The March podcast can be listened to by clicking here.

This episode features the following guest private investigators:

• David Pelligrinelli of AFX Corp, LLC in Dawsonville, GA
• Peter Psarouthakis of Investigative & Security Professionals For Legislative Action (ISPLA).
• Alan Goodman of Lawyers Investigating Service, Inc in Portland, ME

David Pelligrinelli also wrote an excellent article “Property Title Forensics” posted here on Pursuit Magazine.

Don’t forget to check out The American Private Investigator’s website resources and events pages for the organizations and upcoming events mentioned in this podcast.

Working in rural areas and small towns is touchy because almost everybody knows everybody, and they all recognize strangers.  I had Randy helping me with this one, and we each had a vehicle.  He had a regular passenger car, and I had our van.  We had a set of two-way radios too.

To start out, we parked Randy’s car in a church parking lot out in the country.  We both got in the van to watch this guy’s workplace and follow him to his home.  Turns out he lived out in the country on a paved county road with a large cornfield across from it and fields all around the farmstead.  Not a very good place to conduct surveillance.  We have to be careful not to break any trespass laws when we do this.  We have to stay on public property or have permission to be on private ground.  So laying out in one of the fields was out of the question.  We needed some way to keep an eye on the place, so we drove back to Randy’s car to discuss our strategy.

The farmstead on the blacktop road was about 1/8 mile off the main highway into town.  It was summertime and sweet corn time.  While Randy began drive-by’s with his car, I went into town and bought three large paper bags full of sweet corn from the grocery store.  Then I went out to our guy’s turnoff and set up my stand.  I opened up the back of the van and put a blanket up inside to hide all our surveillance gear.  I put out a sign advertising sweet corn at a substantially higher price than people could buy it in town, so I didn’t anticipate much business.  But I could see our guy’s house from my stand with binoculars.  It was about four miles around the section to accomplish a drive-by. As Randy was finishing up this one, he suddenly said over the radio, “He’s working out in his yard.”  Music to my ears.

We took down our sweet corn stand and both drove to the church parking lot.  Our decision was to both get in the van, with Randy driving and me with the video camera trying to get footage as we drove by the house.  It didn’t work out too well on the first pass, so I had an idea.  I told Randy to drive close to the farm and turn the ignition switch off and on like he was having car trouble.

Then I told him to get out, kick the tire, and cuss loud enough for the guy out in his yard to hear him.  We wanted him to see Randy walking back to town for help.  Randy played his part perfectly and left me locked in the back of the van directly across from the guy’s house.  I was there for over an hour watching this guy re-sheet the roof of his shed.  He drove plywood over on a tractor with forks on the front of it, got off and climbed a ladder, and took the sheets of plywood off the forks and threw them onto the roof.  I taped it all as he laid the pieces in place and nailed them, swinging the hammer like a pro.

I called Randy on the radio and told him it was time to come get me.  I told him to bring his car, pull over on my side of the road facing the van, and open the hood.  The sliding door of the van was facing away from our guy, so I snuck out and acted like I had arrived in Randy’s car with him.  Amazingly enough, we got the van running fairly quickly and both drove away grinning from ear to ear.

T. W. Person is a veteran of seventeen years as a licensed private investigator.  His investigative roots began with the US Air Force, where he held a Top Secret clearance as a Russian linguist.  It was there he first encountered the lure of searching for and finding that which others endeavor to hide. His investigative career has taken him into the world of civil lawsuits, cheating spouses, drug dealers and murderers.  He has become adept at surveillance, witness interviews and information searches.  Now of retirement age, he still enjoys the hunt.  He is married with two grown sons and six granddaughters.

Copies of his book, Milo Powell, PI, are available at Xlibris.com, at the web site www.milopowellpi.com or they can be obtained by emailing milopowellpi@aol.com.  Using the email method, they can get a signed softcover copy.  The Xlibris and web site price is set by the publisher at $19.95 plus shipping for softcover, but we can offer them a Pursuit Magazine special for $17 plus $2 for shipping ($19 total) if they order by email.

Milo Powell, PI is a hard-to-put-down book filled with the author’s actual case experiences. His alias is sometimes used by the author when it is deemed best not to be accurately identified.  That in itself can be a huge benefit in some cases.  The short stories in this book take you into the world of civil lawsuits, infidelity, surveillance and criminals caught up in drugs and murder.  You will experience interesting, strange and sometimes ironic tales with a little bit of PI how-to mixed in.  Good private investigators are as unique as any other cadre of individuals, but they do all share some common traits.  They are naturally curious, don’t like to give up and as you’ll see in these pages, are creative.  One must-have trait of a successful investigator is persistence.  Author T.W. Person has minimized the monotonous parts and leaves you with entertaining accounts using anonymous real people and true case history.   If you’re a PI yourself, you may pick up some useful tips or even spark some memories.  Whatever the case, this book will provide you with a sometimes whimsical, sometimes serious look inside the cases of a PI in Midwest America.

Private investigators and investigation are a staple in our world today and many of the stigmas and preconceptions once connected with them are fading.  Experience the real story with Milo Powell, PI.   For more information, log on to www.milopowellpi.com

About the Author

T. W. Person is a veteran of seventeen years as a licensed private investigator.  His investigative roots began with the US Air Force, where he held a Top Secret clearance as a Russian linguist.  It was there he first encountered the lure of searching for and finding that which others endeavor to hide.

His investigative career has taken him into the world of civil lawsuits, cheating spouses, drug dealers and murderers.  He has become adept at surveillance, witness interviews and information searches.  Now of retirement age, he still enjoys the hunt.  He is married with two grown sons and six granddaughters.

Copies of the book are available at Xlibris.com, at the web site www.milopowellpi.com or they can be obtained by emailing milopowellpi@aol.com.  Using the email method, they can get a signed softcover copy.  The Xlibris and web site price is set by the publisher at $19.95 plus shipping for softcover, but we can offer them a Pursuit Magazine special for $17 plus $2 for shipping ($19 total) if they order by email.

Editor’s Note: I read this book from cover to cover.  In one word, it was excellent! I found myself identifying with the author in almost every story. I found lessons to be learned, for both novice and veteran investigators alike, with every turn of the page. Thanks for the copy T.W.

And in the Senate…

S. 3037, “Enhancing Oversight and Security at United States Missions Act of 2010”, a bill to increase oversight of private security contractors and establish the proper ratio of U.S. Government security personnel to private security contractors at U.S. missions where Armed Forces are engaged in conflict operations was introduced February 24th by Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO]. It is cosponsored by Sen. Russell D. Feingold [D-WI] and Sen. Patrick B. Leahy [D-VT] and has been referred to the Committee of Foreign Relations.

S 2950, “Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2009”, a bill extension sponsored by Sen. Charles E. Schumer [D-NY], was passed by the House and Senate to amend the Protect Act to extend by 14 months the Child Safety Pilot Program allowing certain volunteer organizations to obtain national and state criminal history checks on their volunteers.  It became Public Law No.: 111-143 on March 1.

S 3029, “StartUp Visa Act of 2010”, was introduced on February 24th by Sen. John F.  Kerry [D-MA] and cosponsored by Sen. Richard G. Lugar [R-IN] and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The purpose of the bill is to establish an employment-based visa for alien entrepreneurs who have received significant capital from investors to establish a business in the U.S.

In the U.S. Supreme Court…

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to extend the Second Amendment guarantee of a right to own a gun, according to an ABA publication reviewed today. But the high court in McDonald v. City of Chicago also seems likely to allow municipalities some authority to regulate that right. The dominant sentiment on the court may be to extend the amendment beyond the federal level, based on the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of “due process.”

The focus of the court’s initial debate may be how extensively the right to keep and bear arms should be spelled out. “An attempt by an attorney for the cities of Chicago and Oak Park , Ill. , defending local bans on handguns in those communities, to prevent any application of the constitutional gun right to states, counties and cities looked forlorn and even doomed.”

ISPLA has previously commented on this case as well as the Supreme Court case of DC v Heller in which Al Cavasin, Peter Psarouthakis and Bruce Hulme, all now members of ISPLA’s Executive Committee, were instrumental in persuading several state and national investigative and security associations to join in an amicus brief on behalf of a District of Columbia security officer. The 2008 successful verdict in that litigation became the precursor to the current Supreme Court case of McDonald v. City of Chicago

A Final Comment…

President Obama today endorsed reconciliation, a tactic he plans to use to push his healthcare overhaul wherein passage may be accomplished by simple majority. In such a scenario the House passes the health bill passed in the Senate and the Senate then uses reconciliation to pass fixes in the bill agreeable to the House thus thereby passing Republicans and eliminating their ability to filibuster passing the changes with just a simple majority vote.

