How do private investigators find people

Private investigators locate people for a variety of reasons: Adoptees, birth parents, relatives, former friends, lovers, spouses, co-workers and employers can benefit from reuniting with a person from their past see Chapter Two. Private investigators access databases, interview acquaintances and piece together clues to track down people with whom you've lost contact.

They can use public records to fill in missing information and uncover a new name, address, telephone number and Social Security number. Many companies need a employment background check on job applicants. An airport shuttle company may need to check applicants' driving histories with the Department of Motor Vehicles if it's hiring a driver to transport passengers in the company's vehicle. Perhaps a Fortune Corporation is filling a top management position and wants to evaluate an extensive profile of a candidate that goes far beyond what's on the resume.

Interviews with references and other informational searches can provide that. Or parents may decide to hire an in-home nanny. A PI can check the prospective caregiver's personal, financial and criminal history, as well as her references. Gary wants to start a small pizza restaurant in his neighborhood.

His brother, William, introduced him to Joseph. Now, Gary and Joseph are considering a partnership. Everything looks good, but Gary will be investing his life's savings and he doesn't really know Joseph. Gary may decide that a background investigation by a respected PI could make the difference between success and disaster. Before you invest your money or time in a new company or other financial deal, you'd better research it. A company may appear perfectly legitimate, with a fancy office, a pleasant receptionist and a readily available list of previous client referrals.

But it could be a sophisticated scam. A private investigator can perform background checks to check public records for licensing, small claim judgments, bankruptcies, state and federal tax liens, and other judgments or defaults. Some private investigators perform corporate security consultating. A business may need to secure premises, property, assets, people or even information. Some companies may need only a nighttime security guard or an alarm system.

But others need electronic surveillance, a loss-prevention staff and strict computer security. Experienced private investigators can recommend security services and techniques to prevent theft of inventory or to provide for employee safety. Insurance companies estimate that twenty percent of claims are fraudulent. Even a single fraudulent claim can cost a business tens of thousands of dollars - all unnecessarily.

A PI can look into employee claims to verify their legitimacy. As an example, we once performed surveillance for a workers comp case and sucessfully photographed one claimant happily playing golf, while he supposedly couldn't work because of a bad back.

Sometimes, we wait until trash day to learn the truth about the claimant. If a claimant can haul thirty pounds of trash to the curb, maybe his back condition isn't so bleak.

The company benefits in another way as well: This deters future fraud by warning other employees that the company pursues every claim. Top echelon private investigators are an integral part of your community's law enforcement.

They work closely with police and the court system on the local, state and federal levels. When securing evidence for use in the judicial process, they assist police, the district attorney's staff and lawyers. They conduct searches and surveillance, serve subpoenas, take statements and testify in court. They can also assist with unsolved crime and cold cases.

An added bonus: Because of the role private investigators play in the legal arena, they're an excellent source for attorney referrals. Planting electronic listening devices is illegal and can result in a felony conviction. Despite having a wealth of information available both online and at public records locations, detectives sometimes find their best resource is a trash can. With one child custody case, we were able to find evidence of drug use—crack pipes and powders.

For intel, nothing beats "friending" a case subject on Facebook. Whatever gets us in. My fake accounts are exponentially more popular than me. Depending on their location, it might be permissible for PIs to get access to your bank accounts—not to manage your funds, but to find out exactly how much money you have to see if you might be withholding assets during a divorce or other litigation.

Every so often, someone will confuse Burke for a Ghostbuster. Sometimes PIs get hired for jobs without getting the full story. The way in which information is gathered will depend completely on the nature of the case that is being investigated. Private investigators charge for all work that they undertake. Depending on the type of enquiry, this could be charged at a flat rate or per hour. For more information about costs and to see our price list here at Insight, read our guide to private investigator costs.

The price you can expect to pay for a private investigator to take on your case will be entirely dependent on the nature and extent of your enquiry. Factors that will play a part in the cost include the number of operatives that will be required to carry out the investigation, mileage undertaken, and the tools, equipment and resources required.

Typical costs for common investigations are:. There are many reasons why a private investigator may be looking for you, a lot of which relate to gathering information for cases, rather than investigating you. Reputable private investigators like ours at Insight, keep all your information confidential and will never take details of you or your case outside of our secure premises.

Details of your case will not be discussed with any more people within our business than what is absolutely necessary. If at any point during our investigations a conflict of interest is identified, we would advise you that we could no longer investigate your case, and all existing information relating to the case would be destroyed. Our private investigators are highly experienced and professional individuals who are equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to carry out investigations covertly and discretely, without alerting the subject that they are being investigated.

The only way that they should ever find out that they are being investigated is if you tell them! At Insight, we will always ensure complete confidentiality. The only way that the investigation could be traced back to you, is if you let slip during conversation or accidentally leave information regarding the investigation in view of others.

Our private investigators will take precautions to ensure that all correspondence regarding the investigation remains confidential. We will only call you at times that you specify, and we will never give our company name over the phone.

Our callers will also ask you questions over the phone to verify your identity. If you are to receive correspondence in the post, or via email, then you should let us know the safest address for us to send it to, this may be the address of a friend or family member rather than your own home address.

Insight does not keep records of your investigation any longer than is absolutely necessary. Not always, but we will need enough details from you to allow us to verify your identity to protect the legality of our work. Once the investigation has been completed, you will receive a full report detailing all information that we have uncovered.