Random Saftey Tips from Be Your Own Detective

Wow! - I just realized that I have not posted for nearly a week. I have been busy in my new job, but I thought I had been making posts more regularly.

What I decided to do, was make a quick post about safety tips. Not stuff like use your turn signals and such, but some real life safety tips for real live people. These are not in any particular order, just some points to consider.

1. When walking to your car or to your house keep your keys in your hand. Keys can make a great make-shift weapon. Also, if something starts happening you have your keys out already, and you don't have to fumble/digg for your keys.

2. Don't be talking on your cell phone as you are entering your house or car. You do not need to be distracted when entering your home or your car. These are likely times for an ambush by a wanna-be badguy. If you are on the phone it is hard to call for help. The person on the other end of the line may not think you are serious if you start asking for help (especially if you tend to be a joker).

3. Be armed. I don't mean pepper spray - but that is better than nothing. Now some places you may go it is illegal to carry a firearm or even a knife (schools, bars, courthouse). But in normal situations, be armed. Heck, even liberals arm themselves! If you arm yourself - know how to use the weapon. Practice with it. If it is a handgun, know how to fire, reload, and how to safely carry it. If you choose a knife - the same principles apply.

4. If you are in a city, and someone pulls a gun on you - run! Yes, I said run. If you can run to/behind cover do so. Concealment is better than nothing, but cover is best. What is cover? Stuff bullets don't go through - normally brick walls, engine blocks, dirt - things like that. Most would-be badguys are not trained on firearms and are unlikely to get a kill shot off on you. In most cities, 70-90% of people shot with a firearm survive because they get to a hospital in time. If you are in a rural area, your survival rate diminishes because of the time it takes to get to the hospital. The odds are in your favor to run. Of course, if you are armed - AFTER you take cover - return fire!

5. Always look for an alternate "out." Remember that defensive driving course? In driving it works! Also whenever you are walking or in a business/restaurant - be observant of alternative exits in case someone goes postal, there is a fire, or other emergencies. Remember - some places offer up you making your own new exit - windows, interior walls, etc. I am not talking being paranoid - just be observant of thse things - it takes all of 2 seconds.

These are just some random safety tips to check out. Maybe I will make this a regular thing.

Remember - Stay Safe!

Be Your Own Detective - How to Make the Trash Run

I recently wrote a post about finding information in other's trash. I just wanted to expand a bit on that. First Jack wrote a great article on Dumpster Diving. He points out how con men get stuff from the trash to use.

I debated if I should give a "how to" on making a trash run. I decided to - whether to do it as your own detective, or what to watch for.

First - I want to point out that trash is considered abandoned property. Once the trash is taken to the curb, you no longer have ownership of it. The containers you do, the contents - no.

You will likely have a "target" for the trash run (unless you are a lousey crook that wants to commit identity theft). Find out from your city when the garbage runs are made. Now make your plans carefully.

The trash run is best made with a pickup truck or panel van. If your target uses trash bags - great! It makes it so much easier. Go by the target in the early morning hours after the trash is set by the curb. You can grab the trash bags and toss them in the back of the truck and take off to your sorting site. You will need a well ventilated garage or if it is not raining - a back yard can do. Spread out plastic (it WILL be messey!). Use latex or plastic gloves and go through the trash.

Have extra bags ready to toss out what you don't want. Invariably the best stuff with information is stuck to a dirty diaper or has puke on it. You can dry and keep the paper or copy the information with a pencil and note pad. If you have done this before you will understand why I do not say pen - they fail, or don't work, and you will likely want to toss it after the job is done.

After you are finished - you will want to roll up the spread out plastic and throw that away. If you are really worried about getting the crap (literally) on your clothes, there are throw away painters suits and such that are not that expensive. You can cover up with those first if you like and just throw them away when you are done. You can use regular shopping bags from Wal-Mart and duct tape to protect your shoes -very cheap , yet effective.

In some cases - you may need to purchase matching trash containers ahead of time and just swap them out. That is the easiest, Even if your target realizes the containers were swapped - it is more than likely too late.

So now you know how to make the trash run. Have fun!.

Be Your Own Detective - Investigation Mistakes to Avoid

Sometimes to be a good investigator may seem to be “cold hearted.”