Investigative & Security Professionals for Legislative Action

The mission of ISPLA is to monitor and identify critical legislative and regulatory issues in order to provide a forum for debate and discussion within the investigative and security professions and to serve as an advocate for these professions. To support and join us in this mission go to www.ISPLA.org

ISPLA Executive Committee
235 N. Pine Street
Lansing, MI 48933
Tel: (734) 428 9663

Access to professional databases, then and now, unquestionably give investigators the opportunity to make more money- even if you are one of those complaining about the cost. (You should have been around when the database companies charged you by the record and the time you were connected to their server! I have it on very good authority, that if it had been a slow month they would throttle back the connection speed to that they could charge more money for the time their clients were connected.) Taking 15 years of inflation and economic adjustments into account, a “comprehensive report” could cost as much as $45 in today’s currency.  Eventually, these commercial database providers evolved and acquired staggering amounts of data and technology made the data cheaper to serve then faster to sort through and obtain, which also made data more affordable.

What I didn’t immediately recognize back then was the legal minefields these databases would eventually become…

The days when just about anyone could gain access to data and pull information on friends, relatives, enemies and “lost loves” out of mere curiosity and a touch of voyeurism were short lived!  This fast and unfettered access to shocking amounts of “private information” horrified an unaware American public in a series of highly publicized stories of major data breeches, murders and an alarming rise in identity theft, which were all being connected in one way or another to professional information brokers.  This sudden awakening also gave rise to a new breed of political crusader; the privacy zealots were born.  It wasn’t long before these neo-politicos would begin to curry favor with their constituents by changing existing laws and producing new laws in an effort to protect consumer privacy.  Thankfully, the database and information brokers did form a trade group, Individual Reference Services Group (IRSG), and made earnest attempts to police themselves through what was coined the “IRSG Principles” whose aim was to educate their clients about the use of reference data, improve data quality, limit access to non-public data, improve security of sensitive data and to promote consumer choice in the marketplace.  While the effort was a little too late in coming and the IRSG eventually disbanded, these early attempts at preserving the professional investigator’s access to restricted information paid off.   

The Fair Consumer Reporting Act (FCRA) was originally enacted in 1970 in an effort to address a growing credit reporting industry in the United States that collected and sold “consumer credit reports” and “investigative consumer reports.”  It was the first official act of Congress to define and place access/use restrictions on “non-public personal information.” Sweeping and substantial amendments to the FCRA were made in the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 that further limited access to information contained in a consumer credit report through a set of “permissible purposes” that were loosely based upon the IRSG principles of access and would later be adopted by the Drivers Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) and the GLBA.  The FCRA also more narrowly defined how non-public personal information could be used and what disclosures had to be made when adverse information was used to make credit or employment decisions deemed unfavorable to the consumer.  While the FCRA did have a widespread effect on access to restricted data, it had the most chilling effect on private investigators and agencies that were in the business of pre-employment background screening. Background screening and FCRA compliance is a topic best served under a separate title.

The DPPA was passed as an amendment to the “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994” in reaction to a series of abuses of information contained in State motor vehicle registration and driver’s license databases.  The murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer in 1989 was paraded as one example of such an egregious misuse of this information. In that instance, a private investigator obtained Rebecca Schaeffer’s address through her California motor vehicle record and sold it to an obsessed fan who used that information to eventually stalk and kill the actress.  The act was amended again in 2000 to provide for even stricter privacy protocols; it more narrowly defined the available permissible purposes used to gain protected records and gave individual states increased power to enact broader protections than those authored by Congress in the DPPA.

A little over 10 years ago Congress also enacted the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999 (GLBA) “to enhance competition in the financial services industry by providing a prudential framework for the affiliation of banks, securities firms, and other financial service providers, and for other purposes.”  These other purposes would famously include comprehensive privacy protection and access restrictions to non-public personal information derived from data obtained, developed and shared by financial institutions. 

