> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Power, Trust & the Fear of Losing Control | Mike LaCorte - URL: https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/power-trust-the-fear-of-losing-control/ - Published: 2025-09-09T17:15:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-24T10:06:23.000Z - Description: International investigator Mike LaCorte on surveillance, corporate espionage, hidden cameras, and the ethics of uncovering the truth. - Author: Elliott King - Tags: Mike LaCorte, episode, Season 2, Business, #ep-1 **From ultra-wealthy families to high-stakes corporate espionage: how professionals use surveillance to uncover the truth.** International investigator [Mike LaCorte](https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/guests/mike-lacorte/) joins host and producer [Aleksandra King](https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/aleksandra-king/) on The BEYOND Podcast to open up the world of modern investigation: surveillance, paranoia, and protecting reputations at the highest stakes. ## Episode summary Mike defines the modern investigator, and prefers the term international investigator to the trench-coat connotations of private eye. He describes the client types, from ultra-wealthy families to corporations, and the strange addiction to surveillance some clients develop once they start. The legal boundaries chapter is sobering: the industry's lack of licensing, and the actual skill set of a spy. The digital half is immediate and practical: digital footprints and AI, the is-your-phone-listening debate, hidden cameras and Airbnb risks, physical security sweeps, counter-surveillance, and undercover operations, along with a candid meditation on the nature of truth: sometimes what a client calls the truth would cause chaos if delivered raw. The human cases follow: red flags in relationships, cheating and pre-marital checks, corporate screening, background checks and social media reputation, uncovering corporate moles, and dealing with obsessive stalkers. It ends with the weight of the work: child abductions and missing person cases, the mental toll on investigators, and the ethics and moral compass that keep the profession from becoming the thing it investigates. > “International investigator, that's what I would consider myself, moving away from the term private investigator.”– *Mike LaCorte* ## Key takeaways - The modern investigator serves ultra-wealthy families and corporations, and some clients become addicted to surveillance itself. - The industry's lack of licensing makes ethics a personal discipline rather than a regulatory one. - Digital footprints, hidden cameras and Airbnb risks make counter-surveillance a civilian concern now. - Relationship checks, corporate screening and mole-hunting are the working core of the trade. - The emotional weight is real: child abductions and missing persons cases exact a toll that demands a moral compass. ## Key chapters | Chapter | Timestamp | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | Defining the modern PI, client types, and the addiction to surveillance | [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y) | | Legal boundaries, lack of licensing, and the skill set of a spy | [06:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=412s) | | Digital footprints, AI, and the “is your phone listening?” debate | [15:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=920s) | | Hidden cameras, Airbnb risks, and physical security sweeps | [21:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=1300s) | | Counter-surveillance, the nature of truth, and undercover operations | [27:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=1620s) | | Red flags in relationships, cheating, and pre-marital checks | [35:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=2150s) | | Corporate screening, background checks, and social media reputation | [42:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=2570s) | | Uncovering corporate moles, and dealing with obsessive stalkers | [51:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=3060s) | | The emotional weight of child abductions and missing person cases | [56:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=3400s) | | The mental toll on investigators, ethics, and maintaining a moral compass | [1:03:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y&t=3780s) | ## The guest Mike LaCorte is an international investigator and the CEO of Conflict International, working across surveillance, corporate espionage and reputation protection. His full background is on his guest profile. [Mike LaCorte's guest profile](https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/guests/mike-lacorte/) ## Where to listen - [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunFbpzxy4Y) - [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-with-aleksandra-king/id1786173140) - [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/0haFQYUTnEn0fpr0LQYlhH) - [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=MPSPPL3iQHE-qteJING9jXVVuVUdDa-9qqer7J) - [RSS feed](https://anchor.fm/s/10464b2ac/podcast/rss) ## Related reading Read the companion insights on the site: [Mike LaCorte: The New Skills and Sinister Risks of Modern International Investigation](https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/insights/mike-lacorte-the-new-skills-sinister-risks-of-modern-international-investigation/). And: [Conflict International: The Role, Risk and Moral Compass of Professional International Investigation](https://www.thebeyondpodcast.com/insights/features-mike-lacorte-conflict-international-the-role-risk-and-moral-compass-of-professional-international-investigation/). ## Transcript #### Read the full episode transcript ### Interview 00:00:08 **Aleksandra King:** Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, welcome to Beyond the Boardroom. I am very excited to pick your brain about all things PI. I was thinking of how to introduce you, you know, so that the audience understand who you are and really like your skills and your talents and all these things. I think the way to sum it up in the simplest form is that I would describe you as the absolute crème de la crème of the private investigation world. Not only are you yourself a talented private investigator, but you run an entire massive company leading private investigators, and you're on all these forums and all these associations of private investigators. So I'm just going to let you describe what it is that you do. 00:00:59 **Mike LaCorte:** Okay. So, thank you actually for being on this– this podcast, this opportunity. So I consider myself a professional international investigator. That's what I would consider myself, moving away from the term private investigator, because when you hear the term private investigator, most people assume rain macs, newspapers with holes in, you know, eating doughnuts in the back of a car, watching someone secretly. So the role of an investigator has changed since when I started to what it is now. And that– if you were to say– when someone says to me, "What do you do?" I say, "I'm an international investigator, a professional international investigator, or a professional investigator." Still the term PI, but moving from private to professional. 00:01:45 **Aleksandra King:** Wow. You're an investigator, right? So in the private sector. 00:01:48 **Mike LaCorte:** In the private sector. 00:01:49 **Aleksandra King:** So I mean, I was having a little laugh with my husband on the way here, because I was like, Mike probably knows what we're talking about right now. Careful what you say. Mike probably knows what I had for breakfast. Mike knows how much we've got on our bank accounts. Mike knows exactly what emails I've sent, how I've prepared for this podcast, everything about our lives and so on. That's probably an exaggeration, isn't it? But if you wanted to know– 00:02:12 **Mike LaCorte:** That's a huge exaggeration. Probably could. I mean, look, you need a reason. You need, you know– a case is mounted for a purpose and a reason, and then we kick it off that way. So we wouldn't be looking at your emails and your bank accounts, Aleksandra– you can't really do that in the private. 00:02:28 **Aleksandra King:** We'll get to what you can and cannot do. Okay. So when is it necessary then to hire someone such as yourself? 00:02:36 **Mike LaCorte:** Okay. So we're what we call a distress purchase. So you don't book us like you book a holiday for next year or anything like that. So there must– there has to be an event in your life where you require understanding what happened, how it happened, and trying to connect those historical dots. Usually you're involved in a situation where you've got no clarity. And that could be a private– a private person situation– matrimonial, for example. You've been scammed. You've been defrauded by someone, either online, virtually, or one of your– someone you do business with. So there's an event that's happened and you need to try and connect the dots. That's where we come in. 00:03:11 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. So you want to connect the dots, we call you, we pick up the phone and you connect the dots. So what kind of a person then typically hires? 00:03:22 **Mike LaCorte:** We generally work for three groups. The legal teams, so lawyers representing individuals who have had issues or who require intelligence or investigative support, litigation support. Corporates that have ongoing issues, and that could be anything from screening employees that start a new position, doing KYC and DD on business checks– and what's– sorry– know your– know your client, KY– you know, that's quite a big thing to do at the moment, in terms– if you're doing business with a third party, you need to know who you're working for or who you're doing business with, and making sure there's no red flags there. So those are consented checks that we would do for corporates. And then the third group, which can sometimes be the most interesting group, are family offices. And family offices cover private individuals, but private individuals of a certain, say– let's say mid-stroke high net worth– who have independent family offices managing their family. 00:04:23 **Aleksandra King:** Oh, okay. So legal, lawyers, corporate, and then family offices, which cover private individuals as well. 00:04:31 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. So those are the three groups. 00:04:32 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. Okay. Typically– and probably I'm leaning more towards the private individuals here– what is the emotional state of these clients when they come to you? What's the most typical? Is it distressed? Is it curious? Is it vindictive? Revenge? What's the main sort of vibe you get on an emotional level? 