THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR’S HANDBOOK T H E PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR’S H A N D B O O K CHUCK CHAMBERS, PI A PERIGEE BOOK THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), cnr. Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd. Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Copyright © 2005 by Chuck Chambers ISBN: 1-4362-8362-0 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. PERIGEE is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The “P” design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The Library of Congress has cataloged the original Perigee trade paperback as follows: I would like to thank Susan Brown, for her long hours of work, as well as Joe Kane and Gentry Austin for their help with this book. I appreciate my family enduring my long nights and my grumpy mornings. Thank you all for helping me; without you it would not have been possible. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 ONE: How to Catch the Cheating Bastard 7 TWO : Cover Your Ass 43 THREE: How to Prepare an Intelligence File 63 FOUR: Protect Your Identity and Privacy 101 FIVE: How to Discover Hidden Assets 131 SIX: Cover Your Assets 167 SEVEN: The Art of Surveillance 189 EIGHT: How to Shake a Tail 225 NINE: Missing Persons 239 APPENDICES 253 APPENDIX ONE: Secure the Legal Chain of Evidence 255 APPENDIX TWO : Spyware: Recommended Private-Eye Equipment 263 APPENDIX THREE: The Art of Dumpster Diving 269