Bug Sweeping - The removal of Bug Detection, Computer Tracking Software, Hidden Video, GPS, etc...

Removal of  Bug Detection, Computer Tracking Software and GPS devices, hidden cameras, etc..


Recently a client expressed concerned that her husband had installed a GPS device on her vehicle. She wanted us to inspect and remove it asap, if there was something there.

About a few minutes later into the conversation she mentioned to us, that she wanted us to install something on the underside of her husband's own vehicle to track his moves around town while he worked in another city.

Eavesdropping is a ball in someone else court.  Simply put, it could increase a success rate on behalf of someone else's case against you, if you are a victim of any of the techniques that can be used these days to spy on you, using electronic devices or software.

If you are concerned about the possibility that there may be activity in the form of eavesdropping, computer tracking, GPS tracking, wiretapping, hidden cameras, etc.. it would be in your best interest to contact a Private Investigator and schedule a thorough "Bug Sweep" Inspection, because your gut instincts just could be spot on.



Never make a phone call from a phone that you suspect may be tapped. This includes land lines, cordless phones or mobile phones. You need to make sure you have either a brand new phone that anyone would suspect you are in possession of and you should have someone immediately start the investigative process, which would include your computers and automobiles.

There are investigators who specialize in Bug Sweeping, Bug Detection, GPS Tracking, Computer Software that tracks a user, as well as Hidden Camera sweeps.  They can recover these devices and make you feel at ease finally.  Most investigators like us, list their services as "Bug Sweeping" which generally covers all areas, and some will have them listed separately such as "GPS tracking recovery services" we believe it should all be under one roof, after all, it's all covering one subject, and that is someone is spying on you through audio, video, keystrokes, movement, etc...and you want it to stop.

It is more beneficial to get someone to do it all for you as one package, however, if you are on a tight budget and just want to start off with basic locator's module, try these products.

The Sourcebook to Public Record Information - A highly recommended resource, a must have.

A highly recommended source for acquiring information when doing research or record checks is the
"Sourcebook to Public Record Information" 

This resource is a little pricey depending on whether it's hardback, paper book, new or used at a price range of approximately $88.00-$100.00, and yet it only weighs approximately 6 pounds. There is a web based version for $119.00 or you can just get a monthly subscription instead. 

The Sourcebook to Public Record Information is unique in that it will tell you where you need to look for the information you are looking for in each county, city, state or federal jurisdiction, and in most cases it will tell you the cost to obtain the information and steps required to enable the process to be completed.  

It comes complete with websites for the various state agencies and county clerks, allowing you direct access to contact them at a distance if necessary. There is a Canadian section as well and lists how to obtain a Canadian driving record and criminal history check as well as other Canadian resources.

This state-by-state guide to more than 20,000 agencies replaces four previously published titles: The Sourcebook of County Asset/Lien Records, The Sourcebook of County Court Records, The Sourcebook of Federal Court Records, and The Sourcebook of State Public Records. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


It is a well-integrated access point into the world of federal and local government records.  This is a specialized reference tool that is most suitable for business, legal, and large public libraries.

While the Internet offers a tremendous amount of information regarding public records, it merely scratches the surface.  If you can just think of it as a direction finder. It points you in the right direction and then shows you how to get that information.

If you are going to be doing record searches, skip tracing, and other investigative techniques The Sourcebook to Public Information is highly recommended.

Here is a link to purchase the 2009 edition which is available right now on Amazon.

The Sourcebook to Public Record Information: The Comprehensive Guide to County, State, & Federal Public Record Sources

Another type of so called "Trash Collection" is a Trash Cover

I know it sounds a little strange, however, the practice of conducting a trash cover is a very commonly used technique used by investigators and other amateur sleuths.   It's a legal method of digging up information about a person, and the details of their household or a company and the details of their business.  In most states, once a person places their garbage at the front of his property for collection, it is considered to be abandoned and a free for all, for any person who may be interested in it, so don't get offended or defensive when you happen to look out the window and see anyone rummaging through or even removing your trash.

Most state laws are applicable to these facts, however to be save check your state's statues.

Trash covers are a way of digging up very detailed information about a person, business or other organization, not just boxes and wrappers from produce and other products either. You can find credit card statements, receipts, mail with detailed personal information, sometimes even expired credit cards and/or membership cards that have expired, personal cards, letters, their envelopes with return addresses, payroll stubs, other financial related information such as bank statements, alcohol bottles, evidence of other drug or prescription use, it's just endless.

