PCI Ethical & Professional Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An investigator receives a gift valued at $500 from a vendor seeking to secure a contract referral. According to ethical standards, the investigator should:
- Accept it as a normal business courtesy
- Disclose the gift to their employer and decline or return it (Correct answer)
- Accept it if it does not influence their decision
- Report it only if the value exceeds $1,000
Correct answer: Disclose the gift to their employer and decline or return it
Accepting gifts from vendors seeking business creates a conflict of interest; professional standards require disclosure and typically refusal.
Question 2: Which action would constitute a breach of confidentiality by a professional investigator?
- Sharing case details with law enforcement upon lawful request
- Discussing case specifics with uninvolved colleagues at a social gathering (Correct answer)
- Reporting findings to the client who hired the investigator
- Testifying under oath about observations made during an investigation
Correct answer: Discussing case specifics with uninvolved colleagues at a social gathering
Disclosing case details to uninvolved parties without authorization breaches the investigator's duty of confidentiality.
Question 3: A PCI is hired by Company A to investigate an employee. The investigator later learns they previously worked on a case for that same employee's attorney. What is the most appropriate response?
- Proceed since the prior case is unrelated
- Disclose the prior relationship to Company A and allow them to decide how to proceed (Correct answer)
- Withdraw immediately without explanation
- Contact the attorney for guidance
Correct answer: Disclose the prior relationship to Company A and allow them to decide how to proceed
Prior relationships that could create bias must be disclosed to the client, who can then make an informed decision about continuing the engagement.
Question 4: The concept of 'due diligence' in professional investigations most closely refers to:
- Billing clients accurately for all hours worked
- Applying the care, thoroughness, and skill expected of a competent professional (Correct answer)
- Completing investigations within the agreed timeline
- Maintaining thorough case documentation
Correct answer: Applying the care, thoroughness, and skill expected of a competent professional
Due diligence requires investigators to exercise the level of care, thoroughness, and professional judgment that a competent investigator would apply.
Question 5: An investigator is pressured by a supervisor to include in a report information that was obtained through an illegal search. The investigator should:
- Include the information if the supervisor accepts responsibility
- Refuse and document the refusal, escalating to appropriate oversight (Correct answer)
- Include the information but note it as unverified
- Ask the client whether to include it
Correct answer: Refuse and document the refusal, escalating to appropriate oversight
Including illegally obtained evidence exposes the investigator to legal and ethical liability; refusal and documentation protects professional integrity.
Question 6: When is it permissible for a PCI to misrepresent their identity during a covert investigation?
- Whenever the client authorizes it
- Only when legally permitted and ethically justifiable under the circumstances (Correct answer)
- Never under any circumstances
- When the subject is suspected of serious crime
Correct answer: Only when legally permitted and ethically justifiable under the circumstances
Identity misrepresentation (pretext) is permissible only when specifically authorized by law and ethically justified by the investigative context.
Question 7: A client asks an investigator to access a subject's email account without authorization to gather evidence. The investigator should:
- Comply if the client indemnifies the investigator in writing
- Refuse, as unauthorized access to electronic accounts is illegal (Correct answer)
- Proceed only if the subject is suspected of criminal activity
- Obtain the information through a third-party intermediary to maintain deniability
Correct answer: Refuse, as unauthorized access to electronic accounts is illegal
Unauthorized access to electronic accounts violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and other laws, regardless of client indemnification.
PCI Ethical & Professional Standards 3
An investigator receives a gift valued at $500 from a vendor seeking to secure a contract referral.
According to ethical standards, the investigator should: