The 4 Most Common Myths of Working as a Private Investigator
It’s safe to say that many of us have read or watched the likes of Sherlock Holmes, CSI, or Magnum P.I. and become starry-eyed towards the private investigation profession. New investigators enter the field expecting car chases, gun fights, and heart-stopping action. But once they have been in the industry, many become burned out or disheartened to see that it’s not what they thought private investigation would be. As someone who is a licensed private investigator, I’ll try to bring you down slowly.
Myth 1: We're just stalking people's spouses/exes
Surveillance is the most well-known service that private investigators provide, with the stereotype that we’re hiding out behind alleys and street corners in a trench coat, following your cheating partner or spouse. While there are still private investigators who specialize in doing infidelity cases, many private investigators (including myself) have moved away from being “cheater chasers.” Investigations are moving to the digital realm: with services including social media investigations, computer and phone forensics, and data acquisition. With that said, surveillance is still a valuable service and strategy: for example, using surveillance as a method in investigating and verifying a disability claim for a business or insurance company. As for being “stalkers”, keep in mind that a licensed and insured investigator knows how to follow the proper legal procedures that differentiate “surveillance” from “stalking.” (For example, a P.I. cannot illegally enter a property, home, or building, AKA breaking and entering. PINow has an excellent general guide on what private investigators can and cannot do.)
Myth 2: P.I.s only uses Google to find people (AKA: "I could do it myself with a little extra effort!")
I have had countless cases come in with this mentality. When we do background checks or missing person/asset searches, we are not just Googling it. Any Private Investigator worth their salt are licensed professionals who have access to top-quality legal documentation and databases that are not available to the public and restricted to licensed private investigators. Period. We have numerous posts discussing why using online databases not only are not comprehensive, but inaccurate and not kept up-to-date. With that said, even with our databases, getting a full comprehensive report of information on an individual is not going to be achieved just by entering a name and state into a database search. We cross-check information and utilize various resources and strategies, (depending on the case, can include fieldwork such as surveillance and interviewing neighbors) which is not something you can achieve with just a Google search or a cheap online database search service.
Myth 3: Private Investigation is always exciting
Sorry kids, it’s (usually) not like the movies. Don’t get me wrong, I have had cases that have been exciting and taken twists and turns that I never anticipated or could have ever imagined. But to be honest, you will be spending the majority of your time in the office or a surveillance vehicle. To succeed in this field, it’s not just enough to be skilled in the physical work; You need to know how to gather intelligence, assess multiple streams of information, (most of which is digital) write top-notch comprehensive reports, (Reports are no joke and where you will easily spend most of your time. Regardless of what the client does with a report, it must be of a quality that is admissible in court) and conduct intake interviews.
Myth 4: We'll share our war stories with you
As I mentioned in the last myth, our work can get exciting and we do get cases that move in directions we never expected to go from the start. However, don't expect us to share the details with the world. Legitimate private investigators can only succeed by operating on strict confidentiality practices on all cases to protect them and their clients. Failure to maintain confidentiality not only is unethical, but can put our licenses on the line. Which means no, we are not going to hash out the latest cases with you.
Matthew Seifer
Matthew Seifer is the Lead Licensed Private Investigator at Radius Investigations, Registered Armed Guard, and NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services Certified Instructor. Seifer is a US Army veteran with over 26 years experience in the private sector. Matthew's specializes in corporate due diligence, TSCM bug sweeps, security services and assessments, and digital forensics
The experience of having a missing friend or a family can be disturbingly distressing. It is understandable to be troubled especially if you shared a close bond with the person that has disappeared. However, panicking in the face of this ordeal will not help the missing person.
Investigating, searching, and tracking down a missing person is not easy. Because of this, it would be wise to get the help of a professional private investigator as they are typically knowledgeable and experienced on the best avenues to follow when searching for a person who has gone missing.