I was thinking about “unsolved cases” and realized that the reason some cases remain unsolved was because of mistakes made early on in the investigation. One of the mistakes and investigator sometimes makes is they are worried about thing like hurting the feelings of family members or others related to the case. Another mistake is taking into account politics when conducting the investigation. Let’s look at these two factors-


Avoiding “hurt feelings”


The most popular case that comes to mind, where avoiding hurt feelings hindered the investigators is the JonBenet Ramsey Case. First, I am not finger pointing per say – I am not bad mouthing the investigators, it is easy to look back at a case, and comment on it compared to how things look like when you are in the middle of it. It is obvious though, that pressure from the press, and who knows where else, and avoidance of offending family members resulted in the investigators not looking as hard at family members as they could have. This is why I say and investigator sometimes has to be “cold hearted.”



The investigators knew that in the majority of child murder cases like this, a family member is the one who committed the murder. That is not always the case – there is the occasional serial killer or the pedophile that ends up murdering a victim to try to cover his other crime.


Taking in account politics:


Now in one way you need to look at politics in the case it may be a motive for the crime. On the flip side – you cannot worry about political repercussions in your case because you find something out. The biggest problem with this is the media. They always want to know , or feel they have a “right to know” about investigations before they are complete. It is normally just plain stupid to release any information about a case before the investigation is complete. There are a few exceptions: You may want to bait the criminal – call him out, so to speak. The other is, you may need to warn the public, or you may need the public’s assistance with finding a suspect or vehicle. Other than those two reasons – the best thing said about an ongoing investigation is nothing. Of course, private investigators violate the law if they discuss their cases with anyone (unless the client directs them to).


So what does all this mean to you if you want to be your own detective? It means that you may not always be popular while conducting your investigation. It is highly possible you will piss people off, or offend someone when conducting the investigation. Remember Death records are a sure-fire find for someone, yet people are sometimes offended if you check there.

Y'all stay safe!

Be Your Own Detective - More Dumb Criminal Stories

I was going to make two different posts the last two days. Well, between power outages and lack of transportation to where I could properly log-on to blogger, my posts kept getting not quite done! So to play is "safe" I am posting stuff I have saved on my computer. Some days I can be almost clever.

Here are two more "award winning" dumb criminal stories!

First, there is the clever robber who was going to sneak away with his lights off!

Meet Joseph Williams, accused of robbing Kelly's Gulf in East Stroudsburg. Then he drove away with his lights off and ran a red light, which everyone knows is how you avoid drawing attention to yourself. Oh, and police say he's on the Gulf station's video. He's a star!

I found that story here.


Then there is the guy that was dumb enough to be caught by the same sting, not once, but twice!

Eddie Robert Ramirez, the loser deluxe charged with stealing a police bait car just five days after being released from prison for – guess what? – stealing a police bait car.

Prison sure taught him a lesson, didn't it?

I found that story here.

Sometimes, people make it so obvious that they get caught really easily. Then, of course, you have those who are clever enough not to stand out.

Be Your Own Detective - Bring Families Back Together

OK, I have another real life story to tell you. It started off when a friend contacted me and said I bet you cannot find Joe (alias name).

Well, so far I have lost that bet. I wonder what I owe on that bet.

I found some old information on Joe, but nothing current. I had found his date of birth, an old address, old phone number. I just have not been able to track him down. I checked jail records and death records (morbid, I know). Those are the places you usually find folks that others do not think to check.


Now, for the turn in the story... My friend said that she had another person to find. This time it is her estranged father. I checked several public records and even some detective sites, only to have a dead end.


I tried using the Net Detective, but they are clever enough to know I was checking from Africa, and they do not let people in Africa use their services. (probably a really good thing).

I contacted the service department and told them my situation. They were able to verify that I am me (ok kind of a dumb statement, but true).

So thanks to the great customer service of the Net Detective, I was able to finally use it. The Net detective found the long lost dad.

Now daughter and father can be together for Father's Day! - Can I hear a heartfelt "awwww" - I am not being facetious either. OK, I know this story has a plug, but if you really want a "people finder" that works, and is a great deal - try the Net Detective.


Stay Safe!

My Squidoo Lens "Be a Phone Detective" has PR5

Horray for me! I have no idea how my little Squidoo Lens earned a Google PR5, but it did. Now all I have to figure out, is why it has a Google PR5 and this blog has a PR N/A. Go figure. There is more fresh useful information here, than on my lens, so who knows?

What is funny is all the folks that say "how to" get better page ranking or better recognition by Google all tell me things I already do for this blog, and any of that which is done by me for the Squidoo Lens, I have done 10 times as much for this blog.

Yay anyways... hopefully I will be back with more investigation stuff for you.

Be Safe!!!

