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 - 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!

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!!

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!