A Slew of Sleuth Articles

First, a freebie: To win a free registration for “Trials 101″ post a comment by December 12 (winner’s name to be picked December 13).  To read more about the class, go to end of this post *

Investigative Articles

Below are some of our current articles–handy tips for both real-life PIs and writers writing their fictional counterparts. 

How to Start a Private Investigations Business: http://tinyurl.com/yl3w6md

Protecting Yourself Online: http://tinyurl.com/y9ujb3p        

When Does Surveillance Become Stalking? http://tinyurl.com/ybzn7jd 

How to Protect Your Cell Phone from Spyware: http://tinyurl.com/ylj3lfs 

How to Quickly Interpret Another’s Language via a Telephone: http://tinyurl.com/y9ghere

 

* December 14-21, 2009: Online Class “Trials 101″

 
Writing a story with a courtroom scene and need to add some realistic touches? Or perhaps you’re fleshing out a trial attorney, or maybe just want a handle on a few terms for when your protagonist makes a court appearance? This class is an introduction to trials (U.S. legal system), outlining the key players in the courtroom, the history of trials, a few reasons why trials happen (as well as some wrong reasons trials happen, which could provide great story conflict), and ends with several examples of outstanding trials in books and movies. One week, 2 classes, questions answered by email in-between. 

Instructor Bios

Shaun Kaufman has worked in and around the criminal justice field for nearly 25 years, as a former trial attorney and a current legal investigator. He’s published articles in PI magazine, the Denver Law Review, and authored numerous briefs for the Colorado Court of Appeals, Colorado Supreme Court, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Shaun is a popular speaker at conferences, entertaining and educating writers with his insights and expertise about investigations, crime scenes, how PIs effectively testify in trials, and more. His father always told him to be a writer, not a lawyer.

Colleen Collins is a PI by day, a multi-published author by night. Her articles on private investigations have appeared on various sites on the Internet as well as in PI Magazine, Pursuit Magazine, NINK (Novelists, Inc.), and other publications.  A member of the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and Romance Writers of America (RWA), she’s written 20 novels, and has spoken at regional and national writers conferences about writing private eyes in fiction.

Trials 101 registration: www.writingprivateinvestigators.com

Answering Writers’ Questions: Who are the most realistically portrayed fictional PIs?

We get this question a lot, in fact in just about every workshop or class we’ve taught somebody asks this.  We love a lot of PI genre fiction, both in books and other media, and it’s a tough one to answer because too often books (TV shows, films, etc.) add flash and drama to make the PI protagonist seem bigger and badder than how he/she might really be in the real world. For example, searching public records is a cornerstone of a private investigator’s skill set, but it’s pretty tedious work (hardly worthy of a TV show).

But saying all that, who do we think are several (not trying to be all-inclusive here) realistically portrayed fictional PIs?

Jake Gittes.  We probably find Jake realistic because we know a current-day PI who’s just like him: handsome, impeccable dresser, can outdo a marriage counselor when it comes to listening to damsels in distress, runs an office with several minion PIs who do his bidding, and has personally solved his share of government corruption cases.  Previously we said too often fiction creates PIs who are bigger and badder than the real deal, but our real-life guy is just the other way around.  Nobody is as big and bad and well-dressed as he is, although Jake comes close.

Jesse Stone.  This isn’t a PI, but both of us love the Jesse Stone character in recent made-for-TV movies (starring Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone). He’s a police chief in a small town, and his crafty, persistent, insightful approach to investigations feels very “PI right-on” to us.

Jim Rockford.  We’re both diehard Rockford fans, even though no PI in their right mind would do lengthy surveillances in a shiny gold muscle car (talk about sticking out!). Nor do PIs get embroiled in the quantity of violence and lengthy car chases Rockford does. But if you peel away the gold car, fights, and squealing breaks, he’s a hard-working, blue-collar character who reminds us of many PIs.