In the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) article, “Victoria’s Secret and Financial Privacy,” the author wrote, “Outside the Beltway, it is not well known that a Victoria’s Secret catalog is one of the key reasons that Congress included privacy protections for financial information when passing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The GLBA sought to “modernize” financial services- that is, end regulations that prevented the merger of banks, stock brokerage companies, and insurance companies. The removal of these regulations raised significant risks that these new financial institutions would have access to an incredible amount of personal information, with no restrictions upon its use…”

“In a session where House Commerce Committee Members “marked up” a draft version of the GLBA, Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced an amendment that would add privacy protections. The Markey Amendment was strongly opposed by the banking industry. It added “Title V” to the Act, giving individuals notice and an ability to control some information sharing…” and “Prospects for privacy protection remained dim despite a series of testimonials by Members who recounted their experiences of having their Social Security Numbers and financial information sold…”

However, critical support for the Title V Amendment came from Representative Joe Barton, a conservative Republican and privacy advocate from Texas, who was outraged and embarrassed that he started receiving Victoria’s Secrets catalogs at his Washington, D.C. residence- the address to which he had only given to his Credit Union.

The article went on to say that, “Barton expressed concern that his credit union had sold his address to Victoria’s Secret. Representative Barton noted that he started receiving Victoria’s Secret catalogs at his Washington home. This was troubling- he didn’t want his wife thinking that he bought lingerie for women in Washington, or that he spent his time browsing through such material.” 

On the heels of that experience, Barton supported prohibiting financial institutions from selling their customer’s personal information.  The GLBA, with the newly appended “Title V Privacy” amendment, was then approved by Congress.  It should also be noted that Barton’s ex-wife went on to become a victim of identity theft as well and he has used these issues to further identity theft and personal information privacy legislation.

Thus protecting the privacy of consumer information held by “financial institutions” became the heart of the financial privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999 and there are essentially three principal parts of Title V, the privacy provision in the GLBA: the Financial Privacy Rule, Safeguards Rule and pretexting provisions.  The Financial Privacy Rule regulates the collection and disclosure of customers’ personal financial information by financial institutions. It also applies to companies, whether or not they are financial institutions, who receive such information.  The Safeguards Rule requires all financial institutions to create and deploy safeguards to protect customer information. The Safeguards Rule applies not only to financial institutions that collect information from their own customers, but also to financial institutions “such as credit reporting agencies” that receive customer information from other financial institutions.  Subtitle B of the GLBA titled “Fraudulent Access to Financial Information,” prohibits the practice commonly referred to by private investigators as “Pretexting” in order to obtain personal financial information.  It is important to note that this law also makes soliciting of others to engage in pretexting a crime as well.  In several (very well-publicized) instances the Federal Trade Commission has brought cases against information brokers who engaged in obtaining protected information under false pretense.

So what does the GLBA really mean to the professional investigator as it relates to gaining access to sensitive, non-public personal information on subject’s whom they may be investigating?

Statistically speaking only 458 words out of the over 60,000 words in the GLBA apply to professional database providers and their clients. If an investigator has in the past several years attempted to gain access to GLBA protected data from a professional provider these words should be very familiar as they form the basis of the general exceptions under which non-public personal information can be disclosed to our clients:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TITLE V – PRIVACY

Subtitle A – Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information

SEC. 502. OBLIGATIONS WITH RESPECT TO DISCLOSURES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.

Subsection (e):

GENERAL EXCEPTIONS. – Subsections (a) and (b) shall not prohibit the disclosure of nonpublic personal information-

(1) as necessary to effect, administer, or enforce a transaction requested or authorized by the consumer, or in connection with-
 (A) servicing or processing a financial product or service requested or authorized by the consumer;
 (B) maintaining or servicing the consumer’s account with the financial institution, or with another entity as part of a private label credit card program or other extension of credit on behalf of such entity; or
 (C) a proposed or actual securitization, secondary market sale (including sales of servicing rights), or similar transaction related to a transaction of the consumer;

(2) with the consent or at the direction of the consumer;

(3) (A) to protect the confidentiality or security of the financial institution’s records pertaining to the consumer, the service or product, or the transaction therein;
 (B) to protect against or prevent actual or potential fraud, unauthorized transactions, claims, or other liability;
 (C) for required institutional risk control, or for resolving customer disputes or inquiries;
 (D) to persons holding a legal or beneficial interest relating to the consumer; or
 (E) to persons acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity on behalf of the consumer;

