The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigating, Third Edition: Discover How the Pros Uncover the Facts and Get to the Truth (Complete Idiot's Guides (Lifestyle Paperback))

xiv, 338 pages : 24 cm Whether you're thinking of becoming a private investigator or you're just looking for some information, you've come to the right place. This revised and updated guide gives you everything you need to know to catch cheating spouses, locate missing people, track down deadbeat parents, perform background checks, and more. --cover p. 4 Includes index The making of a PI -- The path to the professional PI -- Tools of the PI trade -- Skip tracing -- Prowling the courthouse -- Professional PI databases -- Telephone secrets you need to know -- Techniques of interview and interrogation -- The neighborhood investigation -- Stationary surveillance -- Moving surveillance -- Tricks of the trade -- Clues to infidelity -- Family law cases: the PI's bread and butter -- Bringing home runaway teenagers -- The ins and outs of electronic surveillance -- Criminal defense cases -- Background investigations: uncovering the dirt -- The diligent search : adoptions and estates -- Evidence, statements, reports, and bookkeeping -- The judges' chambers The mystique of private investigating draws significant numbers of people to consider it as a career or side business. At the same time, individuals want to learn investigative techniques to solve their own personal and legal problems. In The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Private Investigating, Third Edition, private investigator and former FBI agent Steven Kerry Brown shares his hard-won expertise on everything you need to know to track down people and information, including: Tapping phones and recording conversations. Interviewing and interrogating to get important information. Tricky but legal ways to get needed evidence like the pros. Performing onsite, online, and mobile surveillance without being detected. Skip tracing to find lost loves or people who owe money. Investigating backgrounds of potential employees or spouses. Searching public records online and at the courthouse. Catching a cheating spouse and gathering evidence for divorce cases. Finding runaway teenagers. Doing diligent searches connected with adoptions and estates. Tracking down burglars, thieves, pickpockets, and purse snatchers. Advanced techniques and business advice for those interested in starting their own investigative or background screening agency. Along the way, Brown shares fascinating stories from his cases that highlight his clever methods for tracking down evidence and helping his clients find out what they need to know. Helps you discover how a professional private investigator uncovers the facts and gets to the truth. This handbook provides detailed information on the skills and techniques required for investigations, including phone tapping and recording conversations, tracking down thieves, interviewing, interrogation and surveillance.