Moe Prager and Ray Dudgeon.  We’re big fans of authors Reed Farrel Coleman (who writes PI Moe Prager) and Sean Chercover (who writes PI Ray Dudgeon)—both authors create three-dimensional, compelling, realistic PIs.  Interestingly enough, Reed Farrel Coleman never even interviewed a real-life PI while creating his fictional PI Moe Prager, but we’re guessing his research with a retired NYPD homicide detective helped him make Moe Prager (who’s a retired cop turned PI) very realistic.  Sean Chercover, on the other hand, is a former PI.

Milt Davis.  One of our favorite PI short stories (“Death Flight” by Ed McBain, 1954) stars a tough PI (Milt Davis) who’s filled with doubt about handling a particular case because he thinks he’s unqualified.  And, in truth, he is (which also happens in real-life private investigative work).  Milt Davis’s grit, native intelligence, determination, and self-doubt to see a job through make him a realistic PI.  Note:  Interestingly enough, Ed McBain didn’t create many private eye characters, claiming that he found it “difficult to justify a private citizen investigating murders.”  He may have found it difficult to justify, but that didn’t stop him from developing a compelling, real-to-life PI character.

Any fictional PI characters you’re particularly fond of?  Drop a comment, tell us who you like and why.

Happy Thanksgiving, you’ve been served

First, the winner of the WRITING PIs IN NOVELS T-Shirt drawing…drum roll…Pat Cochran!

Happy Thanksgiving, you’ve been served

Seems we always end up serving process papers on holidays.  Sometimes we’ve been asked to–as in a few years ago when one of our attorney-clients called, said his client wanted her philadering husband served divorce papers on Christmas day.  It was, as she said, her Christmas gift to him.

On another Christmas day, we served a gentleman a subpoena while he was enjoying…up to that point, anyway…a football game.  He answered the door in his team jersey, a beer in his hand, a grin on his face…Merry Christmas, Mr. X, you’re served.

Once we served a beer vendor at a Rockies game.   Then we stayed and watched the rest of the game.

Today’s Thanksgiving, and we have 6 subpoenas to serve.  We’re drinking our coffee, getting ready to visit people’s homes, the odds being most (if not all) will be there, preparing turkey and trimmings.  Fortunately, it’s for a case where many of them are sympathetic to our client, so we expect these services to go well.  Which is a good thing ’cause today’s also one of our birthdays,  and we’d really love not to be yelled at by strangers, but hey, it happens.

After we serve papers, we plan to celebrate our own Thanksgiving-birthday fest with a trip to a mountain gambling town, playing some poker, taking a run or three at the hotel buffet, then home for gifts and cake and…well, if we didn’t finish serving our legal papers this morning, a last attempt at serving a subpoena or two.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.   Today, may you only be served food at your table.

Finding Photos Through Deep Web People Search Sites

First, the freebies:

T-shirt giveaway:  Post a comment between now and November 25, and be eligible to win a snazzy “Writing PIs in Novels, Keeping Sleuths Real on the Page” T-shirt.   Winner’s name to be picked November 26.  Size L only.

Free investigative tip sheet:  H.E.L.P. (Handy Education for Legal Professonals) Tip Sheet is a free monthly newsletter for legal professionals, private investigators, researchers (that includes writers!) that offers investigative/legal research tips, articles, and links.  To sign up, go to http://www.highlandsinvestigations.com and scroll down the page to the subscription box.

We were looking for a picture of someone this past week so we could serve him legal papers.   We’d gone our usual route of checking sources, including Google Images (a great search for pictures because of Google’s comprehensive search engine).  Nothing.  Started digging in other databases and resources for anything on the guy…nothing.

We were starting to wonder if his age (barely legal) was affecting our ability to get results.  After all, someone that young has few, if any, traces in public records.

