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by Steven Kerry Brown
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigating, Third Edition
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Copyright
Contents
Introduction
Part 1: Private Investigation, Business or Fun?
1 The Making of a PI
Tracking Down America’s First PI
Breaking into the Business
Retrieving Public Records
Doing In-House Investigations
Serving Subpoenas for a Living
Skip Tracing, Finding Deadbeat Parents, and Locating Missing Individuals
Hiring the Hired Gun
Thinking Sideways: The Key to Success
Looking Beyond the Flash: The Other Side of PI Work
2 The Path to the Professional PI
Getting the Experience You Need: Coffee and Donuts Optional
Obtaining Your Licenses
Getting Reciprocity: Working Across State Lines
Protecting Yourself with Insurance or Bonds
Pulling Back the Curtains on Privacy Laws
Finding Your Clients
The Internet and Your Business
3 Tools of the PI Trade
Getting Behind the Wheel
Shooting Your Subjects…with a Camera
Megapixels
Storage Media
Zoom Capabilities
Taking Pictures or Video in Low or No Light
Lights, Camera, Action: Putting Your Camera to Work
Choosing the Right Computer
Stocking Up on Peripheral Equipment
Harnessing the Latest Tablet Computer Technology
Looking into a Good Pair of Binoculars
Converting Video to DVD
Recording the Facts
Part 2: Getting the Scoop
4 Skip Tracing
Zeroing In on the Right Search
Playing the Name Game
Knowing What Names to Use in Your Search
Getting to the Root of Nicknames
Relying on Family and Friends for Info
Harnessing the Social Network
Getting to Your Subjects Through Their Spouses
Searching Free Public Databases
Wanted Dead or Alive—Searching the Death Master File
Curing the Plague of Social Security Truncation
Sending a Message via the SSA or IRS
Looking Behind Bars: When Your Skip Is a Jailbird
Using Military Locators
Putting It All Together
5 Prowling the Courthouse
Going to Court: Accessing Courthouse Records
The Local County Courthouse
Making the Official Records Speak
The Property Appraiser
The State Civil Court System
Higher Civil Courts
Lower Civil Courts
State Criminal Courts
Federal Civil and Criminal Courts
Bankruptcy Courts
Reducing or Eliminating Your Alimony Payments
6 Professional PI Databases
Getting the 411 Quickly and Efficiently
Knowing What’s in the Data Mix
Researching the Big Three: The Credit Bureaus
When to Look
What You Might Find in the Credit Report
Credit Headers
Logging On to Subscription Databases
Public Records
Proprietary Data
7 Telephone Secrets You Need to Know
Verifying Nonpublished Numbers
Breaking the Number
Finding Other Sources for Nonpublished Numbers
Tracking Down the Location of Pay Phones
Giving Caller ID the Runaround
Dial *67 Before Dialing the Phone Number
Use a Spoofing Service
The Myth of the Untraceable Prepaid Cell Phone
Mining Cell Phones and Smartphones for Data
Breaking the Cell Number
Three FAQs about Cell Phones
Examining Cell Phones for Other Data
Part 3: On-the-Job Training
8 Techniques of Interview and Interrogation
Making Preinterview Preparations
Getting Witnesses to Talk to You
Interrogating Suspects
Taking Copious Notes
Recording the Interview
9 The Neighborhood Investigation
Neighbors Know More Than You Think
The Mechanics of Investigating a Neighborhood
Knocking on Doors
Finding the Getaway Car
Working Premise Liability Cases
Being Discreet with the Neighbors
Keeping an Eye Out for Other Trouble
10 Stationary Surveillance
Picking the Site
Fixed Surveillance
Fixed-Mobile Surveillance
Setting Up the Cover
Listening to What Empty Houses Have to Tell You
Dealing with Pesky Neighbors
Getting Rousted by the Cops
Eternal Vigilance
11 Moving Surveillance
Going It Alone
Know in Advance Where the Subject Is Going
Follow the Other Person
Plan Your Exit
Don’t Play Follow the Leader
Do Play Follow the Leader
Effective Foot Surveillance
Two’s Company
Communication
Positioning
Information
Getting into Gated Communities
The Effective Use of Cover and Traffic Lights
Keep Cover Between the Subject and Yourself
Play the Lights
Avoiding the Confrontation
Using GPS for Surveillance
12 Tricks of the Trade
Getting Down and Dirty: Trash Covers
Pretexting: Using Lies to Get the 411
Identifying the Subject
Finding Employment Information
Getting Travel Details
Getting Your Subject to Leave the House
Proving the Hotel Stay
Part 4: In the Field
13 Clues to Infidelity
Trusting Your Gut
Behavioral Changes
Hang-Up Telephone Calls
Need a Little Privacy?
