Investigative intelligence on legal investigations, due diligence, missing persons, modern fraud schemes, and asset tracing—delivered by Investigative Resources International LLC.
The FactFind Brief is the editorial voice of Investigative Resources International LLC, offering professionals, counsel, and organizations clear, actionable insights on complex investigations. From hidden assets to cross-border fraud, from missing persons to OSINT tradecraft, we turn intricate facts into practical intelligence.
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- Category: Due Diligence & Corporate Risk
Due Diligence Investigations: A Practical Guide for Businesses and Counsel
Every major transaction or relationship—merger, joint venture, new vendor, key hire, or strategic partnership—carries risk. Many risks can be managed with good contracts and governance. But some risks arise from who you are dealing with, not just what the contract says.
That is the realm of due diligence investigations: structured efforts to understand counterparties, principals, and associated entities before committing capital, reputation, or regulatory exposure.
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- Category: Investigative Tips
Digital Evidence Hygiene 101 — Preserving Screenshots, Chats, and Device Metadata So It Holds Up
A surprising number of investigations don’t fall apart because the underlying facts are weak—they fall apart because the evidence is fragile. A screenshot gets compressed by a messaging app. A chat export loses timestamps. A key photo is forwarded three times and stripped of metadata. Someone “cleans up” a folder and accidentally overwrites the only copy of a file. Weeks later, when counsel, compliance, or a court asks the simplest question—“How do we know this is authentic?”—the answer becomes uncomfortable.
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- Category: Fraud Trends & Scams
Pig-Butchering Crypto Scams: What Investigators Need to Know in 2026
“Pig-butchering” scams have evolved into large-scale, industrial operations combining romance fraud, investment fraud, and human trafficking.
According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2024–2025, U.S. and U.K. authorities significantly escalated enforcement, including multibillion-dollar bitcoin seizures and sanctions against a major Cambodian conglomerate allegedly running scam compounds.
Financial institutions, fintechs, crypto platforms, and private investigators are critical choke points: they see both victim outflows and scammer cash-outs.
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- Category: Asset Tracing & Financial Investigations
International Asset Tracing: What Lawyers and Clients Need to Know
When a dispute becomes contentious—whether in commercial litigation, divorce, insolvency, or fraud—the central question is often simple: where are the assets?
Finding those assets, however, is anything but simple, especially when they are spread across multiple jurisdictions, layered through shell entities, or converted into digital or movable forms.
This is where international asset tracing comes in. For lawyers and clients, understanding what asset tracing is, how it works in practice, and what to expect from a professional investigative engagement can make the difference between an uncollectable judgment and a successful recovery strategy.