While private investigators have always been the love of mystery writers and film-makers, the average person may not realize exactly what these investigators do. Instead of simply taking on the clichéd role of the generic “investigator”, many investigation firms will have general investigators as well as specialists on staff so that they can offer a variety of investigation services to employers and private individuals. Though there may be a great number of different types of jobs an investigation office might take, the most popular tend to fall into the following categories.
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Genealogy and Family: Ranging from the development of a family tree and researching family lines to locating birth parents or adopted children, many investigators specialize in matters of genealogy and family members. They may also be used to locate distant family members for reunions or to find estranged family members when there is important family news that needs to be shared..
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Missing Persons: Private investigators are often used to help find missing persons and runaways, especially in crowded cities or other areas where the local police are overworked. The investigators can focus specifically on the missing person, whereas police officers would be dealing with other cases and general law enforcement. In some cases private investigators can even find individuals who have been missing for years and who hadn’t been located by previous search attempts.
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Fidelity and Marriage: Spouses or other partners who suspect that their significant other isn’t being faithful to them can hire an investigator to see whether their suspicions are justified. The investigator will provide evidence of infidelity if it is found so that the cheater can be dealt with by divorce or other means. If the spouse or significant other who is suspected of cheating is found to be innocent, similar evidence will be presented in order to clear their name and put their partner’s mind at rest.
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Background Checks: Employers can hire investigators to run background checks on potential employees as a part of the employment screening process. Background checks may be available to individuals in certain situations, but given the sensitivity of some of the information gathered in a background check these investigations are usually limited only to employers or people with specific reasons for needing the background check done. Individuals may also request background checks be done on themselves in order to gather information on past problems or to make sure that there aren’t errors in their background records.
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Mystery Shopping: Mystery shopping investigations can serve two distinct purposes; they can be used as a means of checking the service that employees are giving to customers, or they can be used as a means of loss prevention and theft deterrence. A mystery shopper can make one or several visits to a store or restaurant, making note of any positive or negative points of the visit. They may also be hired to browse or shop around at a store, observing other shoppers and watching for signs of theft.
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De-bugging and Electronic Surveillance Countermeasures: Some investigators can be hired to make sure that an office or residence isn’t bugged with electronic surveillance devices. They will give the room or rooms in question a thorough search while checking the most common surveillance points, after which they will generally bring in more advanced equipment to search for any hidden surveillance equipment. In some cases they may also provide electronic countermeasures to help scramble the signals of any electronic listening or viewing devices that may be hidden.
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Vehicle Investigation: Investigators who specialize in vehicle investigation tend to offer a number of different services. They may work largely for insurance companies searching for signs of fraud in regards to accidents, repair work, or theft claims. Other vehicle investigators may focus more on vehicle recovery investigations or trying to track stolen parts.
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Computer and ID Protection: Because of the increase in online crime and identity theft, a number of investigators offer extensive computer security services. In addition to helping to prevent unauthorized use of a computer network and stopping damage caused by computer viruses, the protection of important personal and financial data is a top priority for investigating agencies that offer these services. They can help to secure personal data as well as to assist law enforcement in tracking down identity thieves and other online criminals.