Depending on what city you are going to be working in, check the local city's collection days either by calling them or going to the city's website and selecting usually the Public Waste Management link.   It is very common for the average person in a residence to place the trash out the day or night before the city's scheduled pick up. Most businesses have someone whether it is a representative of the company or a contracted cleaning company to add trash daily to the dumpsters so keep that in mind when you are doing an investigation. It may be easier for you, if you are investigating a business to get each day's trash vs. finding an entire dumpster full of trash. That would be too overwhelming to sift through all at once.

Try to do your investigative work between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., that is when most of America's neighborhood's and the occupants are in the deepest of sleep and when the area is at it's most peaceful and you are less likely to find anyone out and about, until the paper delivery man arrives after 4 a.m.   If you don't feel safe during this time, you could simply take the more risky method and drive right up to the residence still early in the morning but with some daylight present, either way you will will just have to remove the bags quickly and place them in the back of a pick-up truck.

Once you have the goods back in your own domain, be prepared to sift through items that will make you feel uncomfortable, bad smells, rotten food, possible diapers, sanitary products, toilet tissue, etc... Wearing a pair of long gloves as well as a mask to breathe through is a good safety precaution.  There may be items that are important to review that may be soaked in liquids that were mixed up in the trash. Make sure you set them aside in a separate area so they can dry until you are ready to examine them closely.

Trash covers are not pleasant at all, but with determination, even it takes more than one pick-up at the same location or multiple locations such as a business, you will eventually find something worth going through this extensive unpleasant investigative venture.

On the opposite end, be careful what you put in your trash. You never know who is going to be lurking around for it.  You mean think it's just someone looking for throwaway junk, but it could much more. :-)

Cohabitation - Check - Yet another service a Private Investigator can help you with.

Not too long ago, a client asked me to verify whether a former spouse was currently living with another person.  They call this "Cohabiting" or "Cohabitation" and the person who appears to be the subject is often referred to as the "Cohabitant."

Usually this is done during the legal process of separation, divorce and child custody matters.

It is imperative to get as much information as possible ahead of time in order to make the investigation go smoothly. Sometimes you will have a physical description of who it is they suspect may be there. There are however some cases where it's not always possible to get this information, and you just have to start from scratch.

In terms of proof of cohabitation, a few common sense factors come to mind.  If someone comes home in the evening and does not leave the residence until the next day and their clothes have been changed and they didn't carry bags in with them the night before, well then there you go. Their clothes are being kept in the home and that is pretty much a dead give-away.

 There are many ways to determine this factor, and for starters the quickest way to obtain the facts, is to find out who enters and exits the property at the residential address over a 24-48 hour period.

However, I must tell you, on one investigation we witnessed three different people come over and stay overnight, three nights in a row and to make it more interesting, the resident would back their car up in order for the overnight visitor to park their vehicle in front of the resident's vehicle.  It was complicated to say the least, however, we were able to provide photos of each individual and the client was happy with the photos of the cars and the license plate and felt they had enough and didn't need anything further.

The process of determining cohabitation usually requires surveillance during the day and at night as the occupants of the residence, may work different shifts and/or have different schedules on different days, so it might be helpful to have your investigators work in shifts and have a means of communication as well.

It's important to be discreet as possible as to not alert the neighbors who may report you to the police as a suspicious character who is threatening their peace of mind. Never drive your personal vehicle. Always rent a car. If your investigation is going to take more than a day, I suggest Enterprise Rent-A-Car who has a fleet car service. They will come and pick up your rental car from the day before and replace it with a new one.

Myself and my associates always obtain the vehicle make, model and tag number in order to get their identity. You can do a DMV record search and determine if their address has been updated to the residence that you are watching.  In addition, as an investigator you can find out through the United States Post Office, if a forwarding address has been issued if you have the first and last name of the suspected occupant.

Other ways would be to check the utility records as well.  There are some other ways you can determine if some is cohabiting with another person, however, I will leave that for my next post when I cover, a few factors regarding trespassing, or not, what you can and cannot do.

NCIC and it's role in Assisting Investigators and Police with Recovering Stolen Property and Wanted persons, Fugitives and Missing People

The National Crime and Information Center also commonly referred to as the NCIC is a database operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation also commonly referred to as the FBI. 

The database has many facets to it, however, in this post, I would like to point out the subject of STOLEN ARTICLES section.