00:04:55 **Mike LaCorte:** There is– when it's someone personal– if it's a business transaction, it's very black and white. Okay? You've got a reason to hire us, and we're going to uncover those facts and present a report. When it's family situation, then there is emotion that can cloud judgment. And there is sometimes not only cloud judgment on the client side, but cloud judgment in terms of proportionality, in terms of how far do you keep going, 'cause hiring an investigator can sometimes be addictive, and I'll tell you why. 00:05:29 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah, I was going to ask you actually– 00:05:31 **Mike LaCorte:** I tell you why. Yeah. If you believe that someone in your trusted circle is behaving inappropriately– and that doesn't necessarily mean an affair or anything like that; it could be, you know, anything that they shouldn't be doing– and you mount– you decide to contact an investigator to conduct a period of surveillance, for example, to confirm or deny whether there's been any inappropriate behaviour– that power in terms of monitoring a third party and knowing where they're going, who they're meeting, and what they're doing– to the right type of client who has maybe a addictive personality– because a lot of the higher-net-worth individuals are in those positions because they are motivated to succeed– can on occasion– and I'm not saying this as a blanket statement– but can on occasion become addicted to the information and– 00:06:25 **Aleksandra King:** Yes, 100%. Especially if you've got someone a little bit controlling, you know, and successful people like to control the outcome, which determines more success. So yes, I can see that actually. So this puts the balance on the professional investigator to do what's proportionate and legitimate to the case. We're going to get to morals– we're going to get to morals– but yes. So you've got this– so yeah, there is the type of person that will most likely come to you, and there are intentions and emotional triggers, especially on the private side, and you're saying on the corporate side it's much more black and white. You know, we just want to know facts here. It's not personal. It's just more facts. 00:07:06 **Mike LaCorte:** And yes– unless you have a corporate, which we've done many of these– two scenarios. One is when individuals of, say– I don't know– senior management are on gardening leave and they're running a group of clients– generally in the fund world, where senior managers are running client money, fund money– and on gardening leave, and they may poach clients to another competitor. There can be some emotion in there, because that's a position of power. And– or an internal insider threat. Someone selling, stealing company secrets, someone trying to damage the brand– the board, depending on the company, can become a little bit– well, we want to go after this individual. We need to know who, why, how, and who's communicating, what are the next steps, and what can we do? So they'll consult their legal teams. They'll consult their investigation and intelligence teams, and work out a strategy in terms of getting a solution. So there's a few moving parts, and that always happens in the journey of an investigation. 00:08:07 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. So what won't you legally take on? 00:08:12 **Mike LaCorte:** So we'll take anything that's legal. So as long as we're legally allowed to do it. What we won't– what you can't do– 00:08:18 **Aleksandra King:** And let me rephrase– what won't you take on? What sort of cases will you not touch? 00:08:23 **Mike LaCorte:** So we have an onboarding process, and any client that comes to us will need to do our usual KYC– like I said to you before, knowing who we're working for, the reasons why. We need to have a legitimate interest to investigate. You can't just say to me, "Hey Mike, I want you to follow that person there for a month." Why? I need to know why. What you trying to achieve? What are we doing this? What's the purpose? What's the intent? And I need to make sure that we are providing proportionate investigative tools to achieve your objective. I need to confirm really whether you've got a case or not, and this isn't stalking or harassment, right? 00:08:56 **Aleksandra King:** Wow. So you really have a proven case that you guys will say, right, that that's fair, you know. 00:09:01 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Yeah. We would have the consultation. We understand what the reasons are. We will provide the tools and the methods. It may not be surveillance is the tool. It may be that we can do alternative research to provide you the results that you need. So we would onboard you properly. Things that we don't do– misconceptions. Can you hack someone's phone? I want to go into someone's bank account. I want to go and see everyone's emails. Can you look at their WhatsApp messages? All these things. When a client asks you that at the first time, at the first question, I know that this client isn't really clear in what they need. So my question is, what you trying to achieve? So– I want you to get– I want all the WhatsApp messages my husband sent for the last month. Well, what is the purpose? What you trying to achieve? Oh, you want to know whether he's having an inappropriate relationship? Okay. Well, going into his WhatsApp message is one, illegal; two, probably may not give you the information, right? It may not give you the answers that you need. So let me, as your professional investigator, tell you the steps that we can do legally, ethically. 00:10:06 **Aleksandra King:** We're going to get to \[unclear: cheating?\]. Sure. Okay. Not that I have a problem, but I want to know– I want to know about that particular one. But okay, so you have to onboard them properly, you've got to know there's a case, then you take it on. So for a private individual who wants to know something– you know, let's just say there is some cheating– would it be legal for me or anyone else watching to say, right, I would like to hire you to investigate this potential case of cheating? Is that legal? 00:10:37 **Mike LaCorte:** It's definitely legal. It needs to be proportionate. So you couldn't say to me, "Hey Mike, can you follow my husband for the next 5 years or the next 6 months, just to see that he's put one foot wrong?" It's disproportionate to the aim. Right? You know, if you're saying, "Oh, my husband's coming back home on a Tuesday and Thursday night regularly from this work drinks– he's always got work drinks– or he's playing–" yeah– "he's playing snooker every Thursday. He's never played snooker. Where's that come from?" Or there's a– his routine changed. 00:11:08 **Aleksandra King:** He's dressing differently. He looks a bit better. He's using perfume. He's using that. 00:11:11 **Mike LaCorte:** Exactly. Then you're thinking there's something not quite right here. There– that's my legitimate interest in– 00:11:18 **Aleksandra King:** I understand. Okay. So we've got to step a little bit away from that, and just into being a private– or how do you say– international investigator. So do you have to have certain skills? Like, how do you determine whether someone– and you hire these investigators– so what skills do you need, in terms of personality skills and education? Like, how do you even become one? 00:11:38 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Right. Again, that role has changed. When I started in the industry, most people were either ex-military, ex-police– 00:11:45 **Aleksandra King:** Military. Okay. Yeah. 00:11:46 **Mike LaCorte:** Ex-intelligence. And whilst there is that still in the market, we've got a lot of younger investigators that are interested, or younger individuals that are interested in a career in private professional investigation work. So there's Skills for Justice and NVQ level three courses out now that never were. 00:12:06 **Aleksandra King:** NVQ level– 00:12:07 **Mike LaCorte:** It's a relatively– let's say– it's an introductory course to the world of private investigation. 00:12:14 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. So there's a course that you can actually– 00:12:15 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. You can actually attend now, and do that and become qualified. I'll tell you one thing, Aleksandra– there's no licensing for the investigation in the UK at the moment. There's no legal licence to practise, which is pretty strange, 'cause– yeah– the UK is one of the oldest countries that have a private investigation world, let's say. 00:12:38 **Aleksandra King:** Why has it lasted so long without a licence? 00:12:40 **Mike LaCorte:** So we are self-regulated. So I'm the president of the Association of British Investigators, which is a group of professional investigators in the UK– and overseas, actually. And we are self-regulated. So in order to become a member of this association, you need to have a clear criminal record check. You need to be clear of any– there's credit, there's a couple of references, you need to have indemnity and insurance. So there's a whole character check and background check and things. There's a whole onboarding process, and those investigators– some 400 that represent the association– are all found on the website. So if anyone needed an investigator, let's say locally in a certain jurisdiction, you could find one there that's been vetted and checked. 00:13:21 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. 00:13:22 **Mike LaCorte:** So there is no licence. So– and you're asking me about what skills you need. Great question. So now we've got individuals coming into the market with journalist-type skills, banking skills, legal– understanding the legal system. So the role of an investigator's changing, and changed, and it will continue to change. 00:13:41 **Aleksandra King:** What about, like, spy skills or manipulation skills, or, like, you know– I mean, whether you're a good communicator or not, all those sort of things. I mean, journalist– that's probably communication. 00:13:51 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah, communication, reading people, knowing how to– 00:13:53 **Aleksandra King:** Reading people. 00:13:54 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah– knowing how to ask a line of questioning if you're taking an interview, for example. Those skills can be pretty useful. Languages– a lot of people overlook that– speaking more than one language, because we are in a small, an ever-reducing global landscape, but lots of people have more than one footprint around the world nowadays, right? Especially with access to global data, social media and whatever else. So a lot of the individuals we investigate have international connections, and speaking and understanding foreign cultures, languages, processes– what you can and can't do– is very important as well to become a well-rounded investigator, as well as, of course, understanding how to navigate databases, intelligence gathering, fieldwork. There's quite a lot of moving parts. 