Deep Web People Search Engine: Pipl

Then we decided to dig into a Deep Web search engine called pipl (pipl.com), which boasts its “query-engine helps you find deep web pages that cannot be found on regular search engines.”   They display an impressive list of categories in their results, including people’s personal profiles, web pages, documents, blog posts, publications, news archives, photos…

Ah, photos.

pipl posts photos on the right side of the results as well as in a Photo category farther down the page.  It was in this Photo category we found our guy—an inmate photo of him from a state prison.  Well, that answered a lot of our questions.

Other Deep Web People Search Engines

There are other Deep Web people search engines,  such as 123people (123people.com) and cvgadget (cvgadget.com).   123people is riddled with ads for online pay-for-use search engines (buyer beware–one never knows with these online search companies how current/correct the information is, and there’s no live person to help the buyer interpret results).  Saying that, 123people provides some good info (photos, references on the web, blog posts and references, etc.).  Cvgadget has a simple to use interface (just plug in the person’s name), and results are listed in expandable categories (from references in Google News, Blogs, Images, and other Google listings to references in different online communities). 

Deep Web people searches are a good way to find people, be it photos of a person, their posts on blogs, their social networking sites, their publications, and more.   Results can be comprehensive, and the ones listed in this post are still free.

How to Search for People on YouTube

Before we jump into today’s post about searching for people on YouTube, here’s a few freebies:

T-shirt giveaway:  Post a comment between now and November 25, and be eligible to win a snazzy “Writing PIs in Novels, Keeping Sleuths Real on the Page” T-shirt.   Winner’s name to be picked November 26.  Size L only.

Free investigative tip sheet:  H.E.L.P. (Handy Education for Legal Professonals) Tip Sheet is a free monthly newsletter for legal professionals, private investigators, researchers (that includes writers!) that offers investigative/legal research tips, articles, and links.  To sign up, go to http://www.highlandsinvestigations.com and scroll down the page to the subscription box.

YouTube is so pervasive in our culture, it’s almost become a verb.  In our office, just as we’ve verbalized Google (“let’s Google it”) when we’re running a search in Google’s search engine, lately we’ve started to say “let’s YouTube it” when we’re checking for people, subjects, topics, etc.  on YouTube.  Let’s look at how to search for people on YouTube via Google and via YouTube.

Searching via Google

Google (which purchased YouTube in 2006) has made searching on YouTube very easy.  In your Google browser, type “YouTube” (quotes not necessary) and the first entry displayed is a search field labelled “Search youtube.com”.  Type the person’s name or a tag, press the “Search youtube.com” button, and view the results.

What’s a tag?  Words that describe the video or photo–for example a name, subject, event, or any other descriptive word. 

Searching via YouTube

Go to www.youtube.com.  At the top of the home page is a field labelled “Search”–enter the person’s name (or other tag), press the “Search” button, and view the results.  You can browse by tags, names, topics, etc.  To narrow your search to a certain category, there are several buttons underneath the Search field:

Videos: To check videos.

Channels: To check users’ pages.

Community Tab: To check groups and contests.

Cool PI Gadgets

November Birthday Bash Giveaway:  Post a comment between now and November 25, and be eligible to win a snazzy “Writing PIs in Novels, Keeping Sleuths Real on the Page” T-shirt.   Winner’s name to be picked November 26, our PI’s birthday.  Size L only.

 

Now, let’s look at some cool private eye gadgets and tips–useful stuff for both real PIs and  fictional sleuths:

ScreenHunter: A free, award-winning (5 stars from CNET editors’ rating) screen capture software.  If you purchase the Pro version ($29.95) there’s more goodies (Image Editor, Screen Color Picker, Web Capture and Image Scanning feature).  Check it out at  http://tinyurl.com/screenhtr

 

Handheld Water Purifier: We probably could’ve used this on one of our rural, days-long surveillances last summer.  It’s especially effective against common protozoa like giardia and cryptosporidium (toss that word around at cocktail parties).  Has an optional solar charger, handy if you’re out in the wild and off the grid.  Check it out at http://www.steripen.com

 