Reviewing the Bills
Credit-Card Charges
Cell Phone Calls
Missing in Action
Listen Up
Right to Privacy on the Spouse’s Computer
Diseases of the Body and the Heart
Counseling Your Client
14 Family Law Cases: The PI’s Bread and Butter
How a PI Can Help
A Bird in the Hand
Who’s Watching the Kids?
Working the Gray Areas
Using GPS Trackers
Hidden Cameras and Expectation of Privacy
The Ex, the Children, and the Boyfriend
15 Bringing Home Runaway Teenagers
Evaluating the Situation
Handling the Police Department
Tracking ’Em Down
Checking Out the Ex
Rely on Other Parents
Plaster the Country with Photographs
Checking the Credit
Tracking the Cell Phone
16 The Ins and Outs of Electronic Surveillance
Bugged or Tapped: It’s Terminology
Evaluating the Threat
Finding Taps in Your Home
The Outside Job
Making Your Own Butt Set
How Phones Work
Locating the Junction Box
Finding Your Phone Line
Legalities
17 Criminal Defense Cases
Guilt or Innocence: Does It Make a Difference?
The Discovery Evidence
The Crime Scene
Witnesses
Prison and Jail Visits
Informants
When Does a Private Investigator Use an Informant?
Can You Pay Informants?
Part 5: Advanced Techniques
18 Background Investigations: Uncovering the Dirt
Reasons for Doing Backgrounds
General Background Checks: Obtaining the Basic Goods
Finding the Name
Finding the Date of Birth
The Local Sheriff’s Office
The Driving History
Locating the Address
The Criminal in Our Background
The Sometimes Not-So-Civil Cases
Starting Your Own Background Company
Starting a Brand New Company
Obeying the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
Creating Your Own Website
The Client Interface
Working the Application
Pre-Employment Background Checks
The Criminal Record Search
The Credit Report
Driving Records
The Social Security Trace
Educational Verification
19 The Diligent Search: Adoption and Estates
What Is the Law?
Locate the Last-Known or Current Address
The Law Requires…
The Reality
The Form
Find the Last-Known Employer
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Check with the Regulatory Agencies
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Contact the Families and the Relatives
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Find Out Whether He’s Dead or Alive
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Look Up the Telephone Numbers
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Inquire at Local Law Enforcement Agencies
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Search State Law Enforcement Records
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Search the Prison System
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Inquire at Local Hospitals
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Utility Company Records
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Ask the Military
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Check with the Tax Man
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Search Professional PI Databases
The Law Requires…
The Reality
Filing Your Affidavit
How Much to Charge?
20 Evidence, Statements, Reports, and Bookkeeping
Sifting Through the Evidence
Taking Recorded and Signed Statements
The Format for the Recorded Statement
Formatting the Signed Statement
Originals and Duplicates
The Digital Age
Video
Recorded Statements
Superior Reports Are the Mark of the Professional PI
FBI FD-302 Reports
Photographs
Show Me the Money
Covering Administrative Costs
Collecting a Retainer
21 The Judges’ Chambers
Just the Facts, Ma’am
Accepting the Subpoena
Everything You Wanted to Know About Depositions
Work Product from the Attorney’s Office
The Grand Jury
The Cross-Examination
Appendixes
A Glossary
B State Requirements for Telephonic Recording
C Sample Client Retainer Contract
D Affidavit of Diligent Search
Index
About the Author
Search in book...
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