What is advance-fee fraud and how does it work?

Almost everyone with an email address who uses it regularly has already come into contact with advance-fee fraud or attempted advance-fee scams. Advance-fee scammers usually rely on simple bait techniques; who hasn’t experienced it: you receive an email from an unknown sender promising unexpectedly lucrative services or a multi-million fortune. Either immediately or by the second email at the latest, it is made clear that the recipient must first make an upfront payment: a processing fee, a broker commission, or taxes and charges before the promised consideration can be delivered. The amounts requested are always modest compared with the promised gain. Using forged documents from partially real, partially fictitious authorities and banks, victims are credibly assured that the transaction is genuine and that the business partners can be trusted. However, after making their payment, victims wait in vain for any consideration, as there was never any intention to transfer the promised money, deliver the goods, or appear at the agreed meeting point.

A preliminary note: Investigating such cases afterwards is normally neither simple nor associated with a particularly high success rate. Nevertheless, there are almost always points of approach and thus hope. If you have become the victim of such a scam, do not hesitate to seek a non-binding consultation from Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf about our options for identifying the perpetrators: +49 211 9874 0021.

The Nigerian Scam as a Classic Example of Advance-Fee Fraud

Most experienced internet users may think they could never fall for an email scam. Yet it is clear that if this type of fraud were not regularly successful, it would not be so omnipresent. Even if one is not directly harmed, it can occur that one becomes indirectly affected – for example, when scammers successfully defraud public funds. A “classic” email scam case demonstrates this: in Ennigerloh, in the Warendorf district of Münsterland, the mayor and municipal officials were deceived in the early 2000s by a social welfare recipient claiming to have over 30 million dollars in a Nigerian account. The city paid the Nigerian 285,000 DM (approximately 140,000 euros at the time), as he claimed he needed the money for transferring the funds and covering hotel expenses locally. In return, he promised to donate double the sum to the city. That the mayor was voted out and the city administration became a laughingstock goes without saying.

With the support of our business and private detectives from Düsseldorf, this would of course not have happened, as we have dealt with the various forms of these scams for many years and can expose even the most professional attempts through analysis and verification of the provided framework data. Not all email scams are as obvious as the Ennigerloh case; successful scammers are usually highly creative criminals, and many new forms of prepayment fraud have emerged since.

Advance-Fee Scammers with Increasingly Elaborate Schemes – Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf Warns to Stay Vigilant

Simple email scams with “African princes” and similar schemes have now evolved into many other forms of advance-fee fraud. Ultimately, all operate on the same principle: promise an inheritance, a mega-deal, or a romantic connection, gain trust, indicate fictitious costs, receive money, drain the victim financially until the cash flow stops, and then move on to the next victim. This includes alleged million-dollar inheritances like the Nigerian scam, lottery wins and dividend payments (fraud with promised gains), credit scams, or fabricated online romances (Love Scam or Romance Scam), in which enamoured victims transfer large sums to their “partners” to arrange meetings, apply for visas, or help sick relatives.

Advance-fee fraud is not limited to emails. The initial contact can also be made by phone, personal visits, via websites, classified ads, flyers, or postal mail. In general, prepayment fraud takes on many forms, as we will illustrate below.

Prepayment or Advance-Fee Fraud in Vehicle Purchases

Advance-fee fraud is also commonly encountered in the vehicle trade, especially with used vehicles. If a car, motorcycle, truck, or boat is offered far below market value and an extremely rapid transaction is requested, caution is advised. If the “seller” insists only on an initial payment before the vehicle is delivered, there is a high probability of a prepayment fraud attempt. The deposit is paid, but the alleged seller is then unreachable. In most cases, the vehicle was never in the possession of the fraudster. Fake contact details and identity documents are often used; sometimes even the identities of real dealers are misused to create an appearance of legitimacy.

The scam can also work in reverse: scammers pose as buyers of new or used vehicles, pay the sellers – often without further negotiation – with a cheque mistakenly written for an inflated amount, and then request a cash refund of the difference. When the seller attempts to cash the cheque after returning the difference, it turns out to be worthless – leaving the seller without money or vehicle.

Victims should not despair: there is always a chance to apprehend the perpetrators, for example if the fake or misused business information is reused in other scams. Our investigators generally advise checking suspicious offers or buyers through our business detectives in Düsseldorf before completing a purchase.

Caution with Apartment and Holiday Scams

Whether on a business trip to Brussels or London, city breaks in Rome or Budapest, exploring Austria or Poland, or beach holidays in Barcelona or Rügen – doubts are advisable, especially for dream apartments in prime locations at low rent. Fraudsters often pose as landlords living abroad who supposedly want to rent out a second property cheaply but cannot show the apartment personally. According to the experience of our Düsseldorf detectives, the key is then promised by post after the first rent and deposit are transferred to an escrow account or similar. The offer is often enhanced with attractive cancellation policies such as “If you don’t like it, return the key and receive your money back.” However, the sum is withdrawn shortly after payment, and the property at the supposed address turns out to be completely unrelated – a perfect scam. Authorities abroad are often unwilling to assist tourists. Identifying the account holder and locating them is the task of private detectives such as those from Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf.

Prepayment fraud also occurs with full holiday packages. Flyers or mailings promise cheap individual or package trips without agency fees. Photos on more or less professional websites make the offer more appealing. Booking often requires only a prepayment of the total price, which must be made immediately, while the holiday never takes place. Our business detectives from Düsseldorf usually get involved only after payment and the realisation that it was all fraud. Yet even then, analogue and digital investigations can achieve results, as no fraud is so perfect that it leaves no trace.

What Can Our Private Detectives from Düsseldorf Do? How Can I Get My Money Back?

The earlier our Düsseldorf private detectives are commissioned, the higher the chances of success. We are able, in cooperation with police, authorities, and contacts, to gather information about the scammers and determine their true identities. Research into alleged buyers, lovers, travel providers, or landlords can quickly and court-admissibly verify whether these persons or companies actually exist or whether only the impression is created using fake documents, fake social media profiles, or other purported identity proofs.

If money has already been transferred, investigations can be very difficult, especially if funds were transferred abroad, routed through other accounts, or withdrawn. However, it is not necessarily lost, as our Düsseldorf private detectives are globally networked with other qualified investigation offices – often through long-term partnerships – and can pursue investigations abroad to apprehend perpetrators and recover money or, depending on the case, goods. We generally advise against blindly transferring money without at least performing a basic authenticity check via Google search. Likewise, copies of ID documents, bank details, or other private information should not be shared unless it is certain that the company or contact is trustworthy.

