Investigations of potential spouses

[Larry]

I came across this article and immediately thought of the discussions that have taken place here about methods of trying to determine whether a FSUW is genuine, etc.  Here is a story from India about detective agencies that specialize in checking out potential spouses before the wedding occurs:

Premarital investigations cost $200 to $400 and take seven to 10 days. Detectives follow the subject for 12 to 18 hours daily and chat up co-workers, domestic help and tradesmen under various pretexts. “Beware — your neighbor knows everything,” says Sanjay Singh, chief executive of New Delhi’s Indian Detective Agency. “Sometimes more than you know yourself.”

Particularly useful are fake marketing surveys. Enticed into participating with the promise of a free gift, sometimes something as modest as a bottle of shampoo, the subject or a neighbor may reveal a secret relationship or details of a would-be bride or groom’s late-night entertainment activities and smoking or drinking habits.

“People love freebies,” says Krishna Kumar, an Anapol Institute graduate. “Most fall for it hook, line and sinker.”

She worked at a computer company for four years before deciding detective work would be a lot more challenging. Women have a big advantage as sleuths because they’re non-threatening, can mingle better and are more intuitive, she says.

“I like doing premarital investigations best,” she says. “You’re watching someone go in a new direction, and your work could make or break their future.”

…Most premarital investigations are ordered by parents, although sometimes spouses-to-be want a little snooping done, including women keen to size up their prospective mothers-in-law in a society where it is common for couples to live with the husband’s extended family.

The story is here, and for the pointer I thank Vishal Ganesan.  Oh, and the results?:

According to detectives, investigations turn up significant problems in about 60% of cases. In about 10%, the discoveries are explosive enough — such as previously undisclosed marriages or serious hereditary diseases — to cause cancellation of the wedding.

For the caste-conscious, a hidden Dalit relative, or so-called untouchable, is also problematic. “Caste and dowries remain huge issues today, and people like to exaggerate,” says Sachit Kumar, director of Globe Detective Agency.

A factor driving premarital investigations is the growing number of cases in which foreigners of Indian descent marry and then disappear, often taking huge dowries with them. It happens to 30,000 brides every year in northern Punjab state alone, according to India’s National Commission for Women.

Hat tip: Tyler Cowen of http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/06/india-markets-in-everything.html

Full story here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-gumshoe-20120629,0,2178976,full.story
It's interesting throughout.  Here is a taste of it:

It's a weekday morning in posh Safdarjung Enclave. A man sells fragrant masala tea from a cart, stray dogs dodge belching rickshaws, and two men smoking cigarettes work overtime at looking nonchalant. Their attention is focused on a white house with a narrow veranda and brown trim.

Their studied calm disappears when a twentysomething woman in jeans emerges, jumps into a dented silver Hyundai and sails into the chaotic traffic. The two detectives follow a few cars back. Both are named Raj Kumar, one with a scar on his cheek, the other without.

Their mission: conduct a premarital investigation to assess whether the woman is a suitable match for their client.

... On the trail of the woman in the silver Hyundai, the two Globe Detective Agency investigators note that she's driving a different car than she was the day before. They're suspicious.

So they won't be influenced in their investigations, they receive little information about their subjects. But with a few details about the woman's identity, they've managed to download her picture from Facebook. She's thinner in person than she appears in her Facebook photo, they note.

She's a fast, decisive driver, complicating their efforts to tail her inconspicuously. Approaching a tollbooth, the detectives are forced to cut off several cars, amid much honking, to stay close.

They're not too concerned that she'll notice them. "In India, no one really looks in their rear-view mirror," says the scarless Kumar.

They snap a cellphone photo for their report. She's wearing bangles, which are more typically worn by married women, another thing they find a bit odd. Kumar-with-the-scar decides she's good-looking. "I don't think I can drive that well," he adds.

... After 30 minutes on the highway, the young woman in the silver Hyundai arrives at a suburban house, greets a man in a striped shirt and heads to the balcony for a cigarette.