00:14:42 **Aleksandra King:** So yeah, of course, because yeah, you are global, and you've got these investigators all around the world, and you can tap into your resources wherever it is, whichever countries– we won't name any– but yeah, you want to tap in and know that they know how to behave in that country and not stick out like a sore thumb and draw attention to themselves and then blow the case, right? 00:14:58 **Mike LaCorte:** I mean, it's part of it. Yeah. If you're actively on the ground and you're working in a foreign jurisdiction, yeah, you'd need to buddy up with local expertise. 00:15:08 **Aleksandra King:** Oh, okay. So it's legal. There are certain skills that you would need to have. So earlier, before the podcast, we touched a little bit on AI and that whole side of things, because obviously AI is now massive. So can, you know, someone like yourself– an investigator– track someone's movements just using social media and public data and a combination of AI? Is that enough? 00:15:37 **Mike LaCorte:** It's enough. But we– everyone now has two reputations. We've got this reputation– your physical reputation– and you have your online footprint, your online reputation. 00:15:47 **Aleksandra King:** Wow, that's scary, thinking about it like that. 00:15:50 **Mike LaCorte:** You need to protect both, right? Nowadays, especially if you are online, and you, you know– you either conduct your business or you're active– you need to protect both those reputations. So– but there's a caveat. You can also pretend to be whoever you want online as well. So for an investigator, we're very, very eyes wide open in terms of when we're looking at available open-source data. There are numerous tools out there that we use to scrape and analyse online footprint. Whether you can just use AI on its own at the moment– I'm an old-school investigator, right? Whilst we leverage the tools that are out there– and those tools are evolving all the time, rapidly– and some of the younger guys in the team are a lot more skilled, and try and close cases from their desks– so every time I'm in my office, I say, like, you cannot close a case just by sitting at your machine. So whilst you believe you may have found everything, get out on the street– go and do the covert work. Go and do the interviews. Go and do those inquiries. 00:16:55 **Aleksandra King:** There's more to it. 00:16:56 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Well, you've done a complete check. You haven't just scraped the data that you found, put together the report, and come to a conclusion. Go and speak to neighbours. Go and speak to– 00:17:06 **Aleksandra King:** Absolutely. 00:17:06 **Mike LaCorte:** Do some field stuff. Yeah. That's where you're going to get real– 00:17:10 **Aleksandra King:** You're right. It's only part of the picture. I mean, we know even for ourselves– it's not the full picture, of who you are online. There is who you actually are offline. 00:17:18 **Mike LaCorte:** You're right. And the younger generation coming in are leaning more towards online desktop tools only. And I see that shift. When I started, where there was no AI, no online– there was hardly any databases, to be honest with you. A lot of– we had to go to the libraries and microfiche, and look for, you know, registries, physically– taking hours and hours and hours, looking through, you know, small bits of data to try and find whatever we was looking for. Whereas now, you like, you know– it's a millisecond. So I think that's going to change even more. 00:17:49 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. So I've got a question for you. So I've got my phone. So this has been debated about for a long time, but, you know– is your phone actually tracking what you're saying? I mean, there's all these different companies and things that might be tapping into this technology, and then feeding you the ads off the back of what they hear– your Alexa, your whatever, whatever, your Google Nest, whatever it is that you're using. Are these devices listening to us, and then feeding back the ads? And can it then be used in a corrupt way, saying, by the way, can you guys, say, any time they mention this or they talk about this, give me that information? Because that's quite sinister and dark, isn't it? That's like having someone in your house spying on you. 00:18:31 **Mike LaCorte:** Okay, that's a brilliant question, and I get asked this quite a lot. In the short answer is yes. Okay– but the long answer– there, you know, there are some steps through this process. There are– 00:18:46 **Aleksandra King:** So we're being spied on, basically. 00:18:47 **Mike LaCorte:** Yes– so you use the word spied. Okay. And that's where this is differentiated. So when you download an app from– whether it's the App Store, Google Play, wherever you're downloading your apps from– there are some non-consensual and consensual privacy policies that you– 00:19:04 **Aleksandra King:** No one's reading that. No. 00:19:06 **Mike LaCorte:** No. And some of that does collect location data, information data– some things that you put in– you consent to give your email, you consent to sharing your analytics– for example, how you're using your device and how you're interacting on that particular app– and that information is shared. This is where GDPR come in, in 2018, to protect the consumer against mass marketing that was going on there, you know– unsolicited marketing emails and calls and whatever else. 00:19:33 **Aleksandra King:** Unsolicited. 00:19:35 **Mike LaCorte:** So there are apps– numerous apps can consent your– track your location. But they need to– some of them need to, and I'm going to give you the examples now– Deliveroo, Uber, any of the maps you use– they need to know where you are in order for you to use the service. So, you know, if you are going to consent your location information to those types of apps, only do it whilst you're using the app. So you can highlight, select consent to share only whilst using the app. Not always. You have always, whilst using the app, or no. 00:20:05 **Aleksandra King:** Are they listening to you? 00:20:06 **Mike LaCorte:** Are they listening to you? Some may be– some may listen. Okay– there are numerous platforms that can access the microphone, the camera. 00:20:14 **Aleksandra King:** Why are they– do they really need to be listening to what I'm saying at home? 00:20:17 **Mike LaCorte:** So, unless you've consented– 00:20:18 **Aleksandra King:** I tell you, that's a naughty area, that one. 00:20:22 **Mike LaCorte:** Your phone is listening to you all the time. Just say "Hey Siri" to your phone now. 00:20:26 **Aleksandra King:** No, I don't. 00:20:27 **Mike LaCorte:** But have you got it disabled? Right. So what I'm saying to you is, it's listening to you– not to spy on you, but to make your life– that you've chosen– that you think you've chosen– with your device, easier. That's how you– 00:20:40 **Aleksandra King:** No, I understand that. Yes. 00:20:42 **Mike LaCorte:** And that's what it is. And people go, "Oh, your devices are spying on you." Okay. Using the word spying is where some– that's a third party trying to target and listen to what you're doing in your personal time without your consent. 00:20:56 **Aleksandra King:** Yes– that's spying. 00:20:58 **Mike LaCorte:** So the apps and the phones and the technology, and the use of, say, voice automated recognition and tools– I don't put that in the same category as spying. But of course the technology is there, so you will have people that try and take– you know, a knife can be used, you know, to cut something open, you know, to slice an apple. It can also be used to knife one in the back. 00:21:25 **Aleksandra King:** Exact– that is the great analogy. 00:21:27 **Mike LaCorte:** And that's the same thing. That's the same thing. Should we ban knives? 00:21:32 **Aleksandra King:** Good point. Good point. However– so in the world that you're in– I mean, you might– obviously you wouldn't use sinister tactics like that, but there might be others that are using that against one of your clients. And in that case, you would have to come in and investigate, and go, well, hang on a minute– now you're tracking exactly what this person is saying in their private time, and you're finding out information. And I mean, that could be seriously awful. Everything you say at home, in the privacy of, you know– who you talking about, what you're saying, your financial details, any investments you're making. 00:22:07 **Mike LaCorte:** I mean, yeah, look– if you've been targeted by a group– and this happens, right– 00:22:12 **Aleksandra King:** You think– it does happen? 00:22:13 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. If you– yeah– dependent– yeah, you know, depending on who the ultimate client is and their motivation. We've been called in to conduct technical sweeps. So what that means is, you go in with scanning equipment and you do what's called a physical and a technical search of the office or the residential address, and you're checking for listening devices, foreign frequencies, bugs as we call them, transmitters, hidden cameras– anything that could have been installed by a third party. I mean, risks nowadays– these devices– if you were just to Google "bug" or "hidden camera" or "hidden microphone", they're so accessible. Years ago it was very– you needed to be, you know, a secret MI5 agent to be able to deploy this kit, years ago. Now you can go and buy any– these miniature bugs online for– 00:23:01 **Aleksandra King:** I want my house swept. Listen– when I– when I bought– I do– I don't want it swept– I'm really paranoid now. 00:23:07 **Mike LaCorte:** There was an article in the press– there was an article in the– it was discussed in the news yesterday, about landlords putting covert cameras in. 00:23:15 **Aleksandra King:** Oh, yeah. 00:23:15 **Mike LaCorte:** Did you see that? Right. So we wrote something about that. To spy on their tenants– and someone went to prison for it. So we're now– in the top-end rental property addresses, we are– before, let's say, I don't know, a family want to rent from overseas in London for a year or whatever else– we're going in to do a technical sweep to make sure that that property is safe and secure. 00:23:39 **Aleksandra King:** So, okay. So I'm going to ask you something. So we were in an Airbnb the other day, and we were just watching whatever– Mamma Mia or something like that– and then the Alexa device came on, and it was actually a child talked to us, and was, like, making silly sounds– like, oh, you know, you know, whatever. So then my daughter talked back and was like– and then that kid talked back. So there was a connection– a remote connection– to the property that we were staying in. I mean, that can't be– I mean, we obviously raised it, but that's not legal. 00:24:12 **Mike LaCorte:** Sure. No, no– that's– yeah– that's the invasion of your privacy, right there. No, that's not– and you did raise it with Airbnb, right? 00:24:20 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah, we did. We raised it with Airbnb. 00:24:22 **Mike LaCorte:** You'd be surprised how common this really is. Now, it's not right– 00:24:27 **Aleksandra King:** It's not right. 