When conducting an interview as a private investigator, keep a bit of an open mind as to who can give you good information and what information they may actually have!

I was interviewing a homeless man once and he was able to give me a very precise time he witnessed the event I was investigating. I can’t remember now the event (I think it was a car accident), but I’ll never forget the lesson I learned about people.

The homeless man was named Dave and, as you might imagine, life was particularly hard for him.

He didn’t have any substance abuse problems, but he struggled mentally with the crippling inability to make a decision. He could (and did!) spend all day trying to decide what pocket to put a tissue in.

I knew Dave in passing. We were on a first name basis and one day (unrelated to our “friendship”), I had to interview him about something he had seen. (If I recall correctly, it might have been a car accident.)

Dave told me he saw it and told me, “It happened at 4:35pm.”

Really? He knew the precise time? Down to the minute? How is that possible for a man who sleeps on the streets and has no watch?

“Simple.” he said. “I looked at the parking meter.”

I looked over and, sure enough, every parking meter displayed the time.

Okay, so that’s a neat “trick”. Knowing this is a clever little thing for you to have tucked away in your brain. But… The REAL lesson here is not to underestimate people!

Living on the street is hard. The men, women and children who do have sophisticated “hacks” too make it possible. Do not underestimate them. Do not underestimate anyone!

Also, let me give you some more free training with my special report If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it on the home page of my blog.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye, P.I.

P.S. – If your prayer list is getting too short, please consider adding Dave and all the homeless.

Today I reveal, if I could go back in time and change one thing in my private investigator business, what it would be.

This week’s video is a preview of the full Private Investigator Podcast (episode 4) you can find at ShadowAnyone.com/podcast

For most of the podcast I talk about “starting sooner” including how to get experience as a private investigator so you can get your PI license, but at the end of the pod cast I do talk about some Big Picture Things like religion and theology. IMHO, in the end, that’s all that really matters anyway. Right?

I mean, what do you think happens when we finally step off this planet?

If you like the information in this video and pod-cast, then don’t miss my free special report If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it right here…

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye, P.I.
John 14:21

You simply cannot learn whether something is legal or illegal from an online video!

Why do you think Law School takes so many years! Because there’s a ton of details to consider in just about every legal opinion. And even then, a judge may not agree with your lawyer!

Here’s five things to consider…

1. Is it ethical?

There is a difference between what’s legal and what’s ethical, but if what you’re considering is unethical you shouldn’t do it. Even if it is legal.

2. Would you want to be caught doing it?

If your case goes to court, what you did is likely to come to light. Here’s a question to ask yourself, “How would I feel if this was broadcast on the 11 o’clock news?” Would you want this to come up every time your name is typed into a search engine? Forever?

3. Does it pass the Sniff Test?

The mere fact that you’re asking the question, “Is this legal?”, may be an indicator that it’s dicey!

4. What if EVERYBODY did it?

This is called the “Law of Universal Projection”. If everybody took this action whenever they felt it was justified, would the world be a better or worse place? Again, the mere fact that you have to ask this question tells me what the most likely answer is.

5. Beware if someone on line says, “It’s perfectly legal to…”

They don’t know the details of your situation, the laws of your city/state or if the law has changed since they learned what they (think) they know!

BONUS TIP: Will your client LET you do it?

A lot of attorneys will place stricter limits on what you can do when working a casae for them that the law does. Don’t get the information and lose the client!

I have a bunch of things that may fall into that category in My book of 51 Dirty Tricks Bad Guys Really Hate.

If you like this helpful information, then don’t miss out on my free special report If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. If not, you can get it right here…

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye, P.I.

P.S. – Do the right thing even if it’s the hard thing!

Here’s last week’s video about infidelity sting operations.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer and nothing here is legal advice. Duh.

You probably already know I’ve literally written the book on Dirty Tricks, but this week I want to teach you that some private investigators think is okay to set up the subject of an infidelity investigation by having a pretty woman flirt with him to see if he will cheat on his wife or girlfriend. I do not!

So this week I explore the ethics of setting up someone who you are investigating and I especially use the example of someone on whom you’re conducting surveillance.

My bottom line answer to this moral question is that it is wrong!

We should never interfere or try to influence the behavior of the subject of our surveillance!

We want the unvarnished truth and you simply aren’t going to get that if you’re meddling with your subject’s behavior!

At the very least… “Pre-Decide” now that you will not do anything unethical. Think (now!) about what is ethical and unethical. At a bare minimum, you should never do anything illegal no matter how “worthy” the cause seems at the time.

If you understand the importance of this tip, then don’t miss out on my free special report If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. If not, you can get it right here…

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye, P.I.

You’re working as a private investigator and, while conducting a mobile surveillance, you get pulled over by the police… What do you do?

1. Accept it.

At this point, your subject is gone. It happens. We lose our subjects for a variety of reasons, there no sense in blaming the cop who pulled you over.

2. Be calm.

This really is no big deal. You’re most likely going to get a ticket. You’re most likely going to pay the ticket. That’s it. When it’s done, forget about it.

3. Signal and pull over to the right.

“Go right for siren and lights.”

4. Put on your hazard lights.

5. Turn off your engine.

6. Place your hands on the steering wheel at “10 and 2”.

And keep them there during the stop unless told otherwise by the cop.

7. Be polite.

Here’s some good advice for life in general… “Be Classy”.

Maybe you’re not to that level of spiritual development yet. If that’s the case, strive to reach this level: “Don’t be a jerk”.

Summary:

This is not about “getting out of a ticket”. It’s about your safety and the safety of the officer.

Let’s face it… you are probably being pulled over for a good reason so accept it.

If you’re being pulled over for some phony baloney thing… accept it. You will ALWAYS lose with a cop on the street. Just be polite and you’ll get your day in court.

Disclaimer: I am not a law enforcement officer so this advice is based on my time working as a K-9 Security Patrol Guard and from being pulled over as a working private investigator on surveillance.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye,
Private Investigator

P.S. – If you like this info from someone whose “been there and done that”, be sure to check out my special report, “If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things”. You can get it right here…