The role of a private investigator is often surrounded by mystery. After all, private investigators are the professionals that people turn to when faced with challenging, complex, and sometimes delicate situations. The methods used by private investigators are often the subject of dramatic portrayals on television and in movies. However, you may be wondering if the role of a private investigator is anything like this, and how do private investigators find someone in real life.
With fraud cases continuing to rise globally, it is now more important than ever for companies to carry out due diligence and investigate potential suspicious activity to protect themselves. This is where a private investigator can help.
In this blog post, we’ll unlock the mystery of how private investigators operate when searching for someone, including the techniques and information they use.
Techniques to Locate Individuals
Trying to locate someone who doesn’t want to be found can feel like an impossible task. Most people have attempted to locate the individual they’re looking for before they turn to a private investigator for help. So, how can private investigators find people when there whereabouts is completely unknown? The answer to this question is skiptracing techniques.
Skiptracing is widely used by private investigators and law enforcement. The technique involves a series of stages that the investigator works through to gather the information needed to trace the individual they are trying to find.
Gathering Key Information
Finding someone who doesn’t want to be found can be extremely complicated. At the very start of the investigation, the private investigator must start by gathering as much key information as possible about the person they are trying to locate. So, how do private investigators get information?
Before they begin their search, private investigators begin by gathering as much basic information as possible about the person they need to trace. This information includes their first, middle and last names. Plus, any aliases and aka names that they may have used in the past.
As well as requiring the person’s name, private investigators also need further information, including photographs of the person. If possible, it’s helpful to provide the private investigator with the missing person’s address and details of any locations they have connections with.
The Art of Tracking Down People
Searching for an individual who is determined not to be found can raise a significant number of challenges. However, when an experienced private investigator searches for someone, they bring with them a wealth of knowledge to facilitate their search efforts.
Private investigators have a variety of tools at their disposal to help them track down people who don’t want to be found. A lot of this know-how only comes from experience and by developing a strong instinct for how people behave and the ability to correctly predict their behavior.
Strategies for Obtaining Data
There are many different stages or steps that make up a successful fraud investigation. However, you must always begin the process by gathering evidence, such as financial records, employee testimonies and more. This ensures that any accusations that you make are not unfounded and will not be dismissed when it comes to taking legal action against the perpetrator(s).
Once all of the relevant evidence has been gathered, it’s time to analyze the data in front of you and draw a conclusion based on this. You are then able to confront the involved parties before passing this information on to the necessary parties, including law enforcement.
Utilizing Technology in Corporate Fraud Investigations
Strategies for obtaining data about a person who needs to be found vary greatly. These range from the traditional investigative methods, such as looking through telephone listings and even searching through garbage (where it is legal to do so), to technology-driven strategies for obtaining data.
Google and social media searches are the most basic strategies for obtaining data about a person. Searching court records and looking for voter registration information are also both helpful strategies for obtaining data.
Human intelligence gathering is also often still used by private investigators. This involves the kind of traditional information gathering that springs to mind when people think of private investigators. Human intelligence gathering methods used vary according to the needs of the case. These methods can include surveillance, contacting past connections of the individual, for example, former employers, and speaking with their neighbors and former associates. Even this anecdotal evidence can help to inform the investigation and provides the private investigator with a deeper insight into the person’s behavior. This can be extremely beneficial in predicting their next move.
Unveiling the Secrets of Private Investigators
In addition to these more basic methods of information gathering, private investigators also have access to databases that contain a wealth of data. These databases aren’t available to the general public, only licensed personal investigators are able to access the information contained within them. These databases bring together information about individuals from public records through to their connections with other people and businesses.
Another secret resource available to private investigators is their own instinct and know-how. Through experience, a private investigator can make use of information, even if it is only partially correct. Synthetic identities are often used by people who don’t want to be found. A synthetic identity contains a mix of both genuine and falsified information, such as a misspelled surname with a correct first name. Investigators can use this information as a basis for tracing the person and their current location.
Tips for Finding Missing Persons
Using the services of a licensed, experienced private investigator, such as The Cobalt Agency, is the best way to trace someone quickly. However, if you want to start gathering information yourself, you can follow these tips:
- Try to establish the person’s full name.
- Search social media to trace the missing person’s profile.
- Use a search engine and enter the details you have about the person to gather further information.
Sources of Investigative Data
There are many sources of investigative data available, but be aware that many of these may only be available to licensed private investigators.
Sources of investigative data include:
- Vital records – you can access birth, death, marriage and divorce information by contacting the state or area where the record is held.
- Open source intelligence tools (OSINT) – these platforms are available to private investigators.
- News archives – news archive software such as LexisNexis holds news archives not generally available on internet searches.