00:24:27 **Mike LaCorte:** It's not legal. It's not ethical. But you're going to have some owners who maybe have had their Airbnb properties trashed, or had issues, right, that want to protect themselves. But also, what I've also found is– and it's usually in the sort of high-net-worth celebrity arena, where they're staying in top-end hotels– people know that. Let's say, for example– I know you've got the film festival or something big coming into town, and you're targeting– you're an investigative individual who wants to get some dirt or wants to get a story to try and make some money. They may stay in these nice hotels and put something in there. So check in, stay in the hotel, put something in, check out– and then in the hope that a celebrity will stay in this nice room. 00:25:14 **Aleksandra King:** Goodness, I'm never staying– no, no, but– 00:25:17 **Mike LaCorte:** No, no– I'm not saying that happens all the time. But then you have some of these high net worth that will have their room swept– that's just part of their security protocol. 00:25:27 **Aleksandra King:** I want to have that done now. I have been considering– because I do feel uncomfortable going into a hotel, and I do– it's my paranoid mind– I do sort of think, well, what if there's a camera in here? Well, there might be. You know, it's not– 00:25:39 **Mike LaCorte:** Well, yeah, there might be. Usually, you know, some of the rooms you stay in– the top-end rooms, Aleksandra– you know, those might be– that you don't know. I mean, I remember years ago– I won't mention the hotel– this is in central London– we were looking after some foreign dignitaries for a week, and in the room sweeping we check all the rooms. One of the– these rooms provided laptops to their guests– a long time ago, but they had, like, you know, laptops in the room. The laptop was open, and there was a whole email account open. So we checked– 00:26:13 **Aleksandra King:** Wow. 00:26:14 **Mike LaCorte:** And it was someone super well-known. And okay– we emailed back saying, "Your laptop has been left– we're a security team– your laptop has been left open. Don't worry, we've closed it down, and there, you know, so any unauthorised third-party restrictions– there's no risk." And this individual emailed back, "Thank you." And that was that– we didn't have any more. But if that was not us, let's say for example– and a cleaner or a– 00:26:42 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah– you can sell that information. 00:26:44 **Mike LaCorte:** Huge information. I mean, it was, you know, all their personal details, all the communication between who this individual was and third parties. It was huge. You know, that is huge. 00:26:55 **Aleksandra King:** That is huge selling. This would blow up. 00:26:58 **Mike LaCorte:** Blow up. It was over 10– 10 years ago. But there you go. You know, those risks exist. 00:27:03 **Aleksandra King:** This is frightening. Okay. So we touched on this a little bit, but if– let's say I wanted to hire someone just to find out if I'm being watched– can I do that? So I say, I'm just worried that– you're being tracked– tracked, stalked, harassed, blackmailed, for example. 00:27:22 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah, we do that. That would– there's a few lines of service there. So there'll be counter-surveillance of a team that would work with you to make sure that you're not being watched, monitored. We will check your online footprint as well, to see whether there's any third parties that are routinely monitoring you. 00:27:41 **Aleksandra King:** Monitoring, stalking. What about, like, the trolls online that get out of hand? If you have one of those super trolly trolls that keep spamming you and harassing you– if you have– I mean, that exists. 00:27:53 **Mike LaCorte:** Look, yeah– again, it depends on the individual. It depends on the case. But, you know, there are certain steps you can take to block those. And the more in the public eye you are, the more risk you have, sadly, of that, to be honest with you. And it's part and parcel of putting yourself out there, I'm afraid. Unless, of course, there's a blackmail issue, which is a criminal offence. So, for example– I'm going to do this if you don't do this. And it doesn't have to be money. It could be anything. So any blackmail– any blackmail– that is– we investigate those routinely. And that is where we try and connect the dots in terms of identifying the individual or third parties behind the attempt, and we'll either work with a legal team to get a cease-and-desist letter going, or– 00:28:40 **Aleksandra King:** What about if, like, a threat– like a threat to your safety or something? I'm going to get you, or something like that. That must happen a lot. 00:28:47 **Mike LaCorte:** Threat to– threat to life, threat to safety, threat to your family– that happens. Again– again, our response needs to be proportioned. If these individuals are open and they're not hiding– so their identities are open– then there's the authorities that will get involved, and we can do that. If they're hiding, then there are other ways that we can try and connect the dots. But we're pushing for the social media companies to step up as well, and do a little bit more. Yeah– it can be– whilst there is some work going on, it can be the Wild West at times as well. You can see what's going on online. You know, there are bots that have been created just to harass and torment people. 00:29:27 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. So have you ever had a client lie to test or trick you? Have you ever had a situation where the side that's asked you to do something– 00:29:37 **Mike LaCorte:** I'm going to say– I'm going to say this statement now– is, everybody lies. Everybody lies. Okay– think about that. And whenever you put your case across– everyone– not– I'm not saying they're lying for the right or wrong reasons, but everyone does. And whoever says they'd never lie is lying. 00:30:01 **Aleksandra King:** So– well, my grandmother used to say that– white lies– and she was, you know, very Christian woman, and she used to confess in the church for hours and hours, even though she never did anything wrong– literally wouldn't harm a fly. She said, you know, the time when it's okay to lie is a white lie, to protect somebody– or to– not everyone needs to know everything. If you then– because I'm so honourable, I want to tell the truth all the time– well, actually, your truth might be so incredibly damaging and cause chaos and disrupt the whole world. So sometimes, just gently lie. No– so, a white lie is a lie, or not– or not a lie? 00:30:37 **Mike LaCorte:** I think you've got to look at the greater picture. You can't be so– you've got to look at, like– look, sometimes you've got to think about the greater benefit to everybody. 00:30:45 **Aleksandra King:** That wasn't my question. Oh– it's a lie. See, everybody lies, right? 00:30:50 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah, it's a lie. 00:30:51 **Aleksandra King:** So would a client put their case across in a particular way to make it look like, we need to do what we need to do? 00:31:01 **Mike LaCorte:** Yes. But the skill is the investigator– the skill is the investigator, in understanding the client requirement, going through the questioning– let's say the onboarding– and getting to the truth. That's what a skilled investigator will do, and then providing the solution. But we have, you know– every week we have numerous crazy-type inquiries that want to do all sorts of weird and wonderful things, and through that process you end up understanding your position with a client. 00:31:33 **Aleksandra King:** I just love what you– I love that you– because, you know, there's this whole thing about "my truth". I actually really despise that term. What does "my truth" mean? There is the truth. Then there's how you frame it. Then there's how someone else frames their points of views, opinions. Some people have terrible memories. Some people are so obsessed with their point of view that they become skewed– they really believe their own truth, and I'm going to call it lie. So there's all of that mess up. But actually, when you investigate calmly and neutrally and sensibly, you uncover the truth. 00:32:03 **Mike LaCorte:** Exactly. Well, the other thing an investigator does is report fact. 00:32:07 **Aleksandra King:** So– I love that. Love that– fact. 00:32:10 **Mike LaCorte:** This is fact. It's evidence, and we're backed with evidence. You can't just put together a package of hearsay– it's going to get thrown out. So, you know, we get the fact. 00:32:18 **Aleksandra King:** So how can you get away from– now, there could be circumstantial evidence. There could be– 00:32:24 **Mike LaCorte:** But you have to list that. You don't put that as a fact, because you can't back it up with documented primary source evidence. 00:32:32 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. And you know what else? I feel like, with a fact thing– what people do– what they actually do– that's a fact. You know– what they've done– their record, whether it's online record, whatever it is– that is a fact. That isn't– you can't dispute that. You did that– that is what happened, you know? Whether you're a country, whether you– whatever– either you did something– and when people show you who they are through their actions– or companies, or even entire governments– you've got to pay attention to that and take it as fact, right? The other thing, though– just to throw something completely different– is this whole thing called misinformation. So it's spreading third-party misinformation, lies. 00:33:12 **Mike LaCorte:** So– but– and with a narrative– misinformation with a narrative, in the wrong hands, can be really dangerous, because it's pertinent to say that that information is true when it isn't. 00:33:22 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. 00:33:23 **Mike LaCorte:** And on the back of this narrative campaign, for example, can create first and second phase people around that, to believe this narrative that doesn't exist. And that's dangerous. 00:33:35 **Aleksandra King:** Extremely dangerous. And that's why I'm moving away from what people say, and their narratives and their misinformation and their headlines, and it's like– what have you actually shown to be true? Like, what action have you done, even as a country? It doesn't matter what you say and what you try and paint. It's like– what have you actually done? What are you– what's your credentials? And it's like a– it's like a, you know, a CV, hopefully– you know– it's like, what have you done, step by step? 00:34:00 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Exactly. Right. And we deal with that. 00:34:01 **Aleksandra King:** You deal with that. 00:34:02 **Mike LaCorte:** And– well, we try and peel the layers and try and get to the raw data. 00:34:06 **Aleksandra King:** I love that. I love facts and data. So, has someone ever confronted you or your team– you know, your employees– when investigating? Have you been caught out, let's say? 00:34:20 **Mike LaCorte:** Very, very rarely. And it does happen– any investigator that says it doesn't happen, it's lying. But it does happen. And I tell you why– where the risk goes up. Generally, when– if there's two sides– there's always two sides to an investigation. And if both sides have defences and investigators working, and the information's being disclosed at some point– let's say in a court case– there could be– the risk goes up in terms of the subject becomes aware now there's an investigation going on. There's been documents that have been served. There's a report that's been exhibited. It becomes– yeah, it becomes– that's where the risk goes up. But again, a skilled investigator will take proportionate measures and do the right type of investigating during that process. 