Free Public Records Search Links - No Catch!

I have made a free public records links page, that I have been working on for some time. I am still not happy with the layout - but this page is more about information than fluff. I will leave the link up - right underneath my feedburner subscribe link.

Speaking of feedburner, I didn't even realize that I have 11 subscribers! Wow, for a guy that has been averaging about 30 visits a day - wow, I know big woop - I say sarcastically, I have a pretty good loyal following. Now for my readers, I am not dissing you guys. I have worked hard at getting listed in directories, etc (more than 200) for exposure. Maybe it just takes time, but it does get a bit frustrating when I work hard at this blog, and my other blog gets all the ratings, credit and "google love." Ok, my pathetic numbers are probably gonna drive off a few of my faithful stopper-byers, but hey, I am honest.

Maybe I should be like 'Chell and start calling Google the anti-christ or something. All I know is my N/A-ed-ness at Google tends to annoy me. I know page rank isn't everything, but you would thing a search on stuff would point to this blog instead of the other one!

I guess I should take what I can get.

If the Super Duper free links page doesn't help you in your search, maybe you could try my net detective link above or the searchbox on the blog. Yeah they cost, but they are cheaper than a real live private eye.

Be Your Own Detective - Great Investigation Tools

This is our list of investigative tools you can use to conduct you own investigations. Whether you need a reverse phone number lookup, a reverse address finder or a complete background investigation. These tools can help you find just about anyone in the US, in some cases even more. We included descriptors by each one - obviously you will not need each one. If you find one you like, but you aren't sure, just bookmark the page you may use later. You will find many overlaps in these services, so choose wisely.

The National Cell Phone Registry The leading provider of online phone searches. Our powerful tool searches multiple databases of Landline, Mobile and Unlisted Phone Numbers to bring you the most up-to-date and accurate data.

CivilRecords.org Great for researching civil court records. Find information of Divorces, Judgments, liens, and more – from thousands of sources.

CourtRecords.org You can check all kinds of court records here, both civil and criminal.

CourtRegistry.org One of the most complete search sites on a person. All sorts of court records, property records and more…

CriminalRegistry.org Perform Unlimited Criminal Records Searches on Anyone. There are no limits and no restrictions to the amount of searches you can make.

Email-411.com There are 4 different searches you can do, including reverse email search.

Federal-Records.org The public records search site that specializes in Federal Court records.

FindPublicRecords.com THE public records search site in one convenient location. Search records throughout the country.

GovernmentRegistry.org Effortlessly lookup different reports in many records categories available 24/7 and downloadable to your computer. Coverage area includes all of the United States

InstantBackgroundReport.com FAST, ACCURATE, AND USER-FRIENDLY live background reports. We have spent millions of dollars to acquire our own data and public records databases, so that you get what you are looking for - quickly and efficiently! Our industry leading detailed background reports include phone numbers, possible relatives, properties, civil actions for selected states, plus a new integrated instant criminal and sex offender record check summary, including names, details, state of offense, selected offense types (includes sex offenders and terrorists).

Investigate123.com Lets you utilize a network of multiple data sources from thousands of sources, public and private, quickly and conveniently right to your screen. Find the information you are seeking without the need of hiring a professional investigator.

LocatePeople.org Use our database of more that one billion records to locate friends, relatives, lost loves, classmates, or anyone else. Fast and complete reports.

Net Detective - Professional background and people search system. This is the same tool used by many private investigators across the US.

PhoneRegistry.com A powerful tool that searches multiple databases of Landline, Mobile and Unlisted Phone Numbers to bring you the most up-to-date and accurate data.

ReverseGenie.com Now with the newly passed laws and databases available here you too can investigate and locate practically anyone - job applicants, potential dates, neighbors, lost relatives, even friends. You can obtain the information you want about practically anyone in the United States, UK and Canada! Think of this as the latest high tech "crisscross" or city directory.

ReverseMobile.com The original reverse cell phone lookup site. We have records for more than 70% of all cellular numbers and over 95% of unlisted phone numbers in the US.

Reverse Phone Detective This is the most complete reverse cell phone lookup we have found on the web. Tests show that it is 98% effective in finding cell phone records and 97% effective for unlisted numbers.

ReverseRecords.org All sorts of reverse lookups available at this site. Reverse phone number lookup, reverse address, a very complete search site.

SSNRecords.org This is one of the few online search sites available for Social Security Numbers.

StateRegistry.org This site has state records from all 50 states.

