7 Most Common Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator

Private investigators provide a vital service in your community for private citizens and businesses alike. Still, when you think of P.I.s you may envision them simply investigating the romanticized dramas on television. In reality, they tackle a number of real life issues that many people experience. Could you use a private investigator for one of your problems? Read on to learn the 10 most common reasons regular people and companies use their services.

• Background Checks

Background checks consist of a person’s public records and the results of interviews and fact-checking missions on the part of the private investigator. A number of people can benefit from contracting background checks, including of course employers who want to verify the public information a potential candidate has provided, or if there is a suspicious individual in your personal life.

For instance, background checks are vital for people who rent out property or hire professionals to work around their home or children when they’re not around. A background check provides peace of mind that a person is who they say they are.

• Locating People

Sometimes you want to locate someone who is not necessarily ‘missing’ but who you yourself have lost contact with. P.I.s use their skills to find all sorts of people, from the birth parents of adopted children, former friends and lovers, and past professional contacts.

Even if someone has moved away, changed their name or business, remarried or any other variable, a good private investigator will be able to pick up their trace.

• Pre-Employment Screening

In addition to an employment check, you may want to look deeper into a person’s personal history to make sure there is nothing undermining their obvious advantages. Employers use private investigators to screen their candidates to make sure nothing in their past personal or professional life may come back to haunt them or the company in the future.

• Child Custody Cases

Sometimes you may not have all the evidence or witnesses you need to win a child custody battle, and that’s where private investigators come in. They can act as witnesses in court for you, as well as uncover the evidence you need to win the case. Some private investigators pride themselves in this kind of work and could provide tide-turning facts that turn the ruling in your favor.

• Surveillance

Surveillance is most often used when someone suspects a partner of being unfaithful. Infidelity is a large motivator for people to hire a private investigator. You may also require surveillance on employees who you suspect of internal fraud. Employers hire private investigators to survey employees for proof of stealing, sharing sensitive information or even falsifying contracts.

• Worker’s Compensation Claims

Worker’s compensation claims actually use a number of the skills listed above but they are exceptionally common. While only 1-2% of cases are suspected to be fraudulent, a bad case could cost a company thousands of dollars a year, so private investigators are often hired to provide evidence that a person really is or is not injured. They will use surveillance, interview and record finding skills to build a case in suspected fraud cases.

• Stalker Investigation

Did you know 6.6 million Americans are stalked every year, and many of them find it difficult or impossible to get their problems recognized by the law? Much as they do in child custody cases, private investigators will gather the evidence you need and provide qualified witness statements to prosecute stalkers and predators.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

Private investigators spend their time sniffing out corruption and immorality, and in some cases can save a person’s life or win a person well deserved custody of their child. If you have any of the problems on this list, don’t wait until it’s too late to ask for help from a well-trained private investigator.