PInow.com Weekly News Round-up

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This week, the PInow.com staff was eagerly following these industry news stories, including one about a PInow.com advertiser:

PIs Claim Olivia Newton-John’s Boyfriend is Not Dead

NEW YORK, NY - PIs claim that Patrick McDermott, boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John, faked his death in order to avoid outstanding debts and to allow his son to collect insurance money. McDermott was believed to have drowned in 2005 after his fishing boat went missing. PIs hired by NBC's Dateline television show allege that McDermott is alive. PIs hired by the show established a website to make it appear that an active investigation was ongoing for McDermott. They noticed that many of the visitors to the site were from South America. This fact and 17 witnesses who claim to have seen McDermott in Mexico have the PIs convinced that McDermott is now living in Mexico.

PIs Bring More Controversy to the MySpace Issue

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MySpace’s task force recently reported that social networking sites such as MySpace were generally safe from sexual predators. However, Connecticut’s attorney general is now investigating the issue. A PI based in Hong Kong is reporting that thousands of MySpace pages are established by sex offenders and sexual predators. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is seeking to have MySpace turn over all records about registered sex offenders whose MySpace accounts were removed. The attorney general is hoping to investigate how many contacts the sex offenders made with other social network users while their accounts were active.

Mobile a Surveillance Risk?

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - In Australia, cell phones and other mobile devices allow users to request the GPS location of friends, family and employees. While some people claim that this service meets customer demands for social networking and staying close, privacy advocates note that the technology can be easily abused. Companies claim the feature is useful for parents who want to keep track of their children, but privacy advocates are worried that the current safeguards won't be enough. PI Shane Johnson says that GPS devices have already changed investigation methods, since PIs can now track suspects or targets with them.

PInow.com Advertiser Works Internationally

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - PInow.com advertiser John Sexton, of Sexton Executive Security, was featured in The National. Sexton, a former police detective and UN special investigator, is establishing a training school for executive bodyguards in Ras al Khaimah that will be the first of its kind in the area. While his firm will offer training in defensive driving techniques, unarmed combat and protecting VIPs while traveling on yachts, one of the most important courses will be on cultural awareness. Sexton says that this will enable bodyguards to understand and respect the values of their clients in the region.

Cargo Theft a Hefty Problem

ROCKAWAY, NJ - Manufacturers, the FBI, PIs, local authorities and government agencies are working together to combat a type of theft that gets very little press: cargo theft. Ports in Florida, Texas, California and Georgia are heavily targeted. When thieves are successful in stealing freight, they can steal up to $3 million worth of goods at a time. The thefts often go unreported and undetected since more international transport involves insurance by multiple companies. Also, many companies do not report cargo theft, worried that their insurance premiums will go up - they prefer to write off the loss.

Industry Events

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