Commissioning Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf

If you or your business have been affected by advance-fee fraud, you can contact our private detectives in Düsseldorf at any time. We provide prompt, competent advice, work efficiently and goal-oriented, respond to your requirements, and are available around the clock.

You can reach us at any time by email (kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de), via our contact form, or during business hours from Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 20:00 under the following number: +49 211 9874 0021.

Author: Maya Grünschloß PhD

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

What are employees actually doing during remote work? Some companies have already resorted to snooping software. However, it is not only legally questionable.

For two articles on employee monitoring during the Corona period on the portal karriere.de and in the Handelsblatt, Handelsblatt journalist Melanie Raidl interviewed, among others, Detective Patrick Kurtz from Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf. The following is the article from the Handelsblatt:

Handelsblatt: "Big Brother in the Home Office"

Workplace Monitoring

It sounds like a bad crime novel. Detectives have been observing a suspect’s apartment for days. He opens the front door, goes outside to his car and drives off. His destination: a DIY store. His purchase: ready-made turf. The client is a business owner who, thanks to meticulous investigative work, now has certainty that his employee is shirking their duties.

When employees are working from home due to the Corona pandemic, many employers wonder what they are actually doing. According to media reports, detective agencies receive numerous assignments from companies that distrust their staff. For a Frankfurt-based company, there are reportedly up to 25 client inquiries per day, according to Die Zeit and the Hamburger Abendblatt.

But it is no longer only private investigators who spend considerable effort and incur high costs to monitor employees. Contrary to reports, the Federation of International Detectives (BID) could not identify any increased demand for investigations into "home office fraud" in a nationwide member survey. Instead, a new form of monitoring seems to be gaining popularity.

Digital monitoring programmes, euphemistically called "monitoring tools", have experienced soaring sales since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. The start-ups developing these tracking programmes mostly come from the USA and have names such as ActivTrak, Timedoctor or Hubstaff.

In the USA, numerous companies, including American Express and the Bank of America, use such monitoring programmes. Works councils, which might raise objections, are rare in the land of unlimited opportunities, and employee rights are limited.

In Germany, it is different. "There is clear case law here," says employment lawyer Peter Wedde from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, who focused on remote monitoring in his doctorate. "Total monitoring, where the employer can track every single step of work, is not permissible in Germany."

However, this does not appear to stop companies in Germany from using such programmes. Upon request, the US monitoring start-up Hubstaff confirmed that it also receives inquiries from Germany and other European countries. Which clients are involved is not disclosed. Only this: since March, demand has been three times higher than the previous year. And this is despite not only significant legal hurdles but also doubts regarding effectiveness.

Control instead of Trust

Employers have monitored their employees since the beginnings of industrialisation. For example, the English textile entrepreneur Ambrose Crowley had a bell rung every day at 9 pm at the end of the 17th century, signalling the start of the curfew in the workers’ settlement he had built for his staff. Drinking alcohol was prohibited, and other activities that could reduce employee productivity were punished. Until the mid-19th century, employees in some factories in England were even forbidden from wearing their own watches. The entrepreneurs controlled the time.

Since then, employment relationships have changed, but then as now, employers aim to ensure or increase employee productivity. In factories or office buildings, this can be implemented more easily. In the home office, however, they can no longer monitor every single work step. The employer must trust their employees – or resort to software from Hubstaff.

The US start-up promises to significantly increase employee productivity in some cases. Companies would need to spend ten dollars per month per employee. Once activated, the employer has access to a wide range of monitoring methods. This ranges from simple recording of keystrokes and mouse movements to monitoring internet surfing behaviour and even GPS tracking of employees.

Timedoctor offers further monitoring functions. Screenshots of an employee’s screen are taken at regular intervals. Every ten minutes, the webcam also takes a photo to ensure that the employee is at their workstation.

But Hubstaff and Timedoctor are only the first step compared with Enaible. The Boston-based start-up additionally uses an algorithm to automatically analyse the collected data without a human having to assess the quality of work. The advertising agency Omnicom Media Group already uses Enaible, and according to the company, discussions are underway with US airline Delta Airlines and US pharmacy chain CVS Health. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, demand has quadrupled.

Founder Tommy Weir explained to Technology Review how his software works: "Imagine managing employees and being able to watch over their shoulder all day, giving advice on how to do their job better. That is what we try to enable with our tool."

Employees receive praise and criticism from the machine in the form of productivity scores. Artificial intelligence becomes the whip. The supervisor only sees the end result. For some, this may sound like a nightmare.

No Increase in Productivity

It is also highly questionable how meaningful such monitoring is. Studies suggest that productivity does not increase as a result. British anthropologists Michael Fischer and Sally Applin found in their study titled Watching Me, Watching Youthat workplace monitoring causes people to change their behaviour more often to align with machine behaviour. Their conclusion: monitoring does not necessarily increase productivity but makes people more machine-like.

Employment psychologist Simone Kauffeld from TU Braunschweig is also critical of employee monitoring, whether analogue or digital. Together with colleagues, she investigates via a survey the effects of the Corona pandemic on virtual collaboration.

"I consider it a no-go from a work psychology perspective," she says. Employers do not need reports on every single step or workday. "The only thing a supervisor needs to know is whether an employee can complete a task within a given time."

Permanent digital monitoring could damage the trust relationship between employer and employee, especially since not all employees are equally productive in the home office, explains Kauffeld. "There will be those who say they are much more productive at home. Other employees will be glad when they can return to the office."

Even Patrick Kurtz, who offers monitoring services for companies and private clients through his detective agency, has doubts. Especially during home office periods, checks make little sense because working hours at home can be more flexible than in the office.

"Just because someone goes out to run a private errand does not mean they are not fulfilling their work contract," says Kurtz. Furthermore, the living area is part of the most private sphere of life, which is absolutely off-limits for private investigators like those at Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf.

"And as for digital monitoring options, there are clear legal limitations in Germany. If we want to install spyware on a computer, we first need the user’s consent. Therefore, the legal scope for application is very small," adds Kurtz.

Monitored Trust-Based Working Time

In the modern workplace, digital monitoring tools reach their limits anyway. Professions with repetitive daily tasks, for example in call centres or customer service, can still be statistically evaluated. "But there are professions whose productivity cannot simply be measured with such tools," says employment lawyer Wedde.

In creative professions or jobs without fixed routines, digital monitors fail. They cannot record work if an employee, for instance, collects ideas for a new strategy or project in a notebook rather than entering them into a computer.

"Ultimately, these tools are just statistical programmes running on high computing power. They say little about the quality of an employee’s work," says Wedde. They merely suggest an objective evaluation of work productivity.

For the employment lawyer, the behaviour of employers who tend towards digital monitoring is contradictory anyway. There was outrage among many employers when the EU decision on working time recording was issued last year. They argued that time recording was incompatible with trust-based working hours.

"However, it becomes paradoxical when employers now use monitoring tools to control employees in the home office. Trust-based working hours and monitoring do not go together," says Wedde. Companies take considerable risks when they secretly observe their employees.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets strict limits on data collection. According to Wedde, employees can claim compensation under the GDPR if monitored at work without legal basis or written consent. If a company is found to have illegally monitored employees, it could face fines of up to four per cent of group turnover.

Wedde’s conclusion: "A good supervisor should be able to assess employee productivity without technical tools."

Note

The original article by Melanie Raidl and Roman Tyborski appeared in the Handelsblatt. Emphasis (bold) and links on this page may differ from the original.

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

Those who lack trust rely on digital snooping software. However, these programmes are controversial – not only legally.

For two articles on the topic of employee monitoring during the coronavirus pandemic on the portal karriere.de and in the Handelsblatt, Handelsblatt journalist Melanie Raidl interviewed, among others, Detective Patrick Kurtz from Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf. The following is the article from karriere.de:

"How Companies Monitor Their Employees in the Home Office"

When employees work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, many employers wonder what they are actually doing. According to media reports, detective agencies receive numerous assignments from companies that mistrust their staff. At a Frankfurt-based company, there are currently said to be up to 25 client enquiries per day, according to Die Zeit and the Hamburger Abendblatt.

However, private investigators are facing technical competition. Digital monitoring programmes, euphemistically called "monitoring tools", have seen soaring demand since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The start-ups developing these tracking programmes are predominantly from the USA and have names such as ActivTrak, Timedoctor, Enaible or Hubstaff.

Monitoring in the Home Office: Clear Legal Framework

In the USA, numerous companies, including American Express and the Bank of America, use such monitoring programmes. Works councils, which could raise objections, are rare in the land of unlimited opportunities, and employee rights are minimal.

In Germany, it is different. "There is clear case law here," says labour law expert Peter Wedde from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, who completed his doctorate on remote monitoring of telework. "Total surveillance, where the employer can monitor every single work step, is not permitted in Germany."

However, this does not appear to prevent companies in Germany from using such programmes. On request, the US monitoring start-up Hubstaff confirmed that it also receives enquiries from Germany and other European countries. Which clients are behind these enquiries remains undisclosed.

Suffice it to say: since March, demand has been three times higher than in the previous year, despite not only significant legal hurdles but also doubts about effectiveness.

"And as far as digital monitoring options are concerned, there are clear legal restrictions in Germany. If we want to install spyware on a computer, we first require the user’s consent. Therefore, the legal scope of application is very limited," says Patrick Kurtz, who offers monitoring services for companies and private clients through his detective agency.

In the modern working world, digital monitoring tools already reach their limits. Occupations with repetitive daily tasks, such as call centre work or customer service, can be analysed statistically to some extent. "But there are professions whose work productivity simply cannot be measured with such tools," says labour law expert Wedde.

Paradox: Surveillance versus Trust-Based Working Hours

For the labour law expert, the behaviour of employers who tend towards digital monitoring is contradictory. Many employers protested loudly last year when the EU decision on working time control was issued. They argued that working time recording was incompatible with trust-based working hours.

"However, it becomes paradoxical when employers now resort to monitoring tools to control employees in the home office. Trust-based working hours and simultaneous monitoring do not go together," says Wedde. Companies also run considerable risks if they monitor their staff without consent.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes strict limits on data collection. According to Wedde, employees have the option to claim compensation under the GDPR if they are monitored at their workplace without a legal basis or written consent. If a company is found to have conducted illegal employee monitoring, it could face a fine of up to four per cent of its corporate turnover.

Wedde’s conclusion: "A good supervisor should be able to assess the productivity of their employees even without technical tools."

Monitoring Tools: Hubstaff, Timedoctor or Enaible

In the home office, managers lose their sense of control. The employer is virtually forced to trust – or resorts to software such as Hubstaff.

The US start-up promises that it can significantly increase employee productivity. Companies would have to pay ten dollars per month per employee. Once activated, the employer has access to a wide range of monitoring methods. These range from simple recording of keystrokes and mouse movements to monitoring internet browsing behaviour and GPS tracking of employees.

Timedoctor offers additional monitoring features. For example, videos of an employee’s screen are recorded at regular intervals. Every ten minutes, the webcam also takes a photo to ensure the employee is at their workstation.

However, Hubstaff and Timedoctor are only the first step compared to Enaible. The Boston-based start-up also uses an algorithm to automatically evaluate the collected data, without a person having to assess the quality of the work.

Advertising agency Omnicom Media Group already uses Enaible, and according to the company, discussions are underway with US airline Delta Airlines and US pharmacy chain CVS Health. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, demand has quadrupled.

Founder Tommy Weir explained to the technology magazine Technology Review how his software works: "Imagine managing employees and being able to watch over their shoulder all day and give advice on how they can do their job better. That is what we try to enable with our tool."

Employees receive praise and criticism from the machine in the form of productivity scores. Artificial intelligence becomes the taskmaster. The supervisor only sees the end result. For some, this may sound like a nightmare scenario.

Monitoring in the Home Office: Does It Make Sense?

It is highly questionable how effective such monitoring actually is. Studies suggest that productivity does not increase as a result. British anthropologists Michael Fischer and Sally Applin found in their study titled Watching Me, Watching Youthat workplace monitoring causes people to change their behaviour more frequently to adapt to machines. Their conclusion: monitoring does not necessarily make employees more productive, but rather more machine-like.

Labour psychologist Simone Kauffeld from TU Braunschweig also views employee monitoring – whether analog or digital – critically. Together with colleagues, she is investigating via a survey the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on virtual collaboration.

"I consider this, from a work psychology perspective, a no-go," she says. Employers do not need a report on every single work step or day. "The only thing a supervisor needs to know is whether an employee can complete a task within a given time."

Permanent digital monitoring could seriously impair the trust relationship between employer and employee, especially since not all employees can be equally productive at home, Kauffeld explains. "Some will say they are much more productive in the home office. Other employees will be happy to return to the office."

Even Patrick Kurtz, who offers monitoring services for companies and private clients through his detective agency, has doubts. Especially in times of home working, surveillance makes little sense because working hours at home can be organised more flexibly than in the office.

"Just because someone goes out for personal errands does not mean they are not fulfilling their work duties," says Kurtz. Moreover, the living space belongs to the protected, most private sphere of life, which is absolutely off-limits for private investigators such as those at Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf.

In creative professions or jobs without fixed routines, digital monitoring fails. It is also unable to capture work if an employee, for example, collects ideas for a new strategy or project in a notebook rather than typing them into a computer.

"Ultimately, these tools are just statistical programmes running on high computing power. They say very little about the quality of an employee’s work," says Wedde. They at most suggest an objective assessment of work productivity.

Note

The original article by Melanie Raidl and Roman Tyborski appeared on karriere.de, a portal of the Handelsblatt Group. Highlights (bold text) and hyperlinks on this page may differ from the original.

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

Dennis Freikamp from the Neue Ruhr Zeitung (NRZ) interviewed an IT specialist from Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf as well as owner Patrick Kurtz regarding the recently publicised hacker attack on the University Hospital Düsseldorf.

Risk of Hacker Attack: "Politics have missed the boat"

A hacker attack on the University Hospital Düsseldorf demonstrates that even hospitals are not protected from attacks. An expert voices criticism.

Whether election servers, companies or politicians – institutions and individuals repeatedly fall victim to cyber-attacks. The hacker attack on the University Hospital Düsseldorf demonstrates once again that criminals do not shy away from critical infrastructure. But what are the motives of the hackers? How severe is the financial damage? And how can companies protect themselves from such attacks? We spoke with an IT forensics expert from Kurtz Detective Agency.

What exactly does an IT Forensics expert do? What are their areas of responsibility?

IT forensics experts are engaged by companies when there is a suspicion of hacking. "There is a difference between internal and external perpetrator groups," explains the expert, who prefers to remain anonymous for security reasons. The work of an IT forensics expert includes data analysis, data recovery, evidence preservation and the preparation of court-admissible reports. "Commercial forensics specialists usually focus on internal perpetrators. For external cases, preliminary investigations as well as damage and incident documentation are carried out, which generally lead to police investigations."

What do hackers hope to achieve through an attack?

The motives of perpetrators are very diverse. They range from industrial espionage to military or intelligence interests, the expert says. "In some cases, private individuals are behind the attacks." They pursue individual motives. "Mostly financial interests, but sometimes they are also driven by vanity or misdirected competitiveness, attempting to breach even the most secure IT protections or the largest companies," explains the IT forensics expert.

The goal of hackers is often to obtain sensitive data, for example to spy on competitor companies or for the "strategic preparation of conflicts within critical infrastructure". Some perpetrators use the information to pressure individuals and companies for ransom. According to the NRW state government, the IT outage at University Hospital Düsseldorf was also due to a hacker attack. Science Minister Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen (non-partisan) stated in parliament on Thursday that the perpetrators withdrew the ransom demand after police contact.

How severe is the economic damage caused by a hacker attack?

"No universally valid figures are known to me," says the expert. "It also depends on the financial resources of the victim." For clients of Kurtz Detective Agency, the damage ranges from a few thousand euros to multi-million figures. "This is primarily determined by the size of the company and the consequential damage." The hacker attack on Lukaskrankenhaus Neuss reportedly caused a total loss of €900,000 to €1 million in February 2016. At that time, a virus had completely shut down the clinic.

How well prepared are companies for such attacks?

More than 20 years after the introduction of the World Wide Web, Angela Merkel said at a press conference with then-US President Barack Obama in 2013: "The internet is new territory for us all." A statement that earned the Chancellor much ridicule and highlighted the "backward nature" of German IT development, according to the IT forensics expert. Germany still has relatively limited expertise in hardware and software manufacturing compared to other industrial nations. "We are dependent on third parties," the expert criticises.

On the initiative of the federal government, IT security has at least gained higher importance in critical infrastructure. This includes hospitals, power plants and other facilities whose destruction could significantly impair public welfare. "Most small and medium-sized enterprises, however, rely on default manufacturer settings and shy away from the costs of customised IT security." A change in thinking often only occurs once it is already too late.

Has the risk of being targeted by an attack increased?

"Because the balance between digital and analogue information storage is shifting increasingly towards digital, companies are offering hackers ever larger attack surfaces," explains Patrick Kurtz, owner of Kurtz Detective Agency. The field of activity for criminals is continuously growing, and more young people with relevant IT skills are entering the scene. "Consequently, the risk of IT attacks is increasing both in terms of frequency and financial damage."

How likely is it that perpetrators will be identified?

The success rate for internal perpetrators is very high. "For external perpetrators, the chances are significantly lower, partly because we lack the necessary powers reserved for authorities," says the IT forensics expert. Authorities themselves often lack the necessary competencies. "Politics has missed the boat." German police struggle with insufficient personnel and equipment. Furthermore, international police cooperation only functions effectively on large-scale matters – "when politics is involved and national egoism permits."

Everyday IT-related crime is "very profitable" and apparently faces no serious pressure from authorities, the IT forensics expert criticises. "The software company Symantec assumes that organised crime now earns more from internet crime than from drugs."

What can companies do to protect themselves?

"IT experts, as a counterforce to the growing number of attackers, are becoming increasingly important," warns owner Patrick Kurtz. Companies that cannot afford to employ their own IT specialist or maintain an entire IT department should at least seek external assistance. Only in this way can the IT structure be placed "at a solid security level within reasonable limits". "Effort and benefit are of course always subject to cost-benefit considerations and vary greatly depending on the individual risk potential of each company," says Kurtz.