If a stolen item can be uniquely described such as identifying usage marks or damage to the exterior that only the owner would know about or more importantly a serial identification number, then the database will be helpful in recovering stolen items if they are ever recovered or found being pawned at a Pawn Shop, etc...

The NCIC database, has categories for stolen items, such as vehicles, boats, tools, guns, articles such as stocks, bonds, and even stolen, license plates.

When a police report is made, it very important to give detailed descriptions including any special markings but also the serial number is the single most important identifier when attempting to report and recover stolen property.

This information will be entered into the NCIC database.  Stolen items that have not been recovered will remain in the database for the balance of the year in which they were entered plus one additional year.  If you have a stolen boat or auto, the item will remain in the database for a total of five years.

You may not know this... Police Agencies have access to pawn shop's lists of pawned items and can be compared to and red-flagged with reports of stolen items.

It is very important if you are an investigator, detective or the victim of stolen property that you search areas around your property or wherever the item was stolen. In most cases thieves will dump items or stash items nearby for retrieval later, including inside a trashcan, nearby woods or several houses over.  

It also important to take note that usually victims of theft are usually people we know or have recently become acquainted with.  They could be neighbors,  a recent visitor to your home, such as a contractor or work associate, or a friend of a family member that was them when they arrived at your home. 

An important tip to help prevent home burglaries is to never tell anyone you are going out of town. If you do mention this, add to your details that you have someone house sitting, to deter any potential ideas to start brewing in anyone who may have a criminal mind.

Now if you are an investigator, or bounty hunter or detective, searching for a wanted person, a fugitive or a person that has been missing, these are usually held in the NCIC database until the person is recovered, arrested and/or charges or dropped. In some cases the Administrators of the NCIC database will remove the listing for certain conditions.  

The NCIC database intermingles withe function of a policy agency when they run a check on your drivers license when they do a traffic stop.

Having such a database is a necessary and important tool, when attempting to locate, stolen articles, property, and wanted, or missing people.

Pre-Marital Background Investigations

Pre-Marital Background Investigations


Do you really know who you are involved with? Sometimes they are not the person they portray. For those of you who are already married, ask yourself, if you knew back then what you know now, would you have made that commitment?

In a world of deceit, scams, fraud, criminals, the Internet, im chat rooms, text and photo messaging, and temptations around every single corner, wouldn't you want to know everything you possibly could?

Although this type of investigation cannot insure a happy marriage/relationship, it will help obtain additional information, which will be vital in allowing you to make an informed decision before you step down the aisle.


Often we hear from those who are interested in finding out if their soon to be spouse has an unknown past.

For example, one young bride to be, we'll call Sarah, hired us to find out if her husband-to-be, we'll call, Chris, had any record involving violent behavior before they tied the knot.

He did not have a record for violent behavior, however, he had an arrest record for stalking, three different times, just two years before. In addition, in one of those stalking incidents, he removed property from outside the victim's home on a backyard deck, worth more than $800 and was charged with trespassing and burglary. For Sarah, this news sat uneasy with her and her parents and in the end, she decided to take a second look and decided not to marry Chris.


How many of you wish they had checked out their spouses before they were married. After all, when two people get together, what is their main source of information about each other? That is correct... Each other.  There is no one to really back up information that you receive. How do you know that what they say is the truth, or how much isn't being told to you, that perhaps should have been?

We all know there are always things in our past we would rather not tell out of humiliation or just a desire to put the past in the past. A lot of times we hear people say, the past doesn't matter, however, in reality these days, the past REALLY DOES matter. The past behavior, criminal records, employment records, relationships, education and credit checks are all a small part of what you should be aware of before marrying anyone.

In today's world of private investigations, it is a common practice to hire an investigator to even check their current spouses past even after they are married.

There are many reasons why you want to check someones past.  You may want to check, for records for violent behavior, such as domestic abuse, and other cases such as bankruptcies, alcohol and drug addictions, criminal records, mental health issues such a frequent suicide attempts, credit history, and even employment history. 


When we're "in love", precautionary thinking is not usually at the top of our list or foremost on our minds. Maybe it should be. How many mistakes could have been avoided had we checked the future spouse's background or past in some form to see if the truth was told or left out all together.

Consider this. The cost of this service is much less than the cost for getting a divorce and once it's too late, it's really too late!


Marriage is a big risk, today. You have a lot at stake. You need to know if they are telling the truth. Is he who he says he is? Does she really have a master’s degree?

