Private investigator discovers nefarious iPhone scammers are obsessed with

When a suspicious partner thinks about looking into their significant other’s phone, their first instinct is usually to check text messages, analyze call logs, and maybe look for a secret app like a fake calculator that hides illegal photos.

But according to Cassie, a private investigator and director of Venus Investigations, the latest trend for scammers is much more innocuous and involves using an app that almost everyone has.

Apparently, the humble Notes app that comes built-in with your iPhone, iPad, and MacBook is becoming the new way for people to communicate secretly.

Here’s how it works.

Of course, Shared Notes weren’t designed for that, and they’re usually used for legitimate things, like creating a shared grocery list with a roommate—but like most technology, “people who do questionable things will find a way to turn the technology into a tool,” says Cassie.

How to tell if your partner is using Shared Notes

“You can tell a note is a shared note by the little person logo next to the Notes title if your partner gives you access to their phone,” explains Cassie.

On various social media platforms, people have caught wind of this tactic and weighed in with their thoughts.

“I can’t imagine texting someone through the Notes app,” wrote one person on TikTok.

“I’m too lazy to be that creative,” admitted a second.

“I’m shocked – I can’t believe this is a thing,” said a third.

Catching a fraudster through Flybuys

Last week, Cassie took to TikTok to share the details of one of her “wildest” cases involving a cheating husband.

Cassie explained in the clip, “My client, the wife, wanted to find out how her husband was cheating. We were pretty sure he was changing something.”

The couple lived in Queensland but her husband had made frequent trips to New South Wales to visit his family – something he rarely did before.

First, the wife checked their joint bank accounts. She found transactions at Coles and Bunnings, but because there were no specific locations linked to them, she couldn’t prove anything.

Cassie advised her to check if they had any shared rewards accounts, such as Everyday Rewards or Flybuys.

They had a Flybuys account, so they opened the app, revealing all the transactions.

The purchases from Coles and Bunnings were sorted by the suburb where each store was located and turned out to be in a Queensland suburb where the man’s ex-girlfriend lives.

In her TikTok caption, Cassie joked, “$10 from your store but a very expensive divorce.”