Note

The original article by Dennis Freikamp appeared in the Neue Ruhr Zeitung. Emphasis (bold) and hyperlinks on this page may differ from the original.

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

At the beginning of December 2017, the Rheinische Post published an article by Peter Witt about the work of Kurtz Detective Agency and the person of our chief detective Patrick Kurtz. Below is a transcription of this article with additional topic-relevant links and subheadings:

"Sherlock Holmes from Erkrather Straße"

As a child, Patrick Kurtz devoured books about the British detective. Today, he works in his profession with passion – but also needs a great deal of patience and concentration. By Peter Michael Witt

From Literature to Reality

Not a few young people, following in the footsteps of the mysterious Hound of the Baskervilles, drift into fantasies and dream of an extraordinary, romantic career goal: to be a detective like the man with the checked cap, the pipe, the golden magnifying glass – in short, to lead an exciting life like Sherlock Holmes. A young boy named Patrick Kurtz in Schleiz, Thuringia, also devoured Arthur Conan Doyle's crime stories. The difference from other boys: when they grow up, they often choose a conventional profession instead. Kurtz, however, fulfilled his childhood dream and became a private detective. The passionate pipe smoker quickly built a large detective network, with seven permanent employees and nearly 50 freelance staff, across a total of 28 branches – one of them in Düsseldorf, the Kurtz Detective Agency in Flingern.

Kurtz therefore has a good overview of detective work in Germany. Certain differences between cities certainly exist, but nothing surprising. "Of course, in Berlin, investigations mostly take place among huge apartment blocks, in Düsseldorf more often in villa districts," says Kurtz. "In cities like Frankfurt and Hamburg, the work occasionally leads into the red-light and drug milieu, where even tough guys like the Hells Angels cross your path." By comparison, Düsseldorf is quite inconspicuous. Kurtz: "Most cases here concern suspected infidelity, disputed maintenance matters, or custody issues."

(Training) Requirements for Detectives in Germany

In principle, anyone can be a detective; the term is not protected. But from Kurtz’s perspective, solid training is essential for good detective work. He received his training at the Security Academy in Berlin. Legal knowledge is important, as one must gather court-admissible evidence. Of course, not everyone is born a Marlowe or Holmes. Physical fitness is advantageous, as tailing suspects can be demanding, and intelligence certainly does not hurt. After all, many cases involve rather unclear facts that require good powers of deduction.

In real life, detective work is far more limited than in fictional crime stories. A private detective may not invade the privacy of the person under observation. It is forbidden to photograph inside homes or gain access, and the use of directional microphones is also taboo. Above all, a detective must research and observe, locate missing persons, or monitor individuals who may have committed wrongdoing. Kurtz has even been caught himself. "Not often, but in rural areas it can happen, especially due to neighbours. And then it can get uncomfortable." It may not sound pleasant, but it is thrilling. It can also be tediously boring and frustrating. Staring at a door that does not open for ten hours straight requires above-average patience and concentration. Things get exciting during pursuits. Among a detective’s special moments of satisfaction is an experience Kurtz calls the "domino effect." It occurs quite frequently during investigations: once the crucial puzzle piece is found, many other questions often resolve themselves.

Kurtz tries to suppress any sympathy for the person under surveillance. However, he recalls a case in which he was hired by a jealous man to watch his girlfriend. "I ended the assignment myself after a month," says Kurtz. "She really went straight home every day after work. I felt sorry for her; she was clearly stuck in a relationship with extremely little trust. Her boyfriend could not build trust even after 20 days of strict observation, during which nothing at all came to light."

Detective Work Then and Now

Back to Holmes: much has changed in recent years, particularly technology. Arthur Conan Doyle depicted certain investigative methods in his novels that were only adopted by the police decades later – fingerprinting, for example. Today, disguise remains just as important for detectives as it was in the past. Kurtz smiles: "We do not go to the same elaborate lengths as Holmes with makeup, but we do change appearances with simple means." Digitalisation has also introduced new tools such as smartphones. "Admittedly," says Kurtz, "detective life is far less spectacular than in the novels. In those stories, there are always thrilling murders from one case to the next, minute by minute. Certainly, I also have unusual and sensational cases, but unfortunately, they are not the daily routine." Nevertheless, Patrick Kurtz cannot really imagine doing any other job.

Source: Rheinische Post

Author: Peter Witt

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

Owner of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf on 1Live’s "Lost and Found"

Introduction: "Lost and Found is the name of this show. Great to have you with us. Patrick Kurtz is a private detective in Düsseldorf and truly finds everything and everyone. The question is, for example, can he locate missing people – and, morbid as it sounds, does he find them in time? And does he come back with good news when, for instance, he is tasked with checking whether a boyfriend or girlfriend, who has been acting suspiciously lately, is actually being unfaithful? He discovers all of this together with his colleagues. And how do you then deliver a 'bad message'? That’s what we’re discussing."

"Patrick, how do you search as a detective, as a professional; what methods do you use?"

Patrick Kurtz: "Firstly, research via databases, also partially via the internet, and through contacts we have at authorities and official offices who can provide us with information. Secondly, surveillance, meaning observing persons of interest or locations where the person we are looking for might be. Thirdly, so-called mantrailing, which involves tracking dogs that can detect and follow human scent molecules. Mantrailing is an incredibly powerful method for locating people. You always need two prerequisites: a known geographic point where the person has recently been and a scent article from that person. Once these factors are in place, we can deploy the mantrailing dogs and achieve a very high success rate."

Mantrailing Operation in Düsseldorf in a Suicide Attempt Case

Host: "Wow, the dogs part already sounds a bit like Hollywood! Do you have a case you can talk about, one that was really 'big' and kept you busy for a long time?"

Patrick Kurtz: "Usually, such cases don’t keep me occupied for long, because with mantrailing we can generally resolve them very quickly. However, cases involving tracking dogs are often quite spectacular. Two or three years ago, there was a young man under exam stress who felt he could no longer cope with his life. He left a farewell letter [case report]. Then he disappeared in his parents’ car. His parents had no idea where he had gone. They discovered via the credit card company that he had tried to withdraw money at two different ATMs using the family card. That gave us our starting point: we went to the ATMs with the mantrailing dogs, using some of the young man’s clothes as scent articles. We then tracked his trail with the dogs and eventually found him in a hotel room with slashed wrists. Thankfully, in time; he was unconscious and unresponsive. It was crucial that we located him quickly after this suicide attempt, as otherwise the consequences could have been far worse."