Has he/she been married five times? They have given up children for adoption? Did they ever get charged with a crime? Have they ever been fired from an employer and if so why? there are endless questions you could ask.

It does not hurt to investigate a spouse even after the fact.

One husband, we'll call Patrick was surprised to learn that his wife, we'll call Leah, hadn't worked for 18 years of her working life before they met, and because she was working when they met, he assumed she was a productive member of society who always held down a job and had career goals.

Instead she became unemployed, unable to hold down a job, starting writing bad checks, started drinking and taking various pain medications and was even stealing money from various family members to hide just how much she was spending on medications and alcohol. Leah ended up being so strung out on medications she would not sleep day or night and be up all night while Patrick was sleeping, typing away on the computer.

Patrick also found out that while he was sleeping, she was carrying on a slew of online communications with men from several states using email, chat rooms, social networking sites, etc...  He wanted reasons to validate his lack of trust, and reasons for her change in personality and lifestyle since they wed and he wanted to know if there was anything he needed to be even more concerned about.

This is the type of information that he had never pursued before they were married. If he had, he would have found that she quit high school, had been pregnant at 17, had been unemployed until she was in her 30's and that she had a mental health incidents when she attempted to slit her wrist more than three times just two years before they met. She had told him when they first met that the attempted suicide scar was a scar from a car accident in high school. Which by the way did not happen.

Even though these things don't seem that bad to you or I, the truth is, she was living a lie and was not the person he thought he married. Everything he thought he knew about her was false and there were something he said to me that he had wished he knew because it would have definitely changed his mind on deciding to marry he

If you know someone who plans on getting married, you may suggest a Pre-Marital background investigation by a Private Investigator. At the very least, It could save years of heartache and that is a good investment. The nice, pretty sweet girl, that is loads of fun behind closed doors, just may be psychotic, have a criminal record, a mental health issue, and a drug addiction that you don't know about, because it's a secret.

ASSET SEARCH - A General Overview of what types of information you can receive.

I would like to provide you with a general overview of just one of the many services, that Private Investigation Agencies and their investigators can provide to you, in pursuit of evidence that you may wish to receive which is an ASSET search.

Motor Vehicles and More
Private Investigators can Find Motor Vehicle records such as owner (1) and owner (2) information, registrant (1) and registrant (2) information, lien and vehicle information.  It is important to remember that the search results are not limited to automobiles. Motor Vehicle records typically include boats, trailers, RVs, and other assets registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Property Search and Assessment Record Search
Private investigators searching capabilities allow you to combine specific information such as: company name, last, first, and middle name, street address, city, state, zip code, and parcel number. We can Find property assessment records such as seller name, all applicable addresses, land usage, sale and recording date, sale amount, assessed value, parcel number and other owner(s) information. You can run another report for additional records including the values such as land, market, and improvement. For the best search coverage, Private investigators are capable of searching both Property Deed And Property Assessment records.
Assessment records are typically added once a year while Deed records are added every time a deed transaction takes place. Therefore, both play a role as independent sources of information.

Property Deeds: Our searching capabilities allow our private investigators to inform you about specific information such as: company name, last, first, and middle name, street address, city, state, zip code, and parcel number to find records including owner and seller name, sale amount, mortgage amount, sale and recording date, parcel number, document type, and land usage.

Private Investigators can run a report that displays additional information including: county, loan type, amount and terms, lender name and title company.

Watercraft Searches:
Private Investigators can search for Watercraft records using some or all of the following information: company name, last, first, and middle name, street address, city, state, zip code, hull ID, and vessel name.Watercraft records may include: owner name, address, hull number, record type, date last seen and the vessel name. You can also run a watercraft report that displays more specific and detailed information on registration, title, and vessel information.

FAA Aircraft Search
Private investigators searching capabilities allow us to provide you with aircraft ownership information such as: last, first, and middle name, company name, street address, city, state, zip code, and aircraft number.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records include: owners contact information, serial number, aircraft number, record type, and description. Private Investigators can also run a report that displays more specific information such as status, date first and last seen, last action date, manufacturer and engine manufacturer name, type of aircraft, number of engines, take-off weight, engine horsepower, category, certification issue date, model, number of seats, cruising speed, and fuel consumption.

As you can see, hiring a Private Investigator for An Asset search can be a valuable tool in your quest to thoroughly investigate with no stone unturned.