(4) to provide information to insurance rate advisory organizations, guaranty funds or agencies, applicable rating agencies of the financial institution, persons assessing the institution’s compliance with industry standards, and the institution’s attorneys, accountants, and auditors;

(5) to the extent specifically permitted or required under other provisions of law and in accordance with the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, to law enforcement agencies (including a Federal functional regulator, the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, and chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508 (12 U.S.C. 1951–1959), a State insurance authority, or the Federal Trade Commission), self-regulatory organizations, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety;

(6) (A) to a consumer reporting agency in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or
 (B) from a consumer report reported by a consumer reporting agency;

(7) in connection with a proposed or actual sale, merger, transfer, or exchange of all or a portion of a business or operating unit if the disclosure of nonpublic personal information concerns solely consumers of such business or unit; or

(8) to comply with Federal, State, or local laws, rules, and other applicable legal requirements; to comply with a properly authorized civil, criminal, or regulatory investigation or subpoena or summons by Federal, State, or local authorities; or to respond to judicial process or government regulatory authorities having jurisdiction over the financial institution for examination, compliance, or other purposes as authorized by law.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Generally speaking, private investigators should really be more concerned about running afoul of individual state privacy breach laws that have far-reaching civil and criminal implications.  Data breach laws are vastly different from state to state and some have provisions in them allowing state agencies to pursue enforcement actions against violators located well beyond state lines. 

This new reality means that someone with access to GLBA protected data has to be extremely careful when considering whether or not they really have a “permissible purpose.” In an age when information returned in database searches are most probably obtained from sources outside of the state in which the investigator is conducting his or her investigation, it is entirely possible to run afoul of several state data breach laws if not extremely careful.  For example, did you know that it is against North Carolina data breach laws to even speak about protected, personally identifiable information with someone who is not authorized to be in possession of that data?

Generally, the GLBA affects professional investigators in the following three ways:  
 
1.  The GLBA reaffirms, reinforces and then expands upon the FCRA’s definition of “non-public personal information;” most importantly, the GLBA limits access to credit headers because they are a part of the consumer credit report, which is information developed by financial institutions. Credit header information forms the basis of almost all of the information contained in “people search” products and is the foundation upon which all “comprehensive report” database products are built!

Information in the header, or top most portion, of the consumer credit report was once not considered to be derived from financial information because it did not include banking information, credit accounts or financial profiles, per se. The credit header only contained personal identifier information, (name, aliases, date of birth and social security number) current reported address and a list of previously reported addresses. That changed in 2002 when the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed rulings in TransUnion v. FTC, No. 01-5202 (D.C. Cir. 2002) and in IRSG v. FTC, 145 F. Supp. 2d 6, No. 00-1828 (D.D.C. 2001) when both TransUnion, one of the top three consumer reporting agencies, and the IRSG were both unsuccessful in lawsuits against the FTC that were filed in their efforts to overturn GLBA privacy regulations and to have certain data (i.e. credit header information) excluded from the Financial Privacy Rule and the Safeguards Rule specifically.

2.  The GLBA requires those who possess GLBA-protected data to secure and prevent the unauthorized distribution of that data unless the intended receiver is also permitted by exception under the GLBA.
 
3. The GLBA provides severe civil penalties for unauthorized access to data (a data breach) and those who access the information in contravention of the GLBA.  States also have the power to provide for broader protection of non-public private information and to further define what constitutes a data breach and the “reasonable risk of harm” to their citizens.

Why is GLBA compliant data more expensive to obtain than non-GLB compliant data?

It’s better. Plain and simple- you get what you pay for.  The difference between the investigator barely making it and the one who is successful in his or her own business comes down to the quality of their tools.  The investigator using the $.50 “people search” or the $1.00 “criminal history search” is using the same information being marketed and sold to the average consumer.  I have never purchased data at cut rate prices and not expected to get stale, outdated data.  It is more expensive for the top-tier, professional data provider to obtain fresh updates to the information I need and I understand that.  Using data sourced from a professional provider, I can find the lead that will close those cases that others cannot. 

I also want access to non-traditional sources of information.  Professional database companies are actively out looking for data from other “buckets of information” in order to be the best database provider in the industry.  This creatively sourced data is usually only available to companies with the financial capital to afford it.

Ultimately, I want access to billions of records updated everyday… not hundreds of thousands updated once a year and only the top-tier companies can manage that- they also happen to be GLBA compliant.

