Unfortunately, due diligence is a very time consuming and frustrating activity. Information is very expensive, not always reliable and in many cases, the people and organizations that are under scrutiny do not always cooperate or even welcome such attention.
That is not hard to understand. Say, for example, that you are at work and someone phones you to start asking you a string of personal questions, telling you that he wants to write a review on your personal details so he can publish them in a publicly accessible database.
Do you ask a poker player to show you his cards before engaging in a bluff? That would defeat the purpose of the whole game. We know that it is not possible to expect to receive an answer by way of sheer common sense. On the other hand, sometimes we have a feeling that, when ignored, makes us ill at ease when we meet someone for the firt time.
It could be that his tie is out of place and as a perfectionist yourself, this disturbs you. This leads you to want to “make sure”. How then do we find out if the guy is really what he claims to be?
That leaves the indirect approach, private investigators, government registries and companies that have made it their business to provide information for a fee.
You could be doing research into a HYIP Investment site or just checking on your prospective nanny. In both cases, you would be right to do your preliminary check. That Hyip Investment site could be a scammer and as for that nanny, she might have been arrested on drug charges before. Being forewarned is also being forearmed, prevention is the mother of safety among professionals.
Whatever you do, stick to these five common sense rules:
Better to double check than to absorb information which is redundant or plain false. There are a lot of scammers and they prey on one’s good faith, so vigilance is the keyword. A reliable and up to date source of information could be a life saver.
We are creatures of habit and we hate breaking habitual patterns. So make a habit of going through security motions, like checking up online if someone has no prior criminal antecedents. Some due diligence before investing that principal also goes a long way to grow that capital versus losing it to a fly by night outfit or a would be Madoff.
We would have a tendency to abandon our search for information either because the price seems too steep or the content not immediately relevant. By keeping at it, soon you will discover trustworthy sources. For a mere 29,90$ – sometimes even less – you could have entire online databases at your fingertips.
When it becomes a good habit, creating security reflexes can spare you many a nasty surprise. Using many different and complicated passwords for the different sites you visit will make life a lot harder for those with less honorable intentions. Why make it easier?
Typing a few closely related terms or keywords to the subject you are seeking information on will automatically lead you to like minded user groups or forums. A lot of good information is exchanged through forums, on top of it, it usually is available at no cost at all.
