoke about the dos and don'ts of hiring and undertaking investigations and urged residents to never hire a PI who is willing to break the law.
Crouch mentioned the various types of cyber crime, which affect computers and cellphones and said residents should invest in a shredder to shred important papers such as bank statements and copies of ID documents.
“Seventy per cent of South Africans have fallen victim to cyber crime, compared to the 50 per cent globally, and I feel this is because South Africans are naive,” he said.
He said people should never fall for emails which say they have won a foreign lottery, state they have a SARS refund, that their email has reached capacity, that their bank account has been suspended or that there is a package waiting for them, when they have not ordered anything. “Always check the email account details,” he said.
Regarding cellphone spy software, he said people should take note if their phone gets hotter than normal, if their battery drains extremely fast, if their data bill is higher than normal, if their phone turns off on its own or if they hear an echo or other noises in the background when on a call. He said there could be a problem if there is a number or these issues together, not just one issue on its own, and that the 'bug' could be wiped out by doing a factory reset on your cellphone.
When it comes to crime scenes, he said the first respondents are the only ones allowed to be in the crime scene.
“They must set up a perimeter and ensure no one, for example neighbours, go in and out of the crime scene. They must also set up a log of people such as police, who enter the scene. This should be done properly so the case isn't thrown out of court,” he said.
Speaking at the meeting, Bulwer Community Safety Forum chairperson, Heather Rorick said she had heard from the police that crime had increased in the area, especially theft out of and theft of motor vehicles and hijackings. She said that around the Davenport area there has been an increase in muggings.
“I must emphasise how important it is to report all crimes, no matter how small, and that if you see a crime in progress, call 10111, do not post it on Facebook or in the comm watch WhatsApp groups first,” she said.