Database providers have become the convenient, if not vogue, coat hook on which the privacy hawks have hung their hats lately.  It will not be long before they begin to target the consumers of that data as well.  So, the bottom line for me is this:  I choose professional, top-tier GLBA data providers because…

1.  I have a PI license.  I had to go through a great deal of effort and expense to get and keep that license and it is valuable to me.  I want access to information not available to the public and I want to do a better job than my competition.  There are permissible purposes that allow me, as an investigative professional, access to non-public personal information and I understand that I will have to prove that I run a legitimate company, which will mean extra paperwork and time getting properly vetted before being approved for access.  I don’t want to do business with a company that is double-dealing while trying to compete with me by playing both the “business to business market” (me) and the “business to consumer market” (John Q. Public) at the same time.

2.  I need to know where my data comes from, where it was sourced and when it was last updated.  If (when) I am called to court to justify the findings of my investigation, I expect that the foundation upon which I built my investigation is solid. An established professional database provider knows where, when and how his or her data is sourced and takes steps to make sure that it is not collected or shared contrary to the law.  Cut-rate providers don’t usually know exactly where their records are sourced- are they GLB-protected or not? I NEED to know in order to stay out of trouble.  Who will be there to stand behind their data if called upon to do so?  I want to know more about where my data comes from, too, and a professional is not afraid to share that information. 

3.  Professional database providers take the time and effort to train me to be a better investigator and how best to use their product and gain maximum advantage over non-clients, while potentially saving some money on my monthly search bill.  I respect the professional database provider that will tell me that his or her product is not the same as other database providers and helps me understand the strengths and weaknesses of each so that I can use the right tool for the job.  My database providers of choice each regularly tell me that I need to subscribe to multiple sources of information.

4.  I am not an expert on the GLBA, FCRA, DPPA, FDCPA, HIPPA, the Identity Theft Act of 2004 or the data breach laws of 50 individual states; when I have compliance questions I can call someone who understands complex compliance issues.  Professional database companies spend a great deal of time and money to educate their clients.  I expect that level of quality customer service and that if I use their service as prescribed that I will not get into trouble.

5.  Professional database companies materially support the investigation industry.  National and State industry associations do very important work and need the financial support of sponsors.  Database providers contribute to important causes and fund the ongoing fight to preserve my access to the information vital to the success of my business.  I will support those who support me.

I am pleased to announce the contest winner is John Virgili, a video surveillance specialist based in Sarasota, Florida. The new surveillance course coming soon to PIeducation.com will be titled “SURVEILLANCE: Obtaining Evidence that Stands up in Court”. Thank you, John, for your submission… we hope you enjoy your $200 gift certificate to the IRBstore.com!

We want to thank the below individuals for your course title submissions, too; it was a very difficult decision. Thank you for participating and helping spread the word about PIeducation.com:

• C.R. “Bob” Brown
• Rick Nelson
• Darrell Webber
• Linda McCarley-Schiro
• William Pope
• Debra Ferrara
• Kevin Thompson
• Billy Engle
• Marsha Kerrigan
• David Pelligrinelli
• “Denise”
• Bill Golodner
• Mitch Davis

If I missed someone on this list a BIG, HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who entered!  If you haven’t already, you can stay updated with the latest news, announcements and contests like this by subscribing to Pursuit Magazine (for free) on our home page and also becoming our fan on FACEBOOK.

Warmest Regards,

Stephanie Mitchell

Manager of Continuing Education and eLearning, IRBsearch
Managing Editor, Pursuit Magazine

Smartphone users can easily switch between the mobile view and the regular computer-based browser format with the touch of a button.  This version of Pursuit is lite on graphics but has the same great articles you’ve come to expect from the #1 online investigation portal and e-zine on the Internet.

Give it a try and stay current with Pursuit Magazine while on the go!

It is important to note that We are still trying to find a way to bring a more mobile friendly version of our online private investigator magazine to internet capable mobile phone users not using touch-enabled web browsers listed above.  A .mobi version of the site is not too far away.

Interested in reading Pursuit Magazine on your Kindle or other e-book reader?  Drop us a line in the comments section and let us know!

The pinnacle comes when his open case follows him on vacation. A strange twist of natural disasters strands his family and friends in the desert and puts all their lives at risk. Tormented by a death from long ago, he struggles to decode his dreams and ensure the survival of all his loved ones.