Host: "Chilling. Patrick will continue explaining what it’s like to investigate relationships, to see whether a partner is truly faithful or if there’s someone else involved. How does a detective approach that? He will explain the details shortly." [Clip]

The Big Topic: Infidelity

Host: "Sometimes – you know the feeling – in a relationship, you sense something is off. I hope you haven’t experienced this – you wonder: am I being cheated on? Am I wasting my time with this person while they see others on the side? Are we three, four, five in this relationship? It makes you uneasy, you start doubting everything, until you resort to a very special tool – and more and more people do this – hiring private detectives. And now we continue the interview with Patrick Kurtz, detective in Düsseldorf. Earlier, he told us how dramatic some of his cases can be. Patrick, are these ‘cheating investigations’ a regular part of your work?"

Patrick Kurtz: "It’s absolutely standard for us to conduct investigations into infidelity. Fraud, in general, is the area where we conduct the most investigations – both in private and commercial contexts. In the private sphere, we of course very frequently deal with adultery."

Host: "It must be especially bitter having to tell a woman or girlfriend, 'Yes, the man you’ve been with for years is cheating on you – and not just with one woman, either'?"

Patrick Kurtz: "It is never a pleasant situation to resolve such matters. Feedback is naturally not overly positive. We have done a good job, proving that infidelity actually exists, but delivering the news is never easy, and receiving it is even harder. That’s why it’s always a bit tricky in terms of client gratitude. The bearer of bad news is usually not the most popular person."

Host: "Today’s show is Lost and Found, and Patrick’s job is to find, investigate, and sniff things out – Patrick Kurtz, private detective in Düsseldorf, just heard here."

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

On Rose Monday Business Appointments in Cologne?

Last Rose Monday, our detectives were active in Neuss* to investigate a suspicion of infidelity. The client lived with her husband, the target, in Upper Bavarian Ingolstadt and was therefore too far away to verify whether her husband would actually— as he claimed—attend business appointments in Cologne that day. Until then, our client had harboured no specific suspicion despite her husband’s numerous recent trips to the Rhineland. But business appointments on Rose Monday in Cologne? On the most important unofficial holiday of the cathedral city, when business life largely comes to a standstill? That did surprise her. The hotel where her husband was supposed to stay was near a branch of his employer in west Düsseldorf, not far from Neuss, so the Ingolstadt resident commissioned our Neuss detective agency to observe her partner on Rose Monday.

Target Not Found | Local Knowledge of the Detective Team Decisive

After our investigators arrived at the hotel early, both began close-range investigation and the search for the target vehicle. However, it could not be found either in the hotel parking lot or nearby, making it highly questionable whether the target was even on site. The client had no clues about the rest of the day, as her husband remained very secretive. Accordingly, the operation threatened to fail at this early stage, as it seemed unlikely that the target could be recorded. In consultation with the client, our private detectives for Neuss decided to remain at the hotel initially to preserve the chance of identifying the husband if he left or entered the premises.

In the meantime, the client was to discreetly inquire, under the guidance of the investigators, where her husband was and what his plans for the day were. It took a while for the target to respond via WhatsApp, and he remained very guarded, but he did at least send a photo that provided the detectives with a crucial clue thanks to their local knowledge. The picture showed part of a dining table with a filled breakfast plate and, in the background, the interior of a restaurant. Since one of the two deployed investigators had attended several events at this venue, he immediately recognized it: the left-Rhine “Cafe del Sol,” just a few minutes’ drive from the hotel.

Female Companion at Carnival in Neuss-Holzheim | Detectives Disguised as Revelers

As the first observer from our Neuss private detective agency turned into the street leading to Cafe del Sol, he saw the target vehicle coming towards him and turning in the direction from which Observer No. 2 had just come. He immediately informed his colleague of the situation, turned his car, let the target vehicle pass, and then began observation, keeping his co-observer constantly updated on the location and travel direction. The drive lasted less than fifteen minutes and ended at an apartment building in northern Neuss, where the target vehicle was parked. The target got out on the driver’s side, and an unknown female, around her late thirties, got out of the passenger seat. With her own house key, she entered the building, followed by our client’s husband.

About an hour later, with the second observer already at the target, a taxi stopped in front of the house. Shortly after, the suspicious husband and his female companion left the building—this time in bright carnival costumes—and got into the waiting taxi. The journey led through the city centre to Neuss-Holzheim, where the traditional annual Rose Monday parade started at 11:11. Here, the targets were dropped off and merged with the crowd of revelers. As such an event was expected during a Rose Monday observation, our Neuss detective team also wore simple carnival costumes, putting them on during several stops at traffic lights, which allowed the observation to continue unobtrusively.

Displays of Affection During Festive Celebrations

The Rose Monday parade in Neuss is somewhat more restrained than in Düsseldorf or Cologne, with a rather family-friendly atmosphere. This may be because the locals celebrate more extravagantly on the previous day, Kappessonntag. The targets initially consumed only a small bottle of champagne each. They mostly stood side by side, singing, swaying, and talking. Crucial for our Neuss private detectives: occasional expressions of affection, such as kisses on the cheek, nose, and even lips.

After the parade, the celebrations continued in the Holzheimer multi-purpose hall. During several hours, the observed husband and his companion consumed a considerable amount of apparent alcoholic beverages, which showed in their increasingly uninhibited behaviour. Affectionate gestures became more frequent and intense, and playful calls like “Get a room!” were not lacking. At one point, both even disappeared together into the ladies’ restroom, which our two male detectives in Neuss could not follow. As they stayed there less than three minutes, a sexual act is unlikely. Doubts about the target’s extramarital conduct were already eliminated. The client only wanted to know whether her husband would spend the night with the unknown woman. As both returned to the familiar property in northern Neuss in the evening and did not leave again until the end of observation at midnight, this question could be answered with high certainty. We also now knew why the target was not found at the hotel in the morning.

Ultimately a Simple Case for Experienced Private Detectives

It is by no means a given that conclusive proof of marital infidelity can be obtained on the first day of observation. However, the public display of the extramarital relationship on Rose Monday provided excellent investigative conditions in this case. Speaking of client satisfaction is always tricky in matters of adultery, but our Ingolstadt client nonetheless expressed gratitude for the prompt assistance of our private investigators in Neuss.

