Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Ask the Private Investigator

The phone rings all day long and the email keeps coming in to Sherlock Investigations. Most of these callers and emailers ask questions about the nature of investigations, our rates, or just ask us to take their case.

But, if you have questions of a general nature, you can ask them on this blog. We monitor the blog constantly, and will post an answer to your question asap.

Just click on Comment, and then wait for our answer.

You can also make Comments about the subjects we write about, and also Comment on other people's Comments.

So, whether you have a serious question, or just want to join the fun, leave a note on Comments.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have someone working for me in my home while I am at work, doing housekeeping and some redecorating. Is there a simple way for me to know what time they arrive and what time they leave each day. Some way of knowing what time the door is opened or when they pull in the drive or something along those lines. I have limited resources so I am looking for something simple. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance

Skipp Porteous said...

Either have a friend with a watch hide in the closet all day, or go to www.pigear.com to find a product that will meet your needs.

Anonymous said...

My husband recently fell victim to an investment scam. We're Australian, the scammers, supposedly Canadians living in Germany. Called 'Comstock International Group, he first dealt with 'Paul Fox' & later with 'Mathew Monahan'. He felt he'd checked them out well but obviously we should have hired someone like yourselves. They had an impressive website (no longer around) & sound knowledge of the stockmarket. My husband followed our investments closely & the saddest thing is - if they'd actually bought the shares - we'd all have done very well out of it. I'd like the chance to try to recover some of our $20,000 plus or at least see these scumbags in jail. They robbed my family & who knows who else? Our solicitor was unhelpful & we don't know if there is anything else we can do other than 'throw good money after bad'. Your comment would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Anonymous said...

I often use an exclusive on-line database such as IRB or Merlin that cater to law enforcement or PI's only for starting a basic background search or help in locating individuals. There are several other databases that require just a credit card from anyone for the information. How do you feel about these on-line services that cater to any goofball stalker with a credit card, and how can they offer some of the same info as the other on-line services?? How much different is the information available from a company such as IRB and the "other" database providers available to anybody. Thanks for such a nice forum for discussion.

Skipp Porteous said...

While scammers usually, eventually, get caught, their victims seldom recover their funds. Sorry.

Skipp Porteous said...

Many databases are open to the public. This is unfortunate because, as you said, it opens the door to stalkers and other devious individuals.
We use databases that give us Social Security Numbers, but we don't sell them to the public. Pretty soon, I'm afraid, Socials will be unavailable even to licensed PIs.

Anonymous said...

a friend of mine has a VERY long on-going custody battle. she went to court today and come to find out, her ex-husband has a lot of recorded phone conversations of herself and their son. her dad is very strict that the son only talk to the mother on the cell phone that the dad bought, when the son is at his dads. is there anyway he might be recording these convos, or anyway to find out how??? thanks

Anonymous said...

I have been on work comp for 2 yrs now and a friend had googled my name last week and found a video that a PI did in Jan and Feb. I do not care about them following me as it proves my injury the problem is I was the victim of a violent crime in 93 and the rapist to my knowledge is still around and if he googles my name he can find me as this video shows where I go for PT, the vehicle I am in and where my daughter works also show where my Dr office is and the times I go to these appointments. Friends,Family and I feel alarmed as this could leave me in harms way. What can we do about this video being available by searching my name ?
leaving this as anonymous as I really am frightened

Anonymous said...

What software would you recommend for a background check or to locate someone. they still receive a military pension. They moved to Thailand for a short period and came back. I tried "Netdetective" and it was a scam. thanks for your time

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to fina a member of the Army National Guard with only his rank, first name and the state he is in?

Anonymous said...

I have reason to believe in the past (18 months ago) a physician/partner may have left a state to provide medical treatments at a private residence in another state. Without a paper trail or sworn testimony from the actual patients, is there any way to prove this with merit for a court?

Unknown said...

I was wondering if there is any site on the Internet that you would recommend which provides current address, phone numbers, and general background information about people in the US?

www.NetDestective.com is one but I have heard from many this is a scam.

Is there a site you recommend that provides background checks and the like that is legitimate?

Thank you,
Jennifer

Skipp Porteous said...

As we said at the top of the blog, if you have specific questions, send them to sherlockinvestigations@gmail.com, where we will answer them directly in response to you.

Unknown said...

Wow I read the directions in exact opposite! I apologize, I thought it said is you have specific questions post them on the blog...Well, it was VERY late and I was VERY tired. Sorry about that.
Jennifer

Skipp Porteous said...

No problem.
If there were a database on the Internet that gave all the information you want Sherlock Investigations would be out of business.
However, for a small monthly fee, searchsystems.net has links to many thousands of public databases. Besides googling a persons name, you might find what you're looking for here.
As licensed private investigators, we have access to proprietary databases the public can't gain access to.

Anonymous said...

I guess this is a very smart move on your part to handle the queries in a peaceful way without disturbing your main work due to excessive enquiry calls…

Anonymous said...

I need to track my spouse. I saw emails arranging ameeting between her and man in a New York Hotel. I plan to perhaps wait in the lobby to try to spot her. I don't want to hide, if she sees me, so be it. However, what's the best methods to 'blend in'. Also, is there any cell phone GPS tracking software that i could use to track her whereabouts that does NOT randomly send texts to her phone, ie: TrickerTracker?

Skipp Porteous said...

Have a professional do it.