Have Data, Will Travel (via sunglasses): Men’s sunglasses that contain, within a detachable arm, a 4 GB USB port.   Designed by Calvin Klein.  How James Bond can ya get?  Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/mm7xqs

 

Email Sleuth: Baitum Email Service let you know if an unauthorized user is reading your mail.  Works through traps that you embed in your web-based email account with subject lines that woo snoopers–when they bite, you get an alert sent to an alternate email address, cell phone, or PDA device.  No software to install.  Check it out at www.baitum.com

Our next Writing PIs in Novels (Quick Studies on the Shady Side) online class:

November 16-23, 2009: Surfing the Web & Digging for Dirt
Ways a sleuth uncovers data, from Internet/database searches to getting down and dirty in someone’s trash. One week, 2 classes, questions answered by email in-between.

For more information/to register: http://www.writingprivateinvestigators.com

Researching Online News Sources

 

There’s many online news sources and archives available to investigators–great research tools for writers, too.   Good idea to first pinpoint which type of resources, as well as the region they cover, are most beneficial to your research–for example, are you interested in:

• Current news or historical news?
• A specific region, country, worldwide?

Below are several online news sources/searches:

Google News:  Google is just about the most comprehensive search engine around.  Check out its current news at http://news.google.com/news

www.onlinenewspapers.com:  Search thousands of newspapers and magazines by region.

www.eagleworldnews.com:  Search international news, top headlines around the world, topics by subject.  They also maintain an archive of news back to 2006, sources for geneology and obituary research.

www.infopig.com: Search news by category, news outlet, region.

http://is.gd/4eoOV: US Newspaper List provides searchs by state and country, with handy search links at the bottom of the page to phone books, maps, weather, cool sites, and more.

Answering Writers’ Questions: PIs at Crime Scenes, Website as Crime Scene

Below are some recent writers’ questions and our answers regarding the probability of PIs being allowed into an active crime scene investigation, and when an Internet site might be deemed a crime scene.

WRITER’S QUESTION: It seems like I’ve seen crime scenes (with all that yellow tape) in TV shows and movies where cops invite a PI into the crime scene.  Or maybe the PI enters the crime scene and a cop will chat with the PI.  What I’m getting at, it comes across that cops will welcome PIs into their crime scenes sometimes.  Is this realistic?  If it’s not commonplace, is there a reason a cop might welcome a PI?

 

GUNS, GAMS, AND GUMSHOES’S ANSWER: Any police officer who allows a member of the public onto a crime scene is more than likely allowing the the entry because it serves the officer’s purpose.  The officer would not allow a member of the public into a crime scene in a situation where such presence would taint or pollute the crime scene.  Of course, police are much more careful about crime scenes now since the O.J. Simpson case.

 

Here’s a few hypothetical reasons a cop might allow/invite a PI onto a crime scene.  Maybe the PI was allowed by a court order to be on the crime scene.  Or maybe the cop wants the PI there to milk him for information.  This last reason plays out in other scenarios because police and private investigators both trade in information.

 

WRITER’S QUESTION: I’ve read where PIs were purchasing illegal products off some Internet selling site to bust a counterfeit operation.  They referred to the Internet site itself as a crime scene.  Could you explain what this meant?

 

GUNS, GAMS, AND GUMSHOES’S ANSWER: In any case involving counterfeiting or piracy, an essential element to be proven is the promise by the seller that the product is identical to the real, licensed product.  A website, or for the sake of an example let’s say eBay ad, that sells any counterfeit or pirated items, provides ample proof of fraudulent misrepresentations.  Therefore, the pictures and language of these websites/online ads become primary evidence of the intent to defraud, and are therefore crime scenes.

Our next Writing PIs in Novels (Quick Studies on the Shady Side) online class:

November 16-23, 2009: Surfing the Web & Digging for Dirt
Ways a sleuth uncovers data, from Internet/database searches to getting down and dirty in someone’s trash. One week, 2 classes, questions answered by email in-between.

