Do You Really Know Who You're Dealing With?
Updated: 7 hours ago
Vivienne Westwood is one of our LovePoundbury volunteers, helping Poundbury residents navigate the digital world through our Tech Tuesday series. She is also co-founder of VeriTrace Intelligence, an independent UK intelligence consultancy. We asked her some questions, and her answers gave us pause for thought.
Most people, when they decide to trust someone, rely on a combination of instinct, a quick internet search, and the information the other person has chosen to provide. For small decisions, that's usually fine. For larger ones, it often isn’t, and "larger" covers more ground than people assume.
"Smaller businesses and individuals are more often left with a credit score, an internet search and instinct," Vivienne tells us. The gap between that and proper verification is where costly mistakes tend to happen.
What does a red flag actually look like?
Before anything else, Vivienne's list is worth committing to memory:
Pressure to decide or transfer money quickly.
Reluctance to provide information that can be independently checked.
Contact details that don't quite align.
A very new company presenting itself as long-established.
An address that doesn't match the story.
Reviews that can't be substantiated.
Resistance to reasonable verification.
"One red flag does not necessarily mean run for the hills," she says drily. "Several red flags beginning to form a small parade are probably worth looking at properly."
And the decisive finding, she adds, is rarely dramatic. It's more likely to be a director connected to a series of dissolved companies, a claimed track record that doesn't match the public record, or a "long-established local supplier" incorporated four months ago. "Small inconsistencies can materially change how somebody views a proposed transaction, or a relationship."
When should you check, and for what?
The best time is before a commitment becomes difficult or expensive to unwind. For independent businesses, sole traders and landlords in Poundbury, that covers more ground than building work: a new business partner or investor, an unfamiliar supplier, a new tenant or live-in carer, a franchise opportunity, a competitor's claims before you launch against them.
For individuals, it applies equally when a significant decision—financial or personal—depends on someone met online or known only a short time. "People will spend hours researching a washing machine," Vivienne notes, "and almost nothing researching a person they're about to hand a key or a bank transfer to."
You don't always need professional help. Free public checks from Companies House, the Insolvency Register, a reverse image search, and basic sanctions screening, for example, can answer simple questions quickly. But when something feels off and you can't put your finger on why, or when the decision is significant enough that certainty matters, that's when structured investigation earns its place.
If something has already gone wrong
If money is at immediate risk, the first call should be to your bank and Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk). If something has already happened and you need to understand what occurred or organise evidence for a solicitor or the police, investigation may still help, though no one can guarantee recovery. "Anyone guaranteeing recovery deserves a healthy amount of scrutiny themselves," Vivienne observes.
Verification and more
"Verification is not about mistrusting everyone. It is about making trust more resilient. A little more certainty before committing can be far less expensive than discovering the answer afterwards,” Vivienne notes.
In a community where many people run businesses, manage properties, and increasingly conduct significant financial and personal decisions online, that feels worth remembering.
VeriTrace Intelligence also offers corporate and competitive intelligence, market research, and threat and risk assessment. Please see full details at https://www.veritraceintelligence.com/services.
A new CAofP member benefit!
Thank you to Vivienne for offering CAofP members 10% off their first case with VeriTrace Intelligence, and 5% off repeat engagements. To find out more, email enquiries@veritraceintelligence.com or visit veritraceintelligence.com.
For Tech Tuesday questions, contact tech@lovepoundbury.org to connect with Vivienne directly.
For more CAofP membership benefits, please click here.