How Private Detectives Do Background Investigations & Solve Domestic Cases

How Private Detectives Do Background Investigations & Solve Domestic Cases

Conducting an extensive background investigation is essential for resolving any kind of case, be it criminal defense case, insurance claims case, missing persons case or a domestic case. However the procedure of investigation may vary depending upon the complexities of the case.

Background Investigation Procedures

Background investigation might involve verifying information provided by a candidate at the time of recruitment. As an HR professional, while most of your prospective employees may provide appropriate information about their educational qualification, work experience and references, you are likely to encounter some who tend to hide certain details. Now, in order to avoid someone with a shay past from entering your firm, it is highly recommended to conduct a thorough background check which can only be done by employing a experienced private investigators. These professionals make use of online criminal databases and other records to investigate a person’s criminal history. They also employ various means to verify the educational qualification and work experience of the candidates.

In order to acquire medical or credit information, a private investigator may require a written consent. There are certain laws such as The Privacy Act, The Fair Credit Reporting Act, The Driver’s Protection Act and the likes that refrain private investigators from obtaining information without written consent.

Many people also get background investigations done for their prospective spouse or for other personal purposes and professional purposes such as before entering into a business partnership etc.

Criminal Financial Investigations

Cases of criminal financial investigations including fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, forgery, insider trading, bribery, larceny, racketeering, blackmail, kickback, counterfeiting, extortion and money laundering are dealt with differently by private investigators. In a criminal financial case, a private investigator may be required to find out about the suspect’s hidden assets in foreign countries or offshore tax havens. In case you aren’t aware of what a tax haven is – tax havens are places that levy little or no taxes on specific categories of income. People who want to escape heavy taxes often transfer their money to banks located in such countries.

Similarly, those who earn money by illegal means cannot keep it in a regular bank account. They usually open dummy firms and deposit the money with the dummy firm’s money. This is known as money laundering. Money obtained from illicit activities such as drug transactions, racketeering, etc. is transferred to lawful channels so that its actual source is difficult to trace. Private investigators need to conduct extensive investigation to determine the original source in such cases.

In the US, Private detectives have access to special websites like Unclaimed.org/ which contains information about unclaimed property. You can select a state and search for all the unclaimed properties there. Every state has a separate online database where one can search by the owner’s name. In order to acquire more information, an investigator will have to approach the state directly. An appointment needs to be taken in this case in order to view their books.

Solving Domestic Cases

Private investigators, these days, are also approached for a lot of domestic cases with the maximum number of cases being that of cheating spouses. It is often seen that when a client suspects his spouse of cheating in most cases, the latter may or may not be found guilty because of lack of evidence. Private investigators are approached by clients to confirm their suspicion and also to gather proof against their spouses/ partners.

It has been observed that when a person gets into a new relationship he usually develops a pattern. For instance he may suddenly grow more conscious about his looks. You may find new dresses in his wardrobe. He may even join a health club or gym or start jogging in an attempt to look good. The visits to parlors/ salons may also increase. Working late at night on a particular day or daily may be another sign. He may even acquire a new Post office box key. Then, there may be times when you may come across a credit card bill or a paper note that may augment your suspicion.

Private investigators follow these patterns to get to the truth. Information provided by the clients also comes handy in such cases. Private detectives often ask their clients about their spouse’s behavior towards them as well as the new patterns of suspicion and work on their cases accordingly. Once these professionals understand the underlying pattern and the motive, they know as to when exactly they should follow the suspect and garner solid evidence. Usually a surveillance of around 10-20 hours is enough to determine the truth and gather evidence.

Author Bio

Amit Sen is the founding partner of Alliance One – who are among the best detective agencies Mumbai specializing in providing thorough background marriage check services in Mumbai among other private and corporate investigation services. Amit is also a trained pilot and an aviator and likes to remain grounded on the days when he is not flying high.