When most people think of a private detective they think of seedy deals in back alleys and someone taking photos of a cheating spouse. But that's the Hollywood version of it. The reality is that a professional private investigator can help with a number of different issues throughout a wide range of areas.
Two perfect examples are vetting and hiring new employees, and assisting in investigating internal employment-related issues.
Turning to a private investigator, especially one skilled in fraud detection and prevention, to help with the hiring and human resources management aspect of running a business could save a business and its customers from being victimized by a "bad" employee.
There are approximately 16 million people living in the New York City/Long Island area. While the majority of them are decent, law-abiding people, some might not be what they appear. As a result, you may need a private investigator to help you protect your business from fraudsters who prey on their employers. Here is a look at how a professional investigator can help:
Employee Background Checks
An employer needs to know that they are hiring the right person for the job because hiring the wrong person for the job can be very costly, especially for smaller businesses. Hiring mistakes have actually led to companies going bankrupt in extreme cases. Every year, a company can lose about 5% of its total revenue to occupational fraud. That's a significant number, and it highlights how important it is to get help. In addition, if a company hires a person without checking their history, and that person later victimizes either employees or customers of the company, the company may well be liable for “negligent hiring.”
Consider this:
- It costs 3 times a position's salary to replace a person hired in that specific position.
- 10% of criminal background checks turn up red flags
- 23% of employment background checks turn up red flags
- 44% of driving records turn up red flags
All of this means that you could be hiring someone who isn't what they say they are. And while, at first, it might seem to be a minor issue, that dishonesty could grow once they're in your employ. Once inside the company, that dishonest employees could access confidential information, systematically steal from the company or its clients, steal trade secrets, and, in the worst cases, cause physical harm to co-workers or customers. A thorough background check can help to lessen those risks by identifying red flags of misconduct or dishonesty before the company, and its employees, are made vulnerable.
Worker's Comp Claims
If a worker is hurt on the job, you're legally required to provide financial assistance to them. However, this is where a tremendous amount of fraud takes place. In fact, a proper background check of a potential employee could reveal repeat instances of worker's comp claims, or a history of filing frivolous lawsuits against previous employers. A private investigator could not only run background checks, but could help determine whether or not a claim is legitimate through surveillance, photographs, social media, and more.
The sad fact is that not everyone is honest, and there is always a chance that one of your employees could take advantage of you. But with the services of a good private detective, you can help protect yourself, your company, your employees, and your customers, and make sure you have the right team working for you.
For any family, the disappearance of a loved one can cause immense emotional and personal turmoil. For missing persons cases, hiring a Private Investigator can be of great benefit in assisting the affected family to find the missing person, or at least develop sufficient information to provide closure.
While it is highly appropriate and necessary for family members to contact the local authorities as soon as there is a suspicion that a person has been abducted or has disappeared under questionable circumstances, individuals do need to remember police response can vary, based on the circumstances and the age of the individual, as well as limited police resources. (more…)
Let's face it – nothing can be more stressful and difficult than finding yourself in the situation where you must provide care for your loved ones. That role reversal can be hard for any child, and it's even worse when your circumstances mean that you are forced to confine your loved one to the care of someone else. Placing a parent's care in the hands of a stranger is no easy matter, and something that takes considerable trust. It can also create a tremendous amount of stress. (more…)
Below is a list of asset services our New York and long island private investigators can perform. These services are not limited to asset searches and can also include other miscellaneous searches that can be very helpful to whoever may need them, such as the following:
- Vehicle Registration or Plate Number- You provide VIN# or license plate #, results in name and address where registered, type of vehicle and lien holder information
- Real Property- You provide name/ssn, results in search of all 50 states, with first 10 hits included
- SSN Search- You provide name/address/dob, results in full non-truncated ssn
- Education Verification- You provide name/aka/dob and ssn/college/university attended, results in attendance dates, degree and/or major
- Reverse Email- You provide email address, results in subscriber information
Our NYC and Long Island Private Detectives can help you with a variety of different services to help you recover your finances. Below are the listed services that include what information you provide as well as the results you will get.
