Legal Methods for Investigating Individual Representatives of Business Partners | OSINT Credit Investigation Techniques Taught by a Detective
“The company registration was fine. But I don't know if the individual representative is trustworthy.”
Requests like this often come in after a corporate investigation has been conducted.
As an active investigator with 8 years of detective experience, requests to investigate individual representatives of business partners are a common theme, alongside corporate investigations.
Even if there are no issues with the company's actual status, it is not uncommon for there to be problems with the individual representative.
In this article, I will explain how to legally investigate an individual representative using publicly available information.
Why is it necessary to investigate the individual representative?
A corporate credit investigation and an investigation of an individual representative are two different things.
Even if a company has no issues on the registry, transaction risks increase if the individual representative has the following problems:
■ Has caused trouble at another company in the past
■ Holds multiple company positions simultaneously, with little actual substance
■ Stated achievements or assets do not match actual behavior
■ Has a history of litigation or personal bankruptcy
Investigation 1: Inferring assets and income from SNS and online statements
There was such a case in an actual investigation.
In a request to “investigate the representative of a company that approached us with an investment proposal,”
when I checked the representative's SNS, there were frequent posts about luxury cars, overseas travel, and high-end restaurants.
On the other hand, the capital in the registration information was only 500,000 yen,
and only 8 months had passed since the company was established.
The way they presented themselves as a “successful entrepreneur” did not match the reality of the company at all.
Points to check:
■ Check if the content of SNS posts matches the scale and achievements of the company
■ Verify the basis for statements like “annual income of X hundred million” or “assets of X hundred million” against registration information and actual achievements
■ Check if posts showing standard of living (cars, travel, residence) match the scale of the company
■ Check if the career and achievements on LinkedIn match the actual registration information
Investigation 2: Discovering relationships with other companies from registration information
There was such an investigation in reality.
In a request to “confirm the identity of the representative of a company we are considering doing business with,”
when I searched the National Tax Agency website using the representative's name, it was revealed that the same person was currently serving as the representative for four companies simultaneously.
Furthermore, when I investigated the companies they had represented in the past,
two of them had gone out of business in a short period of time.
On the surface, they were an “experienced entrepreneur,” but
tracing the registration information revealed a different reality.
Points to check:
■ Search for the representative's name on the National Tax Agency website to identify related companies
■ Check the status of business closures or dissolutions of companies they previously represented
■ Check if the business activities of the companies they hold concurrent positions in contradict their main business
■ Check if the registered addresses of related companies match
Investigation 3: Checking past trouble and litigation information
There was such a case in reality.
In a case where I was asked to conduct a credit check on an individual with whom a business partnership was being considered,
I searched for the representative's name using Google's date-range search for the past five years and found posts on multiple bulletin boards from three years ago regarding a financial dispute with a former business partner.
Furthermore, upon checking the court's judgment information database, I found records of a small claims lawsuit where a person with the same name was the plaintiff.
Points to check:
■ Search using "Representative Name + Trouble," "Representative Name + Fraud," or "Representative Name + Lawsuit"
■ Use date-range search to check back several years
■ Search for the name in the court's judicial precedent database (https://www.courts.go.jp)
■ Check the Official Gazette for information on personal bankruptcy or civil rehabilitation
Investigation 4: Confirming place of residence and actual work status from behavioral patterns
There was actually an investigation like this.
In a case where I was asked to verify if the base of operations claimed by a business partner was real,
I analyzed the location tags and posting times of the representative's social media posts. Despite claiming to "live and operate in Tokyo," the location tags and buildings in the background revealed that they were actually based in a regional city.
When what is said does not match actual behavior, the possibility that other information also contains falsehoods increases.
Points to check:
■ Confirm the actual base of operations from social media location tags and post content
■ Infer actual work status from patterns in posting times
■ Narrow down the range of activity from photo backgrounds and visible details
■ Check if the declared base of operations matches the actual range of activity
Points to note during investigation
It is important to conduct investigations of individual representatives within legal limits.
■ Limit to viewing publicly available information (unauthorized access and wiretapping are illegal)
■ Use investigation results only for business judgment
■ Do not provide personal information to third parties
■ Do not use for stalking or harassment
The purpose of the investigation is "judgment of business risk." Please do not forget this purpose.
Summary
Here is a summary of the four methods for investigating individual representatives of business partners.
■ Confirm the discrepancy between assets/income and reality from social media and online statements
■ Uncover relationships with other companies and history of business closures using registration information
■ Check past troubles and lawsuits using date-range searches and the Official Gazette
■ Find contradictions between declared content and reality from behavioral patterns
In addition to credit checks on the company, investigating the individual representative can significantly reduce business risk.
Next time, I will explain "Common traits of 'easily deceived business owners' seen by detectives."
An active investigator with 8 years of experience is sharing OSINT knowledge.
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