This is why private investigators won’t help you find that “last piece of the puzzle” you’re looking for.

I’ve seen many posts on here and over at the r/privinv subreddit, and they all go a little like this:

• I have all this person’s information: Name, address, social, date of birth, etc. But I just need to verify a phone number, can you help me find it?

• I’ve been in contact with a friend but suddenly, they went silent and I’m concerned about where they are or how they’re doing?

• I met a person at a local conference and we had a great time. She/he gave me their phone number and I lost it in the airport, I know their name, age, and city where they live, can you help me find it?

For the most part, these posts are structured like: “I want to track down [what they’re looking for] because [insert sad/unfortunate/strange story]". I’m sure you guys know what I’m talking about now.

The reason private investigators won’t track down this information for you is this – none of the stories sound legitimate.

What we read is: Concerned for a friend who went silent after texting for a while.

What we hear is: I met a person on tinder, they stopped responding to me so now I want to stalk them.

The information that many of these posts are requesting is not difficult to obtain, but more often than not, there are no permissible reasons behind the gathering of the data. As private investigators, we are governed by laws and regulations that prevent us from pulling up information on the willy-nilly. We need a GLBA permissible use – tracking down your one-night stand is not one of the reasons.

So, when a private investigator says, “Contact the police” it doesn’t mean that he/she doesn’t have the skill or experience to do it, it just means that something doesn’t smell right. Most private investigators have a bull**** radar to detect when a person is trying to gather information to hurt/harass/threaten/mess with/blackmail, etc. another individual.

So, you may be thinking: Why the heck does a private investigator care if we do that?

Because we could lose our license and face criminal penalties if something were to happen due to our investigation. If we – for whatever reason – provide information to you about a person, and you end up hurting said person, we’re technically (in most states) responsible for what you did to them.

Hopefully that answers some questions as to why investigators cant/wont help.