Dream Tide features a collection of modern cowboys on motorcycles, a heroic family dog, gunfights and surrealistic natural disasters, all adding up to Nate Abbot discovering that his world has changed forever. A real cliff-hanger not to be missed!

ISBN 978-1-935188-11-7
356 pages / $19.95 USD

Dream Tide is available through the following outlets (click on your preferred link):

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books A Million

Signed copies of Schlefstein’s book are also available through the author directly; $15 plus $5 shipping. Email him your request at scott1@digitalpath.net

Scott A Schlefstein is a former deputy sheriff and firefighter who ran his own legal support business for 14 years. He is also the author of an excellent Pursuit Magazine article Serving Divorce Papers is Never without Drama or Humor.  Currently, he works as a writer and serves on a county commission for business & economic development. Scott lives in Northern California with his wife and two kids.

“Our goal has always been to provide everything an investigator, bail bondsmen, process server, or recovery agent needs for his business,” said Tony Del Vecchio, IRB CEO. “The IRB Advantage allows us to do this.  As we continue to expand, so will the benefit package.”
 
The IRB Advantage:

•    IRBsearch — Get the most information, the best data sources, and the fastest delivery for locating people, businesses, and assets through the IRB online locate product.
•    IRBtraining — IRB experts teach you everything you need to know about the IRBsearch database.
•    IRBexchange — Connect with other investigators, bail bondsmen, process servers, and recovery agents around the country via popular social networks.
•    IRBstore — Need affordable surveillance equipment or personal protection products?  IRBstore has you covered.
•    IRBmedia — From video production to website design, IRBmedia can take on anything.
•    PIeducation — Receive online continuing education credits without leaving your office.
•    Pursuit Magazine — Industry related articles, news and events as well as job postings are at your fingertips with Pursuit Magazine.

For more information about The IRB Advantage call 800.447.2112 or email marketing@irbsearch.com.

Advertising can be a part of marketing, but marketing is not exclusively advertising.  Marketing is anything that a business does to promote itself.  There are literally hundreds of books and articles that have been written by successful entrepreneurs on how to market retail and even service businesses.  But investigative and process companies are not only service businesses, but ones that at times, touch on high emotions and the personal lives of their customers.  This combination can make marketing difficult.  So what can an investigative firm or process service company do to stay viable?

When thinking about advertising and marketing for a detective agency, a lot of things come to mind.  Unlike a typical retail business whose target demographic is within a few radius miles, this business has a demographic that is sometimes worldwide.  That may amount to a small overall percentage of the year-end total, but every little bit adds up anymore.  So as opposed to a local newspaper, flyers, or even radio advertising for a typical business, a detective agency has a lot more avenues that it can consider.

A detective agency needs to really sit down and map out who their clients are or who the clients are that they want to attract.  They then need to figure out where these clients are located and just how they might go about connecting with them.  Unlike a small retail or local business that is probably boxed-in to being local or maybe regional, this type of business can be local, regional, statewide, nationwide, and even worldwide.

A typical retail or local business may benefit from joining some associations.  But, will it bring them any real additional business or sales?  Most of the time, the best they can hope for is helpful hints and advice.  Such advice or hints may include: how to lay out their floor plan, what a new product might be that is about to come out, or any number of cost cutting methods.  But, this is not really the case for a detective agency.

Joining an association or a local chamber of commerce can help a private detective in at least two different ways.  It can possibly open up the agency to any advertising or publicity sponsored by that group such as trade magazines, shows, and the like.  It may also put the agency right in the middle of a networking bonanza, especially if that investigator is in a smaller area with not much competition.  Should another agency who is out of that area need to accomplish some work in the area of you are in, they now have a possible source to get that done so they won’t have to travel a great distance.

Speaking of networking, there is probably a local chapter of a business networking organization in your area.  The most popular one of these is based in California with several chapters throughout the United States.  They meet once a week and the membership is around $300.00 a year, give or take.  You have an optional lunch and then a networking meeting.  The main goal is to keep as much money in the group as possible.  There is only one type of business in each group also.  One lawyer, one detective, one flower shop, etc.  They work very hard to spend money back and forth in the group before going outside of the group.