00:35:04 **Aleksandra King:** Cover their tracks. Yeah. Have you ever– or your team– had to pose as someone to get information? That's quite a James Bond. 00:35:15 **Mike LaCorte:** You can do– and– again, yes, you can. It depends. If you're knocking on someone's door and you need to find out some information– you're going to say, "Hey, I'm an investigator, I need to ask–" people are going to close up. So it may be that you use what we call a cover story, to interact with an individual or a third party. As long as you don't pretend to be someone that's real. 00:35:37 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. Yeah. 00:35:38 **Mike LaCorte:** Then this is a real– yeah– you're impersonating someone official or something, an individual that you shouldn't– then, you know, there's some laws against that. But, you know, you can be creative in your approaches. 00:35:52 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. So this one is more, again, for the private side of the individuals. When you're investigating– someone asks you for help and you're investigating another person– what is, like, obvious red flag, suspicious behaviour that you might find in someone– let's say if they cheating, or if they– you know, what sort of red flags immediately jump out at you, in terms of– 00:36:15 **Mike LaCorte:** Before– what– for the person to look out for, or when we're following someone? 00:36:19 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. When we're investigating– when you're asked to investigate someone, what are, like, red flags that someone's doing something dodgy? Like, is there something that you quickly notice in– maybe they covering up their tracks, or some sort of suspicious activity– immediate red flags that they're not quite right, or there's something a bit suspicious about them? 00:36:39 **Mike LaCorte:** Again, it– if we're looking at a matrimonial situation, and let's say the individual is in communication with their partner whilst the investigation is going on– so whilst the surveillance is going on, you know, the individual– and we've had this quite regularly– where the individual will communicate with their partner saying, "I'm leaving work now"– by, you know, message– 00:36:56 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. 00:36:56 **Mike LaCorte:** When really they're not. So those white lies that someone tells someone– 00:37:02 **Aleksandra King:** Red flag. 00:37:03 **Mike LaCorte:** Red flag– is a red flag, because why would you do that? Are you justifying, or, "I'm just in this meeting with X," when you're not– you're at a different location. Why would you– yeah– why are you hiding? Why are you creating, again, a misinformation narrative to your partner, or hiding something? And that, for us, would think– that's not quite right, you know. So misinformation is a massive red flag. 00:37:25 **Aleksandra King:** I think so. Yeah. 00:37:26 **Mike LaCorte:** Because you're– no reason– when there's no reason to lie, and you lie– that for us is a concern. 00:37:32 **Aleksandra King:** There's always a reason. There's always a reason to lie. Oh– scary. Do people often regret what they find, you know, when they ask you and then the truth comes out? Or is it a sort of a– yes– what's the most common? 00:37:45 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah, that's a really good question, and that ranges. I've had clients that are emotionally invested and connected to understanding what's going on, because what we find out is going to change the direction of their path. 00:37:58 **Aleksandra King:** Gosh. Fundamentally change course. 00:38:01 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. And not just for them– it could be third parties involved. There could be children, other family members, a situation– it could be– could– there's a whole list of– so we're– we're at the sharp end. We're there uncovering exactly what's going on, and reporting back the fact. And when we report, we can't hold back. We can't say, well, he didn't touch her there, or we didn't see them kiss, or we– they didn't– we have to be straight, up front– and this is what's happened, and here's the proof. So– and when I say he, could be she, right? So just so we're clear. But– so do clients– say– yeah, some are– their gut instinct– and they were right with their gut, and I suppose they are– maybe I don't have the word happy, but maybe satisfied– that they were right– their suspicions were right. 00:38:51 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. Okay. So– so just– let's remain– we're on the cheating topic, so let's just stay here. So probably a lot– I suspect a lot of the private individuals that come to you want to know, is my partner– you know, husband, wife, whatever it is– cheating? Is that, like, a common thing– are a lot of people coming to you with that? 00:39:16 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. I mean, yes. It– that– when you say is it common– in the private sector– 00:39:20 **Aleksandra King:** For– in the private sector, yeah. 00:39:21 **Mike LaCorte:** That– it's usually breach of trust. So, you know– is this person that I trust doing something I suspect they– okay– yes or no? 00:39:28 **Aleksandra King:** So if you feel, like, suspicious– like, oh, are you– know– are they doing something– like, what do you then do to investigate if they are in fact cheating, without showing all your cards? 00:39:40 **Mike LaCorte:** So before someone comes to us and has the, you know, the sort of motivation to instruct an investigator, something must have happened– and more than once. Someone doesn't wake up one day and go, yeah– let me follow my partner for a bit. No– you know, there's all these identifiers. Something doesn't add up. I've got a gut instinct. There's an emotional issue. There's something's gone on. And then they come to us, and then during that onboarding phase, I need to understand a little bit about the routine, the– and we ask some pretty straight questions, just to uncover how we're going to best support. 00:40:12 **Aleksandra King:** You have to– yeah, you have to. You have to dig. 00:40:15 **Mike LaCorte:** And then we will do what we do. You know, usually there's a suspicion. I believe it's someone from this circle– this club, sports club they're part of– I don't know who it might be. Work staff person. I see something on Instagram or whatever– this person's always liking his post. You know– why? Or at work. 00:40:30 **Aleksandra King:** It's normally at work, or something like that. 00:40:32 **Mike LaCorte:** Why? Spending time together. 00:40:34 **Aleksandra King:** Exactly. Or going out for work drinks. What– again– I thought– you're a useful contact to have, just in case. I told– I told my husband on the way here, I was like– watch yourself– those trips abroad. 00:40:48 **Mike LaCorte:** That's the other one. Just– you'll never know if I'm watching you. 00:40:52 **Aleksandra King:** That's the emotional blackmail. But it's good, you know. I mean– so people can use those services if they suspect something. But then you could also have the other side, which is what we also touched on– the very controlling, paranoid person who just wants to, like– I want to know your every move, just in case, 'cause my pride couldn't handle it if you did– she told me– oh, you might– you're too attractive, you might do something, or someone might try with you. Like a paranoia, you know. You must get a lot of that, too. Your behaviour when you're not with me, you know– that's– yeah– what do you do when you're not with me? Yeah– how do you conduct yourself? 00:41:24 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. The other– the other ones that we've had is pre– and this is going to sound a little bit weird– but not– it's not weird, it's just different– pre-marital check. So generally it's in different cultures overseas, where someone is of a– of a certain standing– is going to marry someone. She him, he her, whatever. And they just– there's a bit that's not quite right, and they just want to full check, just to make sure the partner that's going to be introduced into my family is of the right moral– 00:42:04 **Aleksandra King:** Everything. Everything. 00:42:06 **Mike LaCorte:** Look, you know– you should know that if you're going to marry someone anyway. You shouldn't go to a third-party professional to give you– 00:42:12 **Aleksandra King:** I was going to say that, yeah– an independent opinion. 00:42:14 **Mike LaCorte:** But some do. Some want secondary– 00:42:18 **Aleksandra King:** There must be– or maybe their families do as well. It's like a condition, and, like, there's a bit of doubt. It's a difficult one, that one, 'cause you kind of think– well, I would think, if I found out, for example, that someone's– I would call it spying in that way– because why didn't you ask me? What– you don't trust me? And then it's like– that's a red flag. Well, you're paranoid, because you can't even get into a relationship normally, and you've got to start doing all this stuff. 00:42:41 **Mike LaCorte:** Now, this is usually when they're in a relationship and they're about to marry. So there– the next big massive step. There's a commitment here, generally linked to, you know, being part of a family– 00:42:51 **Aleksandra King:** Assets. 00:42:52 **Mike LaCorte:** Exactly. Right. It's money. 00:42:54 **Aleksandra King:** All right. We're going to move– we're going to move into corporate. So can– I mean, we spoke about it. Companies do vet high-profile employees. They do– they're going to hire someone, give them a massive salary– they're going to check who they are, and that's common and normal. Do they have to tell them– by the way, as part of the recruitment process, we're going to thoroughly check you? 00:43:16 **Mike LaCorte:** So most companies do pre-employment screening, and it's consented. So the employee is fully– especially if they're in any professional services, like finance, banking, law, politics– 00:43:28 **Aleksandra King:** Politics. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So they do a lot of the– 00:43:33 **Mike LaCorte:** So you would have– and I would recommend anyone– any company out there that's employing staff– and these can be quite cost-effective to conduct– get a professional in to do the red flag check. The last thing you need, right– especially if you're open and you're dealing with, I don't know, you know– everyone's got a reputation– and you take on the wrong– someone with a chequered past that you didn't know about– yeah– and a clever journalist finds something somewhere, from wherever, and puts it in– how damaging is that to your brand? 00:44:06 **Aleksandra King:** Extremely damaging. But if you knew from the beginning, you can take– politics– you think that they always finding things on these people, and then these big corporations and some of their employees, you know– you know that white lies– white lies on the CV. There's that– that white lies on the CV. But then they also– let's say they pass this– the CV is okay, because they've done their credible things– but then they just do sinister things outside of work. 00:44:26 **Mike LaCorte:** Again, it needs to be proportionate. So we do a thing called– which is quite a relatively new tool– called Social Media Check, right? And what it does is, with consent, it will screen– and I recommend everyone does this on themselves, right– 00:44:43 **Aleksandra King:** I'm going to screen myself. 00:44:45 **Mike LaCorte:** Screen– no– because movements change over periods of time. So it will screen all of your posts, all of your tweets, all of your likes, all of your comments, to see whether there's any defamatory, politically maybe incorrect– 00:44:57 **Aleksandra King:** Give me a check. I need it. 00:45:00 **Mike LaCorte:** You may have liked something by accident. 00:45:02 **Aleksandra King:** By accident– 10 years– 00:45:03 **Mike LaCorte:** No, no– you may have liked something by accident 10 years ago that now it's like– oh, we can't talk about that now. We can't talk, you know, because of whatever. 00:45:10 **Aleksandra King:** Can you undo it? 00:45:12 **Mike LaCorte:** Yes. And what this does– it's with consent– it goes through, it gives you a whole report. I mean, we've done all of our stuff, and there was some interesting– 00:45:18 **Aleksandra King:** You found things. 00:45:19 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. So we found some profanities, right– so swear words– and I spoke to one of the chaps, and I was like, wow, there's quite a lot on there. And what it was is– we found some– it was, like– not– what was it termed– hate-type speech, right? And when– when looked at it, it was Ricky– Ricky Gervais is quite an animal– right– 00:45:41 **Aleksandra King:** Yes, that's right. He loves animals. 00:45:43 **Mike LaCorte:** And some of his posts had swear words in there, against activists and whatever else, and those posts were liked. So this tool flagged all of those up. So– which is good, right? So if you're going for– if you're in the employment market and you're looking for a new job, I'd definitely screen, because your employer is going to screen you. So you may as well screen yourself, just to make sure you're clean. And if you're not clean– 00:46:05 **Aleksandra King:** Which is like a credit check, but different– on another level. Which is a fascinating thing. Okay. Everyone's got to do the social– Social Media Check. 00:46:13 **Mike LaCorte:** Social Media Check– and just check your footprint. 00:46:15 **Aleksandra King:** And don't do anything crazy in the first place. I was going to ask you about certain industries that are more likely to do this investigative work, but I think it's pretty clear. I think, you know, the high-profile individuals, the high-profile decision makers, that sort of thing. Probably not your regular employer– not going to really care to that extent. 00:46:32 **Mike LaCorte:** What– with the pre-employment? 00:46:33 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah– with just general checking up on you, just general background. 00:46:37 **Mike LaCorte:** Even– anyone who's employing anyone– because the pre-employment check is relatively cheap, quick process to do. So even anyone who's employing anyone should have that as their onboarding. You need to check who's working for you. 00:46:50 **Aleksandra King:** So this isn't a sort of crossing-the-line grey area. This is, like, a recommended– 00:46:54 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. 00:46:55 **Aleksandra King:** Like– you are who– yes– there's your CV, and then there's, like you're saying, all the stuff that you've been doing online. We need to know what you're doing online. 00:47:02 **Mike LaCorte:** The online is optional, I would say, depending on the industry you're in, right? You know, you don't need to go that deep. But anything in terms of checking the person's got the right to work in the UK, has the basics– yeah, you would need to do it. And again, those pre-employment checks are proportionate, and scale up to– depending on what type of industry you're in, depending on what you're doing. 00:47:23 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. Okay. 'Cause it's like the politics side and the business side– those two collide, and that's just a ginormous requirement. You know, very senior people in the public eye. 00:47:33 **Mike LaCorte:** So that– you know, there's– their whole careers are scrutinised. Every single thing– word– you know, they have communication teams, media teams, advisory teams, strategic teams– you know, it's not them as a one individual. There's a whole team that support. 00:47:49 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. They've got PR teams, pretty often. 00:47:51 **Mike LaCorte:** Of course they do. But then, on the other side of that, you've got other teams, individuals and whatever else– even members of the public– looking at every tiny little thing that anyone in the public domain– or in the public eye, sorry– does, and has an open platform– a free open platform, social media channels– to post, tweet, comment, describe what they've seen. So you could say you saw a politician say X on television, and you would– we could do it now– you could go on to your social media account and say, "I just saw– he said that– what do you guys think?" This was, you know– and you can create a narrative or a movement on something that you've just seen online, on television. So it's a really, really weird world we live in now. 00:48:34 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. I mean, I think private individuals don't really– well, even– even me, just thinking about it– we don't really give ourselves enough protection in that way, to do our own screening and to just, you know– 'cause, 'cause like you're saying, these big presidents and politicians, whoever– these guys, big corporates– they've got teams that look out for them, that tell them what to say, how to say it, you know, that protect them if something does go wrong. Reputation management. It's like an entire office– office buildings of people just working to protect their reputation. 00:49:07 **Mike LaCorte:** Correct. Online and offline. 00:49:09 **Aleksandra King:** Helping them, guiding them– what you should say, what you shouldn't say, how you should behave, sit, talk, everything. And then you've got everyone else is kind of left– it's almost like naked– and you've got to cope and know how to survive– but with these platforms that can also come in and, you know, scrutinise you, attack you, you know. 00:49:27 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Yeah. 00:49:28 **Aleksandra King:** And also being on reality TV, you know– once you get a platform, then already you're in that realm, but you might not have the protection necessarily, or skills, or whatever it is. It's quite rough. 00:49:40 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. And you do what you think's right. Yeah. But then, in defence to that, usually what's happening now is, today's news is not relevant tomorrow, because there's something else, and there's something else, and there's so much out there. So– unless you're being targeted– so the– that– unless you've been targeted– unless you're being targeted by a group who will continue to push a narrative. So– and this is what happens at the top end– look at what's going on globally, you know. So I think, for the individual, whilst there isn't that much protection in place, and it is a little bit of self-learning– because you can, you know– I think as you evolve in the public eye from the ground up, you will make mistakes, and you learn the hard way, right? 00:50:21 **Aleksandra King:** You do. You do. So– 00:50:24 **Mike LaCorte:** And it takes a certain type of individual to absorb what's going on, and either let it filter through to you or not– or block– you know, just distance yourself from it. But if that's the decision and journey you're taking, you need to be aware of the risks. 00:50:38 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. Yeah. And there definitely– there are definitely risk, and there's also massive benefits. So yes– we spoke about suppressing damaging information. I mean, if you want to find out if someone's sort of, like, spying on you, whatever– you can hire someone to check– someone doing that. But also suppressing information. So have you been asked to sort of– they don't really investigate here, but just– don't let this thing come out about me, or my company, or whatever. Have you been done to do that? 00:51:08 **Mike LaCorte:** That's more PR– that's more PR strategy, and pushing, say, comments that have been posted out there, you know, down the line in Google. We're investigators. We uncover. We don't– 00:51:22 **Aleksandra King:** So you would uncover– let's say that– 'cause– let's just say a company– something's happened, and your client wants to– they will have the PR team to obviously damage control, let's say, if that does come out. But really, we don't want it to come out. So we want to investigate what's going on there, on this particular subject. Is it coming out? Who spoke? Who said what? Who's released documents? Anything like that, you know. 00:51:45 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah– we've worked with PR teams before. So there could be a something about to break, or there's been an issue, or there's a leak. It's uncovering the leak, and who's the internal insider threat– which– 00:51:57 **Aleksandra King:** Who's the mole? 00:51:57 **Mike LaCorte:** Who's the mole? Right. Yeah. Who's the insider threat? And there are a few ways to tackle that. 00:52:01 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. So how would you tackle it? 00:52:02 **Mike LaCorte:** I knew you were going to ask that. 00:52:04 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. Go on. How do you find the mole? 00:52:06 **Mike LaCorte:** So there usually is some type of intelligence or lead that we need to go through from– and it's usually– what type of information is coming out? Where's it being leaked? So they– we may need to check the internal systems. There could be, I don't know, emails or communications between what's going on in that particular office and someone externally. There could be a disgruntled employee that's left– that's recently– but still very good friends with someone that works for the office, and there's some sharing of data, or– or a narrative that, I don't know, was started and then stopped there. There's usually some pinch points that we would look at as leads. That gives us something. If there isn't– which generally there is– but if there isn't, yeah, then we would look at what type of narrative's coming out. What is it? You know– is there emails being sent to someone? Or, you know, who– what journalist has received this breaking story, and how– and then the journalist usually would ask the client to say, "Right, we've received this. Can you comment on X?" And that's where their PR team would speak to the client and advise them on how to respond to a journalist. We would, if possible, ask for the request of what they've been sent, and see whether we could find any information there that can try and connect the dots backwards. But yeah– so connecting dots– connecting dots there. 