Unsure where to post this....

cc103 · 04-18-2008, 03:07 PM

I am not sure where to post this so if someone can point me in the right direction that would be great. I've said before that I am a school teacher in the computer field and I had a parent ask me today about an issue at her husbands business. He thinks that his CPA and someone inside of his company may be skimming money from him. He has talked to a lawyer and was advised to get someone to look at his computers and see if there is anything fishy going on. I told the wife that I thought there was software available to assist but that I had no knowledge of how to "hack" his computers as I'm sure there are various passwords in use.
Now, this guy owns the company and these are his computers so don't get the wrong idea here.
What I need to know is where can I go to help these folks out? Is there another forum or site better suited for my request? Even if I can't do it, I would like to be able to point these people in the right direction.
Thanks in advance....

**sobeit** · 04-18-2008, 03:21 PM

to be perfectly honest, if you dont know how to help him, then he really needs to take his computer to some experts who do know how to help. You can mess up his accounts, his computer, and legally if you start messing around with something you don't know anything about.

You have to do things legally if theres going to be any type of prosecution and/or lawsuit. Your inexperience could really hurt the case.

tetonbob · 04-18-2008, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Now, this guy owns the company and these are his computers so don't get the wrong idea here.

From the Rules:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/rules.php

Quote:

We do understand that the majority of requests may be legitimate, but we do not have the means to discern these from non-legitimate requests.

We have no way of knowing, so we may not directly answer such requests.

sobeit has given you the right idea. The owner of the machines needs to get them into the hands of professional computer forensics people, only after contacting legal assistance on how exactly to proceed.

cc103 · 04-18-2008, 06:23 PM

That's what I thought. I was kind of blown away when she came to me with the problem but I'm not even sure which direction to point them....
I'm just trying to assist them and don't really want to get involved.

tetonbob · 04-18-2008, 06:25 PM

Quote:

I'm just trying to assist them and don't really want to get involved.

Good call.

Perhaps research some local forensics professionals, and offer a list of them.

Again, make sure they do the right thing as far as legal chain of custody, etc...lawyers first, hands on the computers at the recommendation of retained counsel.

**TheShadowFl** · 04-19-2008, 07:27 AM

Since it's suspected that possibly a number of laws have been broken, I'd advise him to go straight to Law Enforcement.
He should immediately retain an attorney so that his rights under the law don't get trampled on.

This could get sticky!

Good Luck,
The Shadow

cc103 · 04-19-2008, 05:31 PM

I'm sure I'll see one of them at the first of the week. I am going to advise them to go to the law and see what they can do. I'm sure they have forensics specialists there.
Thanks for all of the input...

04-18-2008, 03:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
cc103 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 65 OS: XP Home SP2	Unsure where to post this.... I am not sure where to post this so if someone can point me in the right direction that would be great. I've said before that I am a school teacher in the computer field and I had a parent ask me today about an issue at her husbands business. He thinks that his CPA and someone inside of his company may be skimming money from him. He has talked to a lawyer and was advised to get someone to look at his computers and see if there is anything fishy going on. I told the wife that I thought there was software available to assist but that I had no knowledge of how to "hack" his computers as I'm sure there are various passwords in use. Now, this guy owns the company and these are his computers so don't get the wrong idea here. What I need to know is where can I go to help these folks out? Is there another forum or site better suited for my request? Even if I can't do it, I would like to be able to point these people in the right direction. Thanks in advance....

04-18-2008, 03:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
sobeit TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NEAR Posts: 7,433 OS: windows/linux	Re: Unsure where to post this.... to be perfectly honest, if you dont know how to help him, then he really needs to take his computer to some experts who do know how to help. You can mess up his accounts, his computer, and legally if you start messing around with something you don't know anything about. You have to do things legally if theres going to be any type of prosecution and/or lawsuit. Your inexperience could really hurt the case. __________________ there's been global warming since the ice age

04-18-2008, 06:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
cc103 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 65 OS: XP Home SP2	Re: Unsure where to post this.... That's what I thought. I was kind of blown away when she came to me with the problem but I'm not even sure which direction to point them.... I'm just trying to assist them and don't really want to get involved.

04-19-2008, 07:27 AM	#6 (permalink)
TheShadowFl TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Central Florida Posts: 290 OS: XP-SP3, Vista Ult. 64, Win-7/64	Re: Unsure where to post this.... Since it's suspected that possibly a number of laws have been broken, I'd advise him to go straight to Law Enforcement. He should immediately retain an attorney so that his rights under the law don't get trampled on. This could get sticky! Good Luck, The Shadow __________________ A person with experience is never at the mercy of a person with an argument.

04-19-2008, 05:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
cc103 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 65 OS: XP Home SP2	Re: Unsure where to post this.... I'm sure I'll see one of them at the first of the week. I am going to advise them to go to the law and see what they can do. I'm sure they have forensics specialists there. Thanks for all of the input...