WebInvestigator.org Our instant nationwide search system and view the records and reports within minutes. You can get the report you are looking for easily and effortlessly. Enjoy instant data lookups to ensure you are always on top of changes in any reports and records.

Webstigate.com Our most popular instant nationwide search system. It will check thousands of sources, public databases, and proprietary search databases and let you download and view the records reports within minutes. You can get the report in minutes!

Old But True Story - No Need for a Background Check

What seems to be many ages ago, when I worked for the Sheriff’s Department, I went to this burglary call. A small convenience store in the country had been burglarized. - Yeah, we say burglarized, even though burgled is technically correct.

The front window next to the door was broken and items had been taken in what appeared to be “in a hurry.” Only really important stuff, like beer and cigarettes had been taken. Maybe some magazines had been too. That was the obvious stuff anyways. I really don't remember if Slim Jims and chips were stolen.

At the time, we did not know if any cash was gone. There was a busted open case of Old Milwaukee Light with a couple of cans left behind, so obviously the thief had impeccable taste in beer. :)

Of course, one more item was left behind in the parking lot - a checkbook. Guess what we found when we went to address on the checkbook? The guy’s car was in the driveway, still half- loaded with stuff from the store. You know we had a sense of humor – we told him we were there in reference to his lost checkbook. We had a nice pair of matching Smith and Wesson bracelets for him too.

So, to be your own detective is not always rocket science, as often the people you are checking on are closer to the bottom of the “food chain” than the top.

Be Your Own Detective - Know Someone by Their Trash

First, I am going to show you a story that was on the internet.

WINTER PARK, Fla. -- It was called a criminal's dream come true -- a trash bin full of documents containing private information.

A tip led authorities to the trash bin just off U.S. Highway 17-92 in
Winter Park.

Investigators said it was stuffed with sensitive information like divorce papers, W-2 forms, Social Security numbers and bank statements with account numbers on them. The attorney general's office called in the Winter Park Police Department to collect the paperwork.

"There's a lot of personal information in these documents contained, and
it's serious as to how they get out here and why they are here. We need to find out and back track why they got here," Winter Park Police Department Capt. A.S. King said.

Authorities said the documents apparently came from cases handled by local
law firms, including the DeWitt law firm, Sarah Arnold Esq., and Mediation Services of Central Florida.The attorneys will be required to inform former clients that their private information may have been compromised. You can find the article here.

OK, I did not show you this story, to tell you to be careful about your trash (though you should). I put it here to show you that the trash run is one of the most effective ways to get information on someone. You would be surprised at what can be found in your trash, even if you shred all of your credit card and bank statements. Seemingly innocuous things like junk mail reveal things about you. Often it has your full name, or phone number whether or not it is listed.

The main point is - if you want to know someone, check out their trash. Not only will you know their name and stuff, but what they like to eat, smoke, and drink, if they do all of those things. Oh yeah, and watch out for lawyers :P

Once you get some good info, you can use something like Government Records.com to check them out further. :))

(I did have to plug something, it has been a while)

Be Safe!!

He Should Have Checked Her Background Before He Dated Her

Here is another example that you may want to be your own detective and check out the person you are dating with a background check. This is from an April 17th Story.

A 52-year-old career thief and mother of six was convicted yesterday of secretly stealing thousands of dollars from her boyfriend and stabbing him to death before his body was found burning along an Anne Arundel County road.

Two weeks before her trial was to begin, Cynthia J. McKay entered a guilty plea to charges of second-degree murder and felony theft, ducking a possible life sentence in a crime that ensnared two of her sons. She now faces a maximum penalty of 30 years.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys involved in the case said piecing together not just the death of Anthony Fertitta, whose body was found ablaze not far from McKay's Millersville townhouse in February 2006, but McKay's past made the case one of the most complicated they had ever handled.McKay's previous husband died in a Christmas Day fire in 2002, and she pleaded guilty in 2003 to stealing more than $200,000 from a Catholic seminary in Baltimore.

With her plea yesterday, she has been convicted a dozen times, spanning more than 20 years and several counties.Released from prison in July 2005 after stealing from an elderly Delaware woman, McKay moved to Millersville and began dating Fertitta in the fall.

The 50-year-old UPS driver and warehouse worker did not know he was dating a convicted con artist, prosecutors said.

You can find the rest of the story here. Remember to Stay Safe!

My New Lens is on Squidoo: Be Your Own Detective

I made a Be Your Own Detective Lens, hopefully to send more traffic to my website. Google seems to love Squidoo lenses, no matter what their squidoo ranking.