To maintain discretion and protect the personal rights of clients and targets, all names and locations in this case report have been changed beyond recognition.

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

Detectives in Literature, Television and Cinema

The classic detective is – and remains for most people – Sherlock Holmes! Because when it comes to deduction, that is, drawing conclusions from pure observation, the “old master detective” is unbeatable. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the figure of the brilliant private investigator in 1887 in the novel A Study in Scarlet. Sherlock Holmes’s popularity has been immense ever since and remains unbroken even in the 21st century, as demonstrated, among other things, by the successful TV series Elementary (USA 2012 – today) and, above all, Sherlock (UK 2010 – today). A film with theatre and Hollywood great Ian McKellen as an ageing Sherlock Holmes, who has one last mystery to solve, will also be released in cinemas in December (Mr Holmes, USA 2015).

However, there are a number of other figures from literature and film that have had a lasting influence on the public image of the private detective to this day. Having dealt with Sherlock Holmes and his real-life model, the Scotsman Dr Joseph Bell, in a previous article, this piece focuses on the classic detectives of the “Black Series” or “Film Noir”, which for decades have been regarded as symbolic of the detective and his profession and therefore should not be overlooked.

Detective Films and Novels as Mirrors of Their Time

Classical literature and its (generally better-known) film adaptations are full of fictional colleagues of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf who have shaped the image of the detective:

• “Philip Marlowe” in the novels by Raymond Chandler

• Dashiell Hammett’s “Sam Spade”

• “Mike Hammer” by Mickey Spillane

From the 1930s onwards, they transformed the detective’s image from the pipe-smoking gentleman of the Victorian era into the tough investigator in Depression-era America. The influence of these authors can still be felt today in places where one might not expect it: for example, in Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film Minority Report, one of the three mutants who can predict murders is named, alongside Agatha (Christie) and Arthur (Conan Doyle), after Dashiell Hammett.

Disillusioned Detectives Who Look After Themselves First

While Sherlock Holmes appeared as an elegant artistic figure, the detectives of the so-called “hardboiled era” were mirrors of their time: pessimistic, cynical and committed to only one moral code – their own – when it came to their ideas of right and justice. Later, the film adaptations of the hardboiled novels became box office hits and remain stylistically influential to this day: the cigarette dangling from the corner of the mouth, trench coat and slouch hat, and always a witty remark ready. Who does not know Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1941) or Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep (1946)?

A whisky often helped the detectives think, especially when an attractive client caused their thoughts to wander. Unfortunately, she all too often turned out to be a femme fatale who was not entirely pure herself and led our detective to ruin. Thus, in the pessimistic world of hardboiled crime fiction, a happy ending is rare. The journey there, however, can hardly be surpassed in suspense: car chases in “old bangers” and gunfights usually led to a climax at the end of which the case – and not infrequently a major conspiracy – was solved.

In Today’s Reality, Detectives Are Strictly Bound to the Limits of Law and Order

And in the real world? The everyday work of our Düsseldorf detectives often consists of long hours of observation in the car, where sometimes the radio programme provides the most exciting part of the day. Unlike their famous fictional predecessors, our investigators always follow the rules and do not take the law into their own hands. The detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf have fortunately not yet had to deal with a brilliant femme fatale capable of outwitting them. Above all, there is usually a happy ending, and the case is fundamentally solved without wild shoot-outs or fistfights. And whisky during working hours or dramatic car chases rarely occur in reality – but perhaps that is for the best.

Author: Gerrit Koehler

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

A case of international criminal significance, in which the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf had already conducted investigations in spring 2014, has now been concluded through a court conviction, as our Australian colleague of our Düsseldorf private investigators recently informed us.

The starting point was an inquiry in spring 2014 from a detective in Australia, who – together with the authorities (a scenario hardly conceivable in Germany) – was following up suspicions of document forgery and money laundering and whose investigative findings led to Germany. A number of companies had been identified in Australia that were all registered under the names of two Düsseldorf citizens and were struggling with considerable debts and allegations of fraud. Among other issues, it concerned massive tax evasion. Through a cross-connection, however, the Australian colleague and client of our Düsseldorf corporate investigators had discovered that in each individual registration of these companies a particular Australian national had been involved. Since the two company owners from Düsseldorf had indeed lived in Australia for two years but did not possess an Australian visa during the period when the companies were registered, our colleague from Down Under began to doubt that the registrations had been carried out lawfully. Consequently, he instructed the private detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf to locate the two company owners and confront them with the legal issue that was currently being investigated against them in Australia.

The target persons, one female and one male, of our Düsseldorf corporate investigators were known only by their first and last names and, in the case of the female target person, by her date of birth. They had also moved from Düsseldorf to Australia for two years in 1998. Where they had gone afterwards was initially unknown. Based on the name and date of birth of the female target person, our investigators from Düsseldorf began a database search and obtained the current registered address, which was fortunately not abroad but in Bremen. Since both targets shared the same surname, the detectives of the Kurtz corporate investigation agency Düsseldorf obtained an extended register information and learnt that the male target person was the son of the female TP. They also obtained the son’s date of birth: It fell in December 1996. Thus, the target person was still a minor at the time of the investigation, and at the time of the company registrations (2008 and 2009) he had not even been legally competent. Consequently, it could be ruled out that this target person of our Düsseldorf private investigators could have legally founded the companies under investigation. The female target person was an English teacher at a secondary school and showed no financial or criminal irregularities.

Our detectives from Düsseldorf passed the results to the Australian client. He confirmed that our findings matched his suspicions. He had not wanted to fully brief Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf in order to avoid creating bias in the investigations, but he had already suspected that the two Düsseldorf – now Bremen – individuals were unlikely to have founded the companies in question. Consequently, he instructed our Düsseldorf investigators to approach the targets, inform them about the situation, and ask whether they had anything to state regarding the case.