For more information/to register: http://www.writingprivateinvestigators.com

How to Do a Free Reverse Phone Number Look-Up

There’s lots and lots of ads out there for free phone look-ups–what they give you is free information that’s available from numerous other sites, then they ask you to “click here” and, for a mere $34.95 (or some price), you can get the full background report on this person.

Buyer beware.

There’s no magical 100% correct database out there that’ll spit out the latest and greatest information associated with a phone number.   We’re not saying you can’t get correct information.  You might.  But you, the buyer, should know you’re paying for information that could be old, outdated, or input incorrectly into a database (after all, human hands originally typed in the data).  Or the phone number might have been correct at one time, but has since been ported to a new carrier. 

So, saying all that, we’ll provide some free tips on doing a reverse check on a phone number, with some caveats thrown in for good measure.   Last note: Type phone numbers in different formats (123-456-7890, 1234567890, 4567890).

Step 1:  Run the phone number in Google.  We love Google.  It’s comprehensive search engine gives you a great starting point.  It might give you more information than you were even looking for (for example, the number may display on someone’s online resume, ad, or social networking site).  We once found a missing person by running her cell phone number in Google–although she’d hidden her whereabouts well (hopping from city to city, staying in different people’s homes, had no identifiable vehicle, had discontinued service on her cell phone although the number was still listed on her site), she was taking the time to log into her MySpace account to chat with her friends!  She hadn’t made her account private, so it was easy to see what her activities were , who she was staying with, etc.  on a daily basis!

 Step 2:  Run the number in various databases.   Although it’s hard to compete with Google’s search engine, doesn’t hurt to follow up and check the number in other databases.  For example, run the number in boardtracker.com, a forum search engine, or spokeo.com, a social networking search engine.

Step 3: Double-check if the number is a landline or cell.   Helps to know if it’s a landline or cell phone number.  If the latter, the person could be living anywhere (for example, their number might start with a Colorado area code, but they’re living in Delaware).  There are dozens of sites that offer free checks for type of phone line, name of carrier, and geographical region of the phone number.  One of our favorites is Phone Validator: http://www.phonevalidator.com/.  (Again, keep in mind that the information returned may be outdated, or the number has ported to a new carrier).

Step 4:  Still no leads?  Rather than pay an unknown online database service that promises background information such as a person’s name, address, and more, we recommend contacting a qualified private investigator to research the phone number for you.  Why?  Online database background/reverse check services are automated, and as we’ve already stated, you might be paying for old, outdated, or incorrect data.   Also, there’s no “live” person to field your questions, or read the results with an eye on accuracy or legality.

At our investigations agency, we’ve run many reverse phone number checks nationwide.  Drop by our website, give us a call or send us an email: Highlands Investigations & Legal Services, Inc:  www.highlandsinvestigations.com

Links to articles on catching cheaters, ordering background reports & safeguarding your Internet ID

Today we’re posting links to articles we’ve recently written on catching cheaters, ordering tailored background reports, and protecting your identity on the Internet.   The techniques are good for real-world application as well as fictional stories.   Have a great week!

 

How to Outwit Your Cheating Spouse and Catch Him/Her in the Act:
http://tinyurl.com/y9f2daz

 

How to Check if Your Date Is Telling the Truth:
http://tinyurl.com/ylp4twk

 

How to Select a Tailored Background Report:
http://tinyurl.com/ydyluzg

 

 

How to Safeguard Your Identity on the Internet:
http://tinyurl.com/yd9qsf8

 

 

Online Class: Quick Studies on the Shady Side: Tips and Techniques for Writers Developing Sleuths and Villains

November 16-23, 2009: Surfing the Web & Digging for Dirt
Ways a sleuth uncovers data, from Internet/database searches to getting down and dirty in someone’s trash. One week, 2 classes, questions answered by email in-between.

To register, go to www.writingprivateinvestigators.com