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Blogging and social media have been a very important part of expanding our footprint and growing our business. We have been blessed with a strong online following, especially in the PI community. Sharing our experiences and knowledge with our investigative community has become one of our company’s trademarks.

With the end of the decade rapidly approaching, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at the 10 most popular blog posts of the decade.

We’ll begin at #10 and work our way down.

10) Is It Legal to Record a Phone Call or Conversation? (2011)

Many of the questions we get asked are based on things people have seen in movies or read in books, and #10 on this list is no different. Everyone wants to know whether it’s legal/admissible to record a phone call without the other person’s knowledge. As is the case with most “legality” questions, the answer is rarely as simple as people think.

9) 5 Myths: What a Private Investigator Cannot (Legally) Get (2010)

This blog post was written to dispel a few frequent misconceptions about what private investigators can or cannot legally access. I say “legally” because we are often asked to obtain certain information “by any means necessary.”

In short, no, we will not break—or even bend—our morals and ethics for any case.

We are not law enforcement personnel, nor will we EVER pretend to be.

8) How Much Does It Cost to Find a Person? (2012)

Many of our potential clients ask us to locate an individual. These requests range from finding an estranged relative, sibling or parent all the way to “I saw a pretty girl on a flight from Kansas to Vermont two years ago but was too afraid to talk to her. Can you find her for me?”

While we most likely can find either subject, the cost will greatly differ based on the level of difficulty involved in locating the person. We can’t guarantee that we will find everyone, but we are realistic about our possibilities, give you an honest assessment, and have a really high success rate.

7) Private Investigator Tips: How to Find Information About Someone (2011)

The truth of the matter is, most of the information we gather when conducting an investigation is also available to the public—they just don’t know it. While some of the databases require you to be a licensed investigator, for the majority of them, it’s just a matter of knowing where to look.

And private investigators have something that others don’t: expertise. We do this every day. Just like most of us can do some light legal work, accounting work, or even an odd job around the house, you probably need a professional to represent you in a serious lawsuit, file complex taxes, or put an addition on your house.

We hate to admit it, but we’re not magicians, miracle workers, or superheroes.

(OK, sometimes we’re miracle workers.)

6) 101 Things a Private Investigator Can Do (2011)

No matter what the nature of a case is, we are here only to find and report the facts. We will never make assumptions, and will only offer an opinion if it is asked for. We will search, hunt, scour, rummage, research, question, inspect (hold on … let me check my thesaurus … OK), forage, poke around, and triple-verify in order to provide verifiable facts. What you do with those facts is up to you.

5) Pinging Cell Phone Location and Understanding Cell Tower Information (2012)

We were lucky enough to pick the brain of seasoned investigator and Diligentia Group friend Scott Ross about the world of cell phone pinging. It’s good to have friends.

4) How to Find Assets: 13 Public Record Sources to Find Assets (2011)

Here is another blog post that relates to what investigators can or cannot legally get and where we can get our information from. Our asset searches are very effective in arming our clients with information that may help them win a court case or recoup monies owed to them.

3) Can a Private Investigator Get Bank Records or Account Information? (2011)

Without a court order, there is nearly no legal way to get bank or account information from a bank without the account holder’s consent. Period. I know that there are dozens of firms or  investigators who claim that they can do this, but in short, we won’t touch it with a 10-foot pole. Philip Segal of Griffin Intelligence handled this eloquently in a recent post that is worth the read.  So, if a firm tells you that it can obtain that information for you, proceed with immense caution.

2) 101 Investigative Links for Digging Up Information on People (2014…Updated in 2019)

So, this blog post has roughly double the traffic of any of the previous eight, and we think we know why: people love digging up information (or if we’re being real, mostly dirt) on people. They’ll dig into friends and foes alike, and in the age of the internet, there is plenty to find on just about anybody. People are also primarily very (how do I say this politely?) economical when it comes to spending their own money, so they want to see how much information they can find on their own before hiring a professional.

Well, here is the most comprehensive list you will find to assist you in your internet stalking.

Happy hunting!

1) How to Verify Military Service (2012)

We’re finally here, our number one most popular blog post of the decade. This was no contest—it was a landslide victory, doubling the traffic of even #2 on this list (which, itself, had doubled the traffic of the other eight entries).

We all know that a military imposter is one of the lowest forms of humans you can be. To capitalize on someone’s respect and admiration for active servicemen and veterans is as grimy as it gets. We get many requests to verify current or past military service, and we are more than happy to help. The truth is, once again, that this information is readily available to the public. But, if you need some guidance or advice, we are 100% here to help.

So, there you have it—our 10 most popular blog posts of the past decade. We’ve posted nearly 300 posts this decade, but these 10 rose to the top.

For those who have stuck with us over the past 10 years, keep your eyes open in the coming decade, because we plan to continue blogging in the future.

Thanks for reading!

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