Accordingly, the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf contacted their colleagues in Bremen and asked them to visit the identified address of the targets in the early evening hours and brief them on the investigation in order to uncover any possible involvement. Our Australian client instructed the investigators to be completely transparent from the beginning and to inform the targets openly that no urgent suspicion existed against them and that they were instead presumed to be victims. When the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Bremen arrived at the address of the target person, the lady was naturally surprised, but after a brief conversation allowed the investigators into the house and offered them coffee. She was shocked by the case description, particularly by the fact that her then 12-year-old son, who at the time of the questioning was staying with his father in Duisburg, had been used as a company founder. She had indeed lived and worked in Australia for two years, but the idea of founding one or even several companies had never crossed her mind, especially as she had always intended to return to Germany. She did, however, know the target person of our Australian client and detective colleague. She had had a brief affair with him during her stay in Australia, but the matter had ended due to his dishonesty, and he had never met her son. The detectives of Kurtz Investigations Bremen recorded all statements and, at the end, asked the lady to sign the interview protocol. She declined. She preferred to get in touch personally with our client and the Australian authorities and to consult a lawyer. Nevertheless, she thanked our Bremen investigators for delivering the admittedly unpleasant information.

The Bremen colleagues forwarded the interview protocol to the investigators of Kurtz Private Detective Agency Düsseldorf, who in turn established contact between the Australian detective and the target person. The job was completed for our Düsseldorf corporate investigators at this point.

Finally, at the end of 2014, we received an update from our colleague in Australia: Our target person had personally flown from Bremen to Australia to testify in court. The perpetrator was proven guilty of fraud, signature and document forgery in six cases, as well as delaying insolvency in two cases. He was sentenced to several years in prison.

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

The missing son was due to sit his final exam at the Chamber of Commerce on Monday. But the prospect of it had driven him to despair, and so he disappeared on Sunday evening without saying goodbye. Only the letter remained, in which the slightly autistic young man expressed his fears regarding the forthcoming exam and the pressure he felt he could no longer cope with. He wanted to take his own life. According to his mother he had driven off in the family BMW. Unfortunately that model does not have a GPS module for tracking. The police were searching but currently saw little chance of success. As the only clue the family could give our Düsseldorf detectives were the use of two cash machines in Düsseldorf on Monday and on Wednesday – but that is already quite a lot, the investigators of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf thought. Keyword: Mantrailer.

The detectives explained the investigative principle to the family: using an odour carrier (for example worn socks, a pillowcase or even paper handled by the person) the scent-tracking dogs of our mantrailer specialist pick up the scent trace at the person’s last known location and follow it until they find the person sought. The method is now recognised as an investigative tactic in several federal states and is practised with striking success in particular in Berlin using private mantrailer specialists. Years of daily specialised training had made the three operational dogs of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf literal super-sniffers. Even bodies in metres-deep water, which had previously been transported for kilometres along rivers, can still be found by these mantrailers after months.

Despite the arguments put forward by our Düsseldorf private detectives, the family remained sceptical. Does that really work? With dogs? That sounds like a film. What if we drive the four hours to Düsseldorf especially, run around the city for several hours and in the end still do not find the boy? Then another day is lost! And the money! A mantrailer deployment is not cheap, that is true. €1,000–1,500 can easily be incurred per day. But you should not put a price tag on your own son’s life, the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf argued. One must also understand that mantrailer deployments are not everyday occurrences, whereas the dogs, on the other hand, require daily training. It is therefore a full-time job that is by no means paid for every day. Consequently the deployment costs must reflect this circumstance. The clients of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf accepted this, and so they hurried off to us in the Rhineland.

A few hours later the mantrailer handler of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf was already waiting at the agreed meeting point when the family arrived: it was the second cash machine at which the missing person had withdrawn money. As agreed beforehand the family brought a plastic bag containing the missing person’s personal items. A worn sock was finally used as the scent carrier and held under the nose of the first operational dog. After a short orientation the mantrailer picked up a trail and set off. On the way he repeatedly sniffed places on the pavement to follow the trail with precision. After half an hour’s walking the first operational dog ran out of steam and the second one took over.

A few minutes later the mantrailer led the investigators of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf together with the family into a hotel in Düsseldorf-Oberkassel. The hotel staff were understandably not thrilled when the pack strode into their lobby, but after a brief explanation of the situation they were helpful and a hotel employee accompanied the Düsseldorf detectives during the further tracking inside the hotel. At a door on the second floor the mantrailer signalled that the trail led into this room. The investigators knocked in the hope that the person sought would open. But there was no response from inside. After a few minutes the hotel employee used his electronic master key and let the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf in together with the family. On the bed, face buried in the pillow, lay the missing person!

The first impression was alarming. The room smelled of alcohol, the sheet was stained with blood, the posture of the missing person was unnatural, and he showed no reaction. The detectives from Düsseldorf checked the pulse and gave the all-clear – it was stable. The cause of the blood quickly became clear: apparently the young man had tried to cut his wrists but had chosen the “wrong” direction for the cut and thus had only lost a little blood. Clotting had already begun. With some effort the formerly missing person could be woken, but in his condition a proper conversation was not possible. Only the absolute astonishment at seeing his parents and the obvious joy at that were written on his face.

The next morning, after he had sobered up, the young man told the clients of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf how close it had been. For if they had not come, he would have met that “gentleman” who had promised to help him with his suicide. The detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf were glad to have averted that scenario and hope that the young man will in future banish such thoughts from his mind.

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

This was a very short-notice assignment from an understandably distressed client: The client contacted the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Düsseldorf because his wife had left him overnight without any warning and had taken their children with her. According to several psychological reports, the wife in question suffers from mental health issues. The abduction of the children constitutes an illegal act.

The concerned client engaged the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf, whose path, following intensive research, led them to Hildesheim, where the children’s mother was staying with her parents. With the assistance of the authorities, the children were initially handed over to the Youth Welfare Office and subsequently to the client.

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf wishes for a clean out-of-court settlement in the best interests of the children and all the best for the future!

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

Fraudsters have been calling listing owners in the Yellow Pages and on meinestadt.de for several months from the number +49 211 9874 0021 and claim that the recipient took out a trial subscription with them and failed to meet the cancellation deadline, causing the subscription to be automatically extended by two years at a cost of €499. The call is purportedly to give the customer the opportunity to shorten the subscription by one year. What the callers are obviously waiting for the whole time is the word "Yes".

The callers present themselves as the company "Easy Business". Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf warns: Caution advised!

(As of: 10 February 2014)

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf

Kurtz Investigations Düsseldorf

Grafenberger Allee 293

D-40237 Düsseldorf

Tel.: +49 211 9874 0021

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duesseldorf