Building the Case Behind a Stalking Threat: Investigations Case Study
See how Insite investigated a stalking threat, strengthened home and workplace security, and built the evidence needed to support legal action.
Industry:
Ecommerce
Primary Service:
Investigations
The Challenge
A female employee of an ecommerce platform was receiving multiple unsolicited emails over the course of several months from an individual that she did not know. She had received emails that professed contrived love and obsession with being her partner. Concerned about her own well-being, she had decided to uproot her life and relocate, working for the same employer.
For some time after the move the messages died down. But despite relocating across the United States, the messages began to come in once more, this time with images of places she frequented, including the parking lot of her new office. It appeared her stalker had traveled with her. It was at this stage that Insite’s investigations team was called in for support.
Our team’s goals were:
Ensuring the employee’s safety both at home and at the new office
Confirming whether the individual had followed her to the new location
Collecting evidence to build a case against the individual in question and coordinating collaboration with local law enforcement
Empowering the employer to address their employee's safety, providing them with the necessary resources that they did not possess internally
The Insite Approach
Insite's teams started by discretely hardening the security posture of both the employee's home and office. In parallel to this, Insite's investigations team gathered actionable intelligence and evidence on the threat actor.
Investigation Process
Once the individual was identified, our team conducted 24/7 counter-surveillance that confirmed the individual's presence and pattern of behavior
Throughout the duration of the investigation, our experts built a documented report recording all incidents and communications suitable for legal action
Our investigative lead coordinated with local law enforcement as needed
Hardening
We assessed and upgraded security at the employee's home, including video surveillance and alarms
Our security experts guided the client to restructure visitor management protocols at the office, limiting how effectively the individual could locate or reach her at work
Our protection team provided secure means of transportation between her home and office location, along with guidance on how to respond should the individual confront her
Legal Support
Lastly, Insite’s team delivered an evidence package supporting the employee's petition for a restraining order
The Results
The employee immediately felt relief knowing that our team was taking action to ensure her safety, allowing her to return to normalcy without living in constant uncertainty
The company and employee were provided legally defensible grounds to act instead of relying on her account alone
The individual's ability to reach her, at home or at work, was meaningfully reduced and a restraining order was granted
Leadership addressed the liability of having an employee facing a documented pattern of stalking behavior
Why This Matters
When an employee's safety is on the line, the discretion in which a case is handled is of upmost importance for our team. Insite's investigations are built to operate efficiently and with a high level of evidentiary detail, so a serious threat is documented and addressed without ever compromising the safety of the person living through it.
We provide immediate solutions that address the threat while our investigations teams conduct their inquiry into the situation. Our decades of experience have taught us that it’s not enough to simply increase security or conduct an investigation. Organizations must do their part to both mitigate and respond to these risks, by partnering with a firm who can do both.