00:53:28 **Aleksandra King:** Oh– because I just thought back to a story, actually, that my husband told me about. This was way before he met me, but about an obsessive women that– 'cause in those days he used to be a bit of a, you know, go out, lad, whatever– which is fair. You're a young man– you, you know, you're not married, you can, you know, just live your life, please get it out your system. And, you know, and he met this– this woman who became obsessive about him, and initially it was quite nice– oh, you're obsessed with me, give me all this like attention. But then it's a bit like, okay, just– you know– and he tried to go off and live his life and meet someone else, and obviously she wasn't having any of it. So she would do things like– she– the sort of the red flag symbols were already there– like, she would plant a hair of hers, you know, on a bed sheet, in case someone else might go in one day. You know, it started with those red flags– you know, in case another woman came in and go, oh, whose hair is that? What– this is, you know, brunette's hair, and I'm blonde– whatever, you know, those sort of things. It's like so obvious. But she would start doing– but then it went on to more serious things. Then there was things like sending an email, you know, to several people within the company, saying, oh, he did this, and he's like that– and then, but, like, you know, you know, stepping it up. So you've got those sort of things, which again, private individuals have to deal with, and of course politicians deal with on to the highest level– but it's the same thing. It's basically the same thing. It's people trying to plant dirt on you, or ruin your reputation, or whatever. In which case it would be beneficial– I mean, you wouldn't hire necessarily a private international investigator– private PI– to deal with that, but nice to– it would be nice to– 00:55:11 **Mike LaCorte:** You'd be surprised. 00:55:12 **Aleksandra King:** Sinister like that. 00:55:13 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah– we've done several cases like that, right? Where that is borderline harassment. 00:55:20 **Aleksandra King:** Totally. 00:55:21 **Mike LaCorte:** And it depends on exactly that. So we would document what's out there, and there's– there are legal remedies for that. There is a legal cease and desist, because you're breaking the law there. So if you continue to harass, spread misinformation, communicate with third parties, damage someone's reputation– defamation– 00:55:38 **Aleksandra King:** There's jealousy. 00:55:39 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah– for whatever reason. It could be jealousy. It could be that she can't move on. She predicted this life with your husband– 00:55:47 **Aleksandra King:** Years ago. Immature, whatever you want to call it, you know– just inability to take– like– it's no– it's a no. I mean, get a cat. Cats will teach you about rejection, right? There you go. It's okay. 00:55:58 **Mike LaCorte:** But maybe someone like that, when– once it goes from this keyboard warrior scenario to a legal letter– you've ceased and desist further communication, or X, Y, Z is going to happen– it sometimes is a wake-up call, to say, you know what, I really didn't realise that I was doing what I was doing– 00:56:11 **Aleksandra King:** Absolutely. 00:56:12 **Mike LaCorte:** I've got to step away. Or, if they're completely, you know, out there and crazy and want to pursue this, then you go line by line with what options are available to get this individual to stop. 00:56:25 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. Talk about consequences– consequences of actions. So has there ever been a case that made you rethink, you know, your career– that made you think about ethics– that sort of touched you on that level, where you've been encountered with something that's made you go– 00:56:45 **Mike LaCorte:** Anything to do with children, to be honest with you. And I'm talking about either locating one that's been abducted– legally– when I say– no, it's not legally abducted– no, but– and it's usually literally abducted. 00:57:00 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. Taken. 00:57:00 **Mike LaCorte:** Usually in family situations, where you have, I don't know– one– the relationship's broken down, and one is from a different jurisdiction, and one wants to take the kids, and there's a legal dispute and battle, and one just says, we're off, and we're going to wherever, and you're never going to find me, and that's it. Done. Tough. So– and that's– there's an issue in court going on, and you're dealing with maybe jurisdictions that are not as westernised in terms of legal processes, and you've got one parent with custody, legally, that's not being– those are tough cases. 00:57:38 **Aleksandra King:** Horrible. And then you've got the little person. 00:57:40 **Mike LaCorte:** Of course you have. So those cases– 00:57:42 **Aleksandra King:** And you're a dad– and that's horrible. 00:57:44 **Mike LaCorte:** Anything like that is– can be quite challenging, in terms of– we've got to do the right thing, the right thing for the right reasons, under the right circumstances. 00:57:54 **Aleksandra King:** And the right thing is– the right thing for one person is not the right thing for the other. 00:57:58 **Mike LaCorte:** Completely. And we are– we're not the decision maker, right? We are there to provide the information to maybe the legal teams or the courts, to say, well, look– this is actually where they are– and now we'll deal with local authorities to try and recover, and whatever else. Anything like that. And anything where the– let's say there's a– a bit– I mean, I've spoken about– I worked on a case, God, must have been about 10 years ago, where the family were from Canada, and the daughter was 18\. She met a boy online, through one of these platforms– who knows– and they started to communicate. He was in the UK. She'd never been outside Canada. She wasn't in any education. She was at a loose end. She was 18 years old and living her life and whatever else. Family were not super wealthy, but they were okay– they were doing well. Mum and dad– lovely people. She just booked a plane ticket. He said– he booked– he wanted to see her. They had this online relationship for about 6 months, where they would just chat via a platform which is not around any more– this was just as WhatsApp launched– and she ended up deciding to come to the UK by herself– never travelled alone. And when she got to the UK– she said to her dad, "It's okay– he's booked me in a hotel. Here's the hotel booking." She came to the UK. Her phone wouldn't work in the UK, right? So the mum and dad couldn't contact her. They had no communication. They came to us. They were really worried. 00:59:37 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. 00:59:38 **Mike LaCorte:** She's 18, so she's got the right– she's an adult, she's got the right to her own privacy. So I thought, right– I'll tell you what we'll do, to the mum and dad– let me just send a couple of investigators to sniff around the hotel, just to make sure she's checked in and safe– like an alive-and-well check. Got to the hotel, and the booking was cancelled, and she– 00:59:59 **Aleksandra King:** No sign of her. 00:59:59 **Mike LaCorte:** No sign of her. She didn't check in. So you can imagine now– okay– 01:00:02 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. What's going on, right? As a parent, I would be losing my mind. Okay. Right. You're on a flight to London, right? From Canada. 01:00:09 **Mike LaCorte:** Yes. Immediately. Immediately. So– but where'd you go? Right? We have no idea where she is. Her phone wasn't working, because it's an international phone, and back then– and all of the sort of basic things that we take for granted. The mum and dad– I had long conversations with both of them to understand, because I needed to understand what happened before. And, you know, it was that teenage breakdown chat, you know– that– we've got teenagers– we've all been through there– although mine are past teenagers, except for one– but– that they had that– she was rebelling a little bit, and she wanted to be her own person, and, "I know what I'm doing," and– and she just got up and left, and she met this guy, and he said all the right things. And so we actually mounted a full-on investigation to try– we were worried for her safety then, right– because– yeah– she's disappeared. 01:00:59 **Aleksandra King:** She's disappeared. 01:00:59 **Mike LaCorte:** So we had the authorities involved– 01:01:02 **Aleksandra King:** Gosh. 01:01:03 **Mike LaCorte:** And in the end, we– we tracked the guy, because he cancelled– he made the booking and then cancelled it. And through the booking that he made, the hotel were quite helpful, because we were like, look– it's an 18-year-old from a different country– there's– anyway. So we ended up connecting some dots– 01:01:19 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. 01:01:20 **Mike LaCorte:** And found that he was part of this– what you call them– like, movement of, like– not– is it an anarchist? They were in this disused flat, with all sort of graffiti sprayed on the wall– just, like, you know– I don't know how to– it's like a group– like– it's not a gang– it was like a group of free spirits– 01:01:43 **Aleksandra King:** Free spirit– hippie-ish– yeah. 01:01:45 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah– and she got– yeah– got mixed up in that, in a squatting-type facility. Yeah– not good. We found all of that. We got the authorities involved, and told the father– I mean, he was like, you know, "I can't believe you found her. Is she okay?" Like– yes, she's fine. We've got her. "Brilliant. Can you get–" Anyway– so, in the end, we got her repatriated back. She was actually happy to go home, because she got involved in this situation far too deep– 01:02:17 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. 