What about different websites that gather together investigators and paper servers and their information?  Subscribing to these can open you up to nationwide and worldwide exposure to potential clients.  That is not only to target individuals; but law firms, insurance companies and again, the all-important networking aspect, too.  Some sites will mention your company under a general heading, while others give you a chance to embellish yourself and your services.  The cost varies widely and so does the style of the site and the benefit for you.

The tried-and-true method for your local and regional demographic area is the dependable yellow pages.  There is a true benefit to being placed in the phone book.  A lot of people still pick it up when they need something local, while checking the internet if it is out of their area.  I have only tried this method of advertising once.  I didn’t notice a big jump in business, but I don’t remember how and what I listed either.

Local advertising can be accomplished many ways and usually has a lot more flexibility than anything else mentioned.  Newsletters, whether created in-house or purchased from a vendor, can accomplish a great deal.  While establishing name recognition, they will also build credibility and will educate the reader on just what it is that you can do for them.  Most two-sided newsletters can be done in-house for about ten cents apiece.  I think the key to these is to hand deliver as many as possible.  Mailing is fine also, but you don’t get the chance to walk into another person’s business and see them face-to-face.  Idle conversations can sometimes lead to a new case or a new client.

Newspapers, radio, and television can help you with your local and regional markets.  Newspapers, while seeming expensive, can get you into a small demographic that is still out there.  Write a small article and offer it free to a newspaper and see how many comments you get off of the street if it gets published.  They are still relevant, so far.  The problem is figuring out what days and where in the paper to put your ad.

Radio and television cover a lot more area and are more widely used.  Whether you want to target an established area you already have, offer a new product or service, or you want to expand your name into a new area, these two mediums can be very useful.  The nice thing about radio and television is the flexibility.  You can produce your spots and find that they are either not working or you may realize a new opportunity that just came to light by some area circumstance.  An editing can be done on a portion of the spot without having to redo the whole commercial and problem solved.

There are several little things that an agency can do to help itself, also.  Business cards, pens, and other novelty items can help.  Have you ever noticed that everyone needs something to write on at one time or another?  How about ordering some pads of paper with your business information across the top?  The next time you are in the courthouse at the public terminals, drop a pad of 100 pages next to each computer.  Three computers?  There are 300 little business cards ready to walk out with some of the very people who are in your demographic!

Don’t hesitate to appear at a meeting, local or otherwise, and give a talk on something related to your field if asked.  By donating your time and expertise, you have built some goodwill and name recognition.   Have you been to a school or some type of training lately?  Type up a paragraph about it and submit it to all your local media.  Radio, television, and newspapers need fillers for their outlets at different times.  And, they will publish these for free as long as they are not blatantly advertising your business.

One of the things that I have been doing the last month or two, is emailing fraud alerts for free to anyone who wants to be notified.  The alerts may be local problems, like a rash of burglaries, or they may be a nationwide credit card fraud.  Either way, people eat this kind of stuff up and think you are an expert in your field.  I sent one out on New Years Eve and got a call from an Indianapolis radio station.  They called back later at an agreed upon time and interviewed me live on the air about the alert.  Didn’t cost me a dime.  The nice thing about these is that you can subtly (or not) promote your business and services that you offer.  They are your emails, your creation, and they are free.  They can’t complain too much.

Lastly, consider publishing a monthly “Poop” sheet for your county.  Take the civil and criminal records from the County Clerk’s office and compile them into a readable format.  Add the deeds, mortgages, liens and releases, plus the federal bankruptcy information, and you have a collection of information that is desired by banks, real estate people, leasing companies, and short term lenders.  I charge $15.00 a month.  This also does something else for you.  It puts a lot of people’s names in front of you that you are probably looking for to either serve a paper to or to investigate.  This can be a wealth of information for your subscribers and for you at the same time.

Figure out a way to get to the important people in an attorney’s office, the secretaries,  by maybe taking some snacks in to them every once in a while.  Come up with new ideas that get you recognized by the local attorneys.  It is all a production, so be your own star.

Dale R. Seward
P.O. Box 51
113 South Washington Street
Suite #02
Bob’s Investigations
812.988.8058
www.bobsinvestigations.com
www.myspace.com/bobsinvestigations
www.facebook.com/bobsinvestigations
www.twitter.com/bobthepi

Dale Seward had about ten years of law enforcement experience prior to starting his own private detective business.  He has around six in the private field and specializes in business services, but also investigates criminal and several civil type cases.