"We suspect it's her boyfriend," scarless Kumar says over the whine of a power saw at a construction site. The detectives drive past the house, but they think the pair suspects something — further evidence of guilt, they say — so they retreat out of sight near the cul-de-sac's exit.

"I think he's a manager at her company," says Kumar-with-the-scar. "You develop a sixth sense."

The hours pass. It's over 100 degrees. A dog plunks down in the shade as the detectives listen to Bollywood tunes on a cellphone. Many people think private investigators are all about thrills, they say, but more often it's endless waiting.

There are minor compensations.

"Her eyes are beautiful," says Kumar-with-the-scar, looking at the woman's picture again. "It's always more interesting if they're beautiful. And in this business, beauty fuels temptation. Beauty has many takers
(emphasis mine)."

 

[JayH]

Interesting  topic. I wonder how many here have investigated or attempted to investigate FSU lady?

A FWIW--it was my comment originally about being able to  check on a girl that set the dogs on me.I  have done some checking on guys for girls also-- all very interesting.

[AvHdB]

The percentages or odds are rather depressing!

[CzechMate]

There is no doubt that I would do a formal background check before meeting someone long-distance, and often even do informal ones for local meet and greet.  Just a few minutes on the internet can tell a lot (or a little too much).  CM

[nicknick]

There is no doubt that I would do a formal background check before meeting someone long-distance, and often even do informal ones for local meet and greet.  Just a few minutes on the internet can tell a lot (or a little too much).  CM

I'm surprised about that.  To be honest, I would be really surprised if you could find anything beyond some photos on vkontakte, odnoklasniki or facebook - and that really isn't going to tell you too much.

Here's a little test for you.  What can you find in a few minutes about Svetlana Zhukova?  I'll give you a bit more info about her, she's 37 and lives in Moscow.

[JayH]

Any clues? Am I better placed to know more?  ( see flag!?)??

[JayH]

There is no doubt that I would do a formal background check before meeting someone long-distance, and often even do informal ones for local meet and greet.  Just a few minutes on the internet can tell a lot (or a little too much).  CM

Have you heard the phrase--  " a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing" --- could have been conceived about the internet! Jumping to a conclusion prematurely  is a dangerous thing to do.

[andrewfi]

The percentages or odds are rather depressing!

Not really, it just demonstrates that if we feel a need to go looking then there is no need to do so.
If one's trust has already been broken to the degree that paying snoops is thought to be wise then the relationship is already ended.

[CzechMate]

Not at all sure of the point of this challenge, but truth be told (without using a professional database) in a few minutes all I will say for certain is that it is a common name, both in the US and Russia.  Profiles do not always update ages, so even that is insufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the correct person has been identified even if the information was ever posted accurately.

But an email address, a few key words...and lots of interesting things could surface.  Many of the posters here are not as anonymous as they think because they use the same screen name on multiple sites, for example.

I recently showed a friend how just by using his screen name anyone could get his full name, birthdate, address, phone, names of family members (including his children), place of business, job title...in addition to a lot of compromising information about cheating on his wife.  He is a high-profile attorney in DC.  This took less than 5 minutes, was an amateur effort, and cost nothing.  He was in shock.

Similarly, a colleague (who should know better) who works for the NSA as an investigator was under investigation himself.  In about a day I uncovered his personal information on public websites - full name, address, phone, name of spouse, name of dog, email address, activity on a bisexual website (wife did NOT know!) and similar detailed information about the people he interacted with both on the web and in real life from sex sites.  Again, no professional databases or techniques and no money.

These are just two examples.  Most people have no idea how much intel is available for a few clicks.  More for just a few bucks.

Even what was already mentioned here and all over this site - pics on facebook type pages can tell a lot, and can be very compromising.  A family member (also an attorney, but not a good one) was recently fired from the firm for posting incriminating photos.

