Archive for the ‘PI Business’ Category

The term “private investigator” may not be the most common search phrase on the Internet, but many of the terms we use in our work, such as, “people search” and “people finders” are among the Hitwise top legal industry search queries. The most popular Google search terms probably aren’t recognizable by most of us.

It may soon become a federal crime to obtain a person’s telephone records. The Senate made that possible Friday night when they approved legislation similar to a bill passed by the House.

The Senate bill increases the proposed fine to $500,000 and includes imprisonment up to 10 years in cases involving domestic abuse. The penalties can even be greater if classified as a special circumstance. The bill also details penalties and prison time for anyone who buys or sells the deceptively acquired phone records. The caveat is that those involved must know the records were obtained deceptively.

This legislation specifically addresses the act of ‘pretexting’ to obtain a person’s telephone records without permission.

“My main concern is that it is still not clear how the term ‘telephone records’ will be defined. Will this term mean toll records, name and address, or any other information maintained by the phone company?” Jimmie Mesis, PI Magazine Editor-in-Chief

This definition will certainly become much clearer before it heads to the Oval Office for the President’s signature.

As expected, there is an exemption for law enforcement. However, there is also an exemption for private detectives, but only if they are hired to acquire the confidential records by law enforcement.

More information on this topic will be featured in the upcoming issue of PI Magazine You can find more details on this bill by clicking here.

Do you and your company want to be featured on primetime television? Then COURT TV wants to hear from you!

COURT TV profiles individuals who are passionate about their work, personable, outgoing, and comfortable in front of the camera. They are currently seeking PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS who are actively working on cases and conducting fieldwork. If you are interested, please send in the following materials:

Biography, curriculum vitae, or summary of experience
Photograph of yourself
Videotape (any format) of you describing what you do and one of your most fascinating cases
Do not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain exposure as an authority in your field!

Please send your materials to:
Eric Neuhaus
Director, Talent Development Primetime Entertainment
Court TV
600 Third Avenue, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10016

Please, NO phone calls or emails. A Court TV representative will contact you directly if interested. Materials cannot be returned.

To learn more about Court TV, visit www.courttv.com.

Facebook, MySpace, Linked In and even Yahoo! Groups are part of the booming social networking sites on the Internet that are a hot source of untapped background material. You probably check public records and personal information databases for background screening on a pre employment matter. Surveillance is a standard investigative tool on domestic and insurance claim cases. You may even do a cursory Google search on a company or business executive name. But here are two questions that should be answered in the affirmative –if you want to impress your client and give her more of the available information on your subject– but will likely respond with a unanimous “no”. Do you look behind the major search engines –to the invisible Internet– to gather background on your target? And, are you promoting Internet research, as a specific category of services, to your clients? Your clients are primed for you to offer this service to them because they already know it’s a rich trove of personal information!

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A private security company operating in North Dakota may review a videotape to detect theft but only a licensed private investigator “may investigate to determine a
person’s conduct”, according to a recent opinion issued by the North Dakota attorney general.

Therefore, it is my opinion that a private security service may not review videotapes after the fact to determine what activity took place because that activity constitutes “investigating,” which requires a private investigative service license. Whether any particular activity is “investigating” rather than providing “security service” is usually a question of fact on which this office will not opine.12 However, since the information on the gaming reports at issue generally does not involve theft or the detection of theft, it is my opinion that the review of videotapes after the fact in order to ascertain sufficient information to complete those gaming reports clearly falls outside providing a “security service” and is an investigative activity which requires a private investigative service license.

Auto theft continues to decline but California regions top the list for the highest vehicle theft rates, according to the NAMIC article, Nationally, Auto Theft on Pace for Second Straight Year of Decline.