01:02:17 **Mike LaCorte:** And didn't see a way out. She was like, "This wasn't what I was promised– but where am I going to go now?" There's– she wasn't– 01:02:24 **Aleksandra King:** Yeah. Speaking to her parents. 01:02:26 **Mike LaCorte:** Exactly. So there was a breakdown. She tried to be this independent– so we went for a whole emotion– you talk about emotion– that's a whole emotion– very emotional journey. And then, about, I don't know, 6 months later, the dad sent me a picture of their family all together. 01:02:37 **Aleksandra King:** So nice. You could have saved her life, potentially, 'cause who knows what she was doing in that hippie cave. 01:02:42 **Mike LaCorte:** Luckily– well– I think it's the mother and father that saved her life. 01:02:44 **Aleksandra King:** Okay. 01:02:45 **Mike LaCorte:** Because they took action and contacted us to do so. 100%. What– you know, they went to the police. They went to the Canadian police. They've done all they did locally, but then they had come in at loose end. 01:02:56 **Aleksandra King:** So anyway– saying Mike is– Mike and Conflict International team– useful, useful contact to have if you ever land up in hot water like that. But obviously it must have a mental toll on yourself. You know, you're a dad– so how do you handle that? How does your team handle it? How do you tell them to sort of separate work from– 01:03:15 **Mike LaCorte:** That's really tough sometimes, and it depends on what people are going through. But, you know, you say– we're all human, and, you know, you try and block out what's going on through someone's world. However, you are their confidant at their most low time. So for me– that's why my phone– my job isn't 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. I answer my phone all the time. I mean, it rang 3:00 in the morning last night. And I was like, "Oh"– and it's a client, 'cause I put the alerts on for clients and family only. So anyone else that calls, it goes to \[unclear: silent?\]. 01:03:44 **Aleksandra King:** Wow. So your client's on the level of your family. 01:03:46 **Mike LaCorte:** If I've got a live case, then– yeah. Yeah. Because– 01:03:50 **Aleksandra King:** And you know– that's incredible. They're going through stuff that they've probably not discussed with the people closest to them. 01:03:56 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. 01:03:56 **Aleksandra King:** And you know– you know that information about their personal life that no one else probably knows in their circle. So, I mean– I mean, seriously– do you, like, do yoga? Like, what do you do to, like– what do you watch? 01:04:06 **Mike LaCorte:** I do– I do triathlons. I run. I swim and I run. Run and bike. There you go. That's what I do. Sweat out the– 01:04:13 **Aleksandra King:** You sweat it out. 01:04:14 **Mike LaCorte:** Punish myself. 01:04:14 **Aleksandra King:** You punish yourself. That's the only way. You've got to do that, 'cause otherwise you go crazy. Like, you will literally get too absorbed, especially if they're calling you at 3:00\. But– have you ever had to walk away from a case? 01:04:27 **Mike LaCorte:** There can be occasions that you do. You know, especially when a client has, you know– is doing it for the wrong reasons, and we've done what we needed to do, and there is nothing more we can do. Yeah– we can– I've turned stuff down. 01:04:42 **Aleksandra King:** You have to give us an example, if you can. 01:04:44 **Mike LaCorte:** Well– when you've got someone who's– where you know their motive isn't necessarily what they first initially wanted it to be, or you've closed the case and they want to continue– they want more– for the wrong reasons. Yeah– destroying someone because we've won. But there's winning and closing, and then there's inappropriate continuation. 01:05:07 **Aleksandra King:** Yes. 01:05:07 **Mike LaCorte:** So, you know, you've got to know, as an investigator– that's the judgment at the beginning. You've got to know what you're doing it for, and why. And when– so you walk away from that. Yeah. Because– remember, I said we'll come back to the addictions. 01:05:17 **Aleksandra King:** I've got a question here. What does it look like when someone becomes too addicted to this whole surveillance thing? And it must be an obsession– an addiction with some– or you could get hooked. It's almost like, now that you know, you want to know more, or you can use it now on that person, or on that person. So that's also something that you must be dealing with a lot, to try and manage. 01:05:38 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Again– so that's why you need to onboard someone properly in the first place, and you're doing the case and the investigation for a reason. And once that reason has been identified and reported on, that case is closed– unless there's something else that's happened. You can't continue it, because that's stalking and harassment. Can't just follow someone forever for your pleasure– for your voyeurism pleasure, to say– 01:06:01 **Aleksandra King:** But there must be clients that want to, right? 01:06:02 **Mike LaCorte:** Of course there are. 01:06:04 **Aleksandra King:** Especially those– they've got the money to throw at it as well, with the resources. They want to monitor whoever they're monitoring, forever. You've got to have morals, you know– ethics of steel– to do the job you do. 01:06:14 **Mike LaCorte:** Every investigator has this moral compass. And during the case, it does this all the time, because– yeah– and you manage that. That's part of being skilled and experienced as an investigator– to keep that. 01:06:27 **Aleksandra King:** Where do you get your values, your ethics from? Do you have religion? Are you religious? Do you– are you spiritual? Like, what keeps you– 01:06:36 **Mike LaCorte:** Am I religious? I suppose I am religious. I– you know– I come from– I mean, where are we going with this? This is like– 01:06:46 **Aleksandra King:** Just– so– wherever you want. We have no boundaries in this podcast. I think it's a straight-up question. Yeah. 01:06:53 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. No, no– I get it. I affiliate myself with some of the biggest leaders in the industry, and some of the mentors before me. So I give back. I'm out there, in the open. So there's no, you know– so my moral compass is there. My reputation is there. So it's there to be looked and challenged. So– whatever you do on a daily basis– regardless of whether it's speaking to a client, your interactions here, online– you're going to be judged. And for me– I keep my moral compass extremely focused. Yeah– clean and focused on what I'm trying to do. I love this industry, and I give back. So that's why I sit on non-profit association boards– to give back to the industry, you know. 01:07:38 **Aleksandra King:** So that– you really need to have it in line and straight, because the temptations that come from all of the money and the types of clients that you– I know, you know, that you're dealing with– the temptation– you really cannot be weak morally. You can't be one of those people that gets, like, a little feather, being blown around by the– the fad, the money, the pressure, whatever. 01:08:03 **Mike LaCorte:** The other thing I found is, with powerful clients– if you stand up and provide the right support for the right reasons, and justify your position, you earn a lot more respect. And that's in my experience. If you are– if you just say yes– can you do– yes– you're not being– you're not challenging your client, in terms of providing them the optimum result. So I– 01:08:29 **Aleksandra King:** You're helping them by allowing them that dark rabbit hole. 01:08:32 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Yeah. Off you go– do surveillance– I've told you to do that– you just do that. You end up– you're not a effective solution provider. You've just become another tool in their arsenal. So if you want to provide an effective solution– that's why I'm– I'm very– I want to speak to the ultimate client. I'd rather speak to the main decision maker, rather than aides, advisers, support staff– because this happens– the Chinese whisper, by the time it gets back to the client. Just tell them to do that– and then– I'd rather– just give me five minutes, and we'll clear this all up. Yeah. 01:09:09 **Aleksandra King:** Just stepping into this one more. If you look at your sort of baseline values and ethics that you've got– did you get them from your parents? Did you get them, like– how did you build your core values? 01:09:26 **Mike LaCorte:** So– my father's Italian, my mother's Spanish, so I'm from a Mediterranean background. And family was very important to us, growing up. And for me– everything that was taught to me at a young age is, nothing's given to you. You've got to go out there and work for it. And how you work for it is up to you. And all those steps from a young age– being from parents that were from different countries, coming to the UK with no infrastructure– it was, you know, you had to fight for your reputation and your position, and those– that hardworking, ethic– ethical mentality back then had just been drilled into me from a young age. 01:10:10 **Aleksandra King:** You're fighting for your– for your clients now? 01:10:12 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Still fighting– yeah. I still fight– fight for my clients. Yeah. 01:10:16 **Aleksandra King:** And were your parents strict with you? 01:10:18 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Yeah– my dad was strict. Yeah. Yeah. I've got to say– was a– from a Sicilian man. So, you know– not much– 01:10:26 **Aleksandra King:** Because I can tell that a little bit when speaking with you– because– and I like that– there's a no-nonsense approach, where there's truth, there's fact. There's no room for wishy-washy anything. And like I say, you're the right person for this kind of industry, because you've got to be solid in that way. If there's any weakness and cracks in your values, in your ethics, in the strictness of what you need to do to deliver for your clients– to work hard for your clients so that they have the best for them, which is what your parents instilled in you– if that's not correct, everything crumbles. 01:11:05 **Mike LaCorte:** Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. 01:11:08 **Aleksandra King:** Mike, it's been terrific having you. Thank you so much. 01:11:11 **Mike LaCorte:** Thank you. Really enjoyed it. Thank you. ## Follow Aleksandra - [Instagram](https://instagram.com/king.aleksandra) - [X](https://x.com/aleksandrabking) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandraking) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@AleksandraKing) - [Aleksandra's Inner Circle](https://laylo.com/aleksandraking) Business and collaborations: [aleksandraking.com](https://aleksandraking.com) | [aleksandra@aleksandraking.com](mailto:aleksandra@aleksandraking.com) *The views expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect those of Aleksandra, the podcast, or its producers. This podcast is for entertainment only.*