Needless to say, I disagree that if you have to check, you do not have anything worth checking about. 
Add smokin' hot pic on an FSU dating site - it might make all the difference to your checkbook.

Czech that!  (bad pun intended - sorry)

[missAmeno]

Oh this thread reminds me of one old   



CzechMate, all I would like to say is that not everyone will be comfortable with the idea of someone else digging up info on internet.  If I would find out that guy tried to google anything about me I would walk away (doesnt matter at what stage our relationship would be) and never look back. Ask and I will answer but dont go dig behind my back. If he has issues to trust me, its his issues, not mine.

[CzechMate]

Okay...

But if you have nothing to hide, then there should be nothing to worry about.

If everything falls into place, then there is confidence to proceed with the relationship.

(Not being sarcastic to you - I just see this as being safe, not a dealbreaker.)

Also, sometimes the information is positive and makes a person more interesting to meet!

[sharonhaber00]

CzechMate, all I would like to say is that not everyone will be comfortable with the idea of someone else digging up info on internet.  If I would find out that guy tried to google anything about me I would walk away (doesnt matter at what stage our relationship would be) and never look back. Ask and I will answer but dont go dig behind my back. If he has issues to trust me, its his issues, not mine.

missA, you talk from your point of view, which is quite understood. But take in consideration that the other party had never met you. What should he know, what you tell him, right? Now every body know the dating site full of non existing/not serious/scammers/whatever girls. Would you suggest one should trust any picture in dating site like you would expect someone will trust you?   

[missAmeno]

missA, you talk from your point of view, which is quite understood. But take in consideration that the other party had never met you. What should he know, what you tell him, right?

If he not prepared to give me chance to be honest why shall I waste my time with him?

Now every body know the dating site full of non existing/not serious/scammers/whatever girls. Would you suggest one should trust any picture in dating site like you would expect someone will trust you?   

Do you start to google every girl that have profile on dating site? I hope, no. If you are started to communicate and both interested to get to know each other ... then you simply have option to ask all questions. If she doesnt give you personal information such as phone, full name, skype, etc then she is not interested in you enough or perhaps both of you didnt reach that stage yet. If you have any suspicions about her honesty then the most important thing to be honest to yourself - there is no chance of relationship with happy ending in such circumstances, so walk away.

[Chris]

CzechMate, all I would like to say is that not everyone will be comfortable with the idea of someone else digging up info on internet.  If I would find out that guy tried to google anything about me I would walk away (doesnt matter at what stage our relationship would be) and never look back. Ask and I will answer but dont go dig behind my back. If he has issues to trust me, its his issues, not mine.

missA, you talk from your point of view, which is quite understood. But take in consideration that the other party had never met you. What should he know, what you tell him, right? Now every body know the dating site full of non existing/not serious/scammers/whatever girls. Would you suggest one should trust any picture in dating site like you would expect someone will trust you?

Its also full of guys who talk s%!t, don't turn up when they say they are going to do and make false promises, it can work both ways, the shoe could be on the other foot, I agree with MissA, the best way is to ask the questions and find out for yourself, preferably face to face, don't trust third parties or internet waffle when discussing private matters of such importance. If you doubt her/his sincerity, move on and continue searching.

[nicknick]

Not at all sure of the point of this challenge

Just out of interest, to be honest.

I am sure that you did manage to find all this information on your friend just using his screen name however I can only guess that he was particularly stupid in linking his screen name to his real name somehow.

From there, I guess that he must have liberally plastered his work details all over linkedin or similar sites and then mentioned his children by name on his facebook page etc.

Well, I guess if people choose to put all that sort of stuff on their facebook page then they deserve anything they get.


One thing I will say though, is that if you try to do this anywhere outside of the USA then you'll find it a lot more difficult.

There is no doubt that I would do a formal background check before meeting someone long-distance

 and certainly if you're looking to do this in the FSU then the only way will be to employ somebody to do it physically for you, as you won't find the information online