Anyways, it isn't much really, just another way to try to generate a bit more traffic and recognition.

P.S. If you are a squid - please rate my lens :)) <--shameless plug

Surveillance Tip - Static Vehicle Surveillance

When you want to be your own detective, sometimes you need to conduct static vehicle surveillance, you must be far enough away and inconspicuous. If you can see them, they can see you.




You can get close if you have the proper surveillance vehicle (like the ones shown). Otherwise, you will stand out like a sore thumb.














Here are some common things that give you away: On hot days, air conditioner condensation pooled under the vehicle. On cold days, the heated exhaust can be seen from the running engine. What am I saying here? If you need to keep the engine running - you are likely to be noticed. Where I am from in South Texas, you cannot sit in a closed vehicle in the Summer and survive. The temperature will get hot enough inside most cars to cook meat. So you will need special equipment or to keep the car running with the A/C on to keep from being cooked alive.

Here are some handy tips:

• So, stay way back. If possible become "invisible."
• An appropriate magnetic sign (like a cable company or termite service) with a hard hat and worker's vest can make you much less of a worry to people who do see you parked.
• Have a pee bottle. Yeah you may have to wait a while and a pee bottle can be a life saver.
• Do NOT take a big Gulp or other ginormous drink with you (see above).
• Make sure your camera/video recorder has good batteries
• Have a pen and pad handy to take notes. (on a clipboard is better and it goes with the hard hat)
• If you have a team (can be just a friend) Switch vehicles and locations.
• If you can park in a crowded parking lot, that gives you great cover, and you are a lot less likely to be noticed.
• The Best Tip - do surveillance from a building instead of a vehicle.

Note: if the Police come to check you out, you are busted. You may want to tell them what you are doing, since being a stalker is against the law. If they look in the car and see the notes and the camera, they are likely to know what you are doing. You could make up a story about suspecting that your spouse has a girlfriend/boyfriend in the neighborhood (unless that really is what you are doing). Or you could say you were supposed to meet someone about buying a dog. The main point is, if the Police check you out - you were standing out, and you need to try something else.

I hope these tips help you to "be your own detective"

Stay Safe!

New Address!!

You do not have to change your bookmarks - but I have placed the blog into the Be Your Own Detective Website. If you check the address in the window above - you will see that it is now http://blog.beyourowndetective.net

No major changes, not yet anyways - but I finally merged it with my website. As soon as I get situated here in Liberia - I will tweak my websites some more :) I need to put the blog link into the website.

Update on Ecourse

I have worked on the e-course for Be Your Own Detective. It is very close to completion. My recent deployment to Liberia has slowed my work on the course. I have plenty of information, my problem has been simplifying the course to keep it down to under 10 lessons.

Be Your Own Detective ...the online business

I finally got the website up: http://beyourowndetective.net

It is touted as: the right place to start your own online investigation. Whether you are just trying to locate someone or you need to conduct your own background investigation, this is the right place. Use the same tools private investigators use to locate people check out your date, do a nanny background check, verify someone's identity, check arrest records, check criminal records, check court records like bankruptcies, divorces, and legal judgments. Get sex offender reports, birth records, DWI and DUI records. Find information like property records, business filings and more!...I have a few "sister sites" too. It looks good so far, but it still has a ways to go. One of the things I am excited about, is the fact that you have instant access to searching state records of each state in the US. Now, I am just waiting on indexing. I can't wait for it to show up in the search engines.

There is still lots of work: short lessons on how to do stuff and my online course. I will also compare online detective programs there. Lots of good stuff.

I Stand Corrected!

I just recently stated that the Web Investigator had the biggest bang for the buck of investigative tools. I was wrong. I still believe it is the most complete investigative tool available, however, the Net Detective is very nearly as complete, and the sign up fee covers three years of unlimited searches.

Three years! That means you can do any of these background searches for three years.

Addresses
Babysitters
Background Checks
Background Checks
Background Information
Bankruptcies
Business Searches
Coaches
Court Records
Current Addresses
Death Records
Divorce Records
Employee Screening
Home Values
Identity Theft
Location Screening
Maintenance Workers
Marriage Records
Online Dating
People Search
Personal Searches
Phone Numbers
Phone Numbers
Plumbers
Property Ownership Verification
Safety Searches
Social Security Numbers
Social Security Numbers
Tax Liens
Teachers
Tenant Screening
Work History

Like I said, I stand corrected - Happy detecting