- Place of Employment or Sources of Income- You provide name/ssn/current address, results in current/active employment or source of garnishable income
- Employment History- You provide name/ssn/current address, results in past 5-10 years of employment history (may not show current employment).
- Bank Locate with Financial Permissible Purpose- You provide name/address/ssn or corporation name/address/phone #, results in every bank located in state searched along with bank name, corporate address, number of accounts.
- Full Financial Report Permissible Purpose- You provide name/address/ssn or corporation name/address/phone #, results in Nationwide banks located, bank name, corporate address, number of accounts, credit unions safe deposit boxes brokerage.
- Brokerage and Investment Nationwide with Financial Permissible Purpose- You provide name/address/ssn or corporation name/address/phone #, results in returns type of accounts and average daily balances.
- Bank Balance Update- You provide UCC Reference # or previously located bank, results in updated balances on previously located bank.
The private detectives at Radius Investigations can perform a variety of phone searches for a multitude of reasons, including to locate missing persons or a missing child.
Below is the services we provide along with what information we need from you in each type of service.
- Reverse Landline Phone Number- You provide phone number, results in name and physical address;
- Reverse Cell Phone Number- You provide phone number, results in billing name and address;
- Find Phone Number- You provide physical address/ Old Non Pub, results in current phone number at the address provided;
- Find Cell Phone Number- You provide name/ssn/current or last known address/ home phone, results in cell phone number;
- Reverse Canadian Landline Number- You provide phone number, results in cell phone number;
- Reverse Canadian Cell Phone Number- You provide phone number, results in name and address;
- Reverse Toll Free Number- You provide toll free number, results in name/address;
- Full Locate (Verified)- You provide name/ssn/dob/last known address/phone, results in verified current address/ contact number;
- Reverse PO box- You provide name/PO box address, results in name and physical address; and
- Private Mail box/ Post Mail Box- You provide name/mail box address, results in name and physical address.
Radius Investigations offers comprehensive background checks for individuals nationwide and worldwide. Our expert private investigators have the resources and know-how to gather accurate and verified information
What information do I need to conduct a background check on someone?
Any information you have on someone will help us in our research. More information is better, but we understand that you may not have all the details. (which is usually why you are doing a background check in the first place!) Here are some common pieces of information we will ask for. Keep in mind this list is not exclusive, and just because you may not know the answer to items on this list, does not mean we can't perform a background check:
- First and Last Name (Ideally a middle name as well if they have a common name)
- State where they were born
- Last known address or state of residence
- Date of Birth
- Date of Death (if applicable. We usually encounter this in estate cases or in clients who want to research their family tree)
- Name of parents or siblings
- Name of Spouse
- Last known employer and address of employer
Do I need to be a company or business to conduct a background check?
Radius Investigations offers complete personal background investigation services that do not require you to be a hiring manager or business. Individual clients can inquire for personal background checks on a person of interest.
Why do I need a personal background check?
Proper personal background checks are vital tools that can be used for situations such as legal cases, dating/relationships, tenants, or checking individuals you hire. (eg. nannies, caretakers, home care services, house cleaners, freelancers) Hiring a private investigator to conduct a background investigation can bring peace of mind, safety, and confidence that those you work or live with have integrity.
Can I do a background check on myself?
Our background check can be performed on any individual, including the client themselves. Requesting a background check on yourself is an excellent resource in verifying that your personal, financial, criminal, and legal information is correct. Inconsistencies or inaccurate information in a background check is a serious concern that can affect employment and applications for financial or legal affairs.
How can I obtain a background check?
Our Long Island and NYC private investigators can provide a comprehensive background check on a person of interest. Our team works around the world to find the best and most accurate information for our clients. We work with you in obtaining the information you need, whether it is educational, employment, criminal, legal, or financial records.