Miscellaneous

Guide to phone records privacy

Posted on March 30, 2008
Selected Laws Governing the Disclosure of Customer Phone Records by Telecommunications Carriers, a recently released Congressional Research Service report, summarizes the laws, legislation and congressional actions related to telephone call log records...

Database of the day: Professional License Disciplinary Actions

Posted on March 19, 2008
While some people may endeavor to scrub their online reputation, most people aren’t concerned about personal information on the Internet. Investigators make use of formally and unintentional, detrimental and laudatory personal information that’s posted online to check the background of witnesses, jurors, plaintiffs, defendants, insurance claimants, potential business associates or employees and anyone whose reputation [...

Database of the Day: California Escrow Agents’ Employees Disciplinary Actions

Posted on March 12, 2008
Search by name or partial name to find disciplinary actions by the California Department of Corporations against employees of escrow agents. Results provide full name, date of action and the restriction imposed. This database contains listing of individuals that, from January 1, 1991 to the present, have been censured, suspended, or barred by the California Department [...

Database of the Day: Small Business Administration Loans Approved

Posted on March 05, 2008
Find companies and loans they’ve acquired through the Small Business Administration business loans approved database. Search by approval year and state to get a list of all companies receiving SBA loans, with the loan amount, approval date and city where the company is based...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Diploma Mills

Posted on March 01, 2008
Find accrediting agencies and accredited institutions of higher learning at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education Web site. Search by region, state, school, accrediting agency, institution, address or city. The list of search results includes address, phone number, Web site, name of accrediting institution and original date of accreditation...

Database of the Day: Alameda County Sheriff Inmate Locator

Posted on February 25, 2008
Alameda County, California has not been as advanced as other counties making public records available on the Internet. The Alameda County Sheriff joins other Sheriff departments which have created a database of current inmates. Lest public records become too easy to access, identification of inmates requires full first and last name, or PFN...

Database of the Day: Colorado Notaries

Posted on February 23, 2008
Verify a current notary registration by partial last name at the Colorado Secretary of State site. Returns full name, city, zip code and, start and end dates of the notary commission. It does not include expired registrations. Find other statewide databases of notary commissions at this SearchSystems link.

Database of the day: Albuquerque Gang Registry

Posted on February 11, 2008
The Albuquerque Police Department has established a registry of gang members who have been convicted of a violation of the Albuquerque Anti-Gang Ordinance. As of yet, there are no convictions, but records will be in an alphabetical directory and include a photo, the full name, the offense committed, the date of conviction and a [...

This week in databases: California - Connecticut - Immigration Doctors - DEA Registrant Actions

Posted on February 07, 2008
Those who research historical records - as I do for Quiet Title actions, family history and heir locates - will find the new California Voter Registrations - 1900-1968, supplied by Ancestry.com very helpful. You can search a name for free, but a subscription is required to view an image of the record...

Violence Registries

Posted on January 26, 2008
I guess the sex offender registries have been a sufficiently popular idea that states are continuing to create boutique criminal records databases. Baltimore, Maryland recently approved legislation that would create a public Gun Offenders Registry, requiring those convicted of gun related offenses register their name, address, and photograph with the police department...

Comparing free real estate research

Posted on January 16, 2008
The free real property databases are extending their geographical coverage and the types of features that delight investigators. Zillow has a fly-on-the-cyber-wall feature that will be appreciated by lawyers and investigators: number of total and recent month page views for a particular property...

Around the Internet: Registration Lookups

Posted on January 14, 2008
I was setting out to write about state lookup and registration of “Do Not Call” and “No Call” phone numbers. More on this in a moment. I’m diverging to mention a few voter registration lookup links. The Federal Voting Assistance Program, U...

This week in public records: Colorado - Nevada - Vermont

Posted on January 10, 2008
The Colorado Board of Medical Examiners is expanding the range of information on doctors at its site. This data on new licensees is expected to be posted April 2008, but will only be gathered and posted for current licensees in 2009. The following information will be disclosed: * Name * [...

California Private Investigators Help Florida Authorities Nab CyberStalker

Posted on January 08, 2008
Here’s a very positive story about a PI firm in California that was working on a local case stumbled upon a teen MySpace cyberstalker. As a result of their investigation, Lee County Sheriff’s Office made an arrest in the Southwest Florida county...

Louisiana Private Investigator Files Complaint with US Postal Service

Posted on January 08, 2008
Don’t mess with Louisiana private-eye Stephanie Ware. She received a ticket in the mail with the phrase “official government business” on the envelope. After further investigation she determined that the company who sent this notice was a non-governmental entity...

Private Investigator Develops Evidence To Release Man Imprisoned for 21 Years

Posted on January 08, 2008
Bill Clutter’s work as an Illinois private investigator has helped to free two men and is a perfect example of the how investigators in the private sector are an asset to the public. Bill is also the director of investigations for the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois at Springfield...

Ohio BWC Worker Allegedly Admits to Selling Data to Private Investigator

Posted on January 05, 2008
Here we go again, another incident involving a private investigator that tarnishes the reputation of an entire profession all in the name of making a quick buck. A local Ohio newspaper is now reporting that a worker at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has allegedly admitted to selling the Social Security numbers and other [...

Global Economy Opens Many Doors to International Investigations

Posted on January 04, 2008
An article by CFO.com reports that a recent Ernst & Young survey of more than 300 corporate-development officers and other finance professionals found that many companies use forensic techniques, including hiring private investigators, to learn more about local market dynamics and the people involved in a potential deal...

Alleged Jailbreaker Poses as Private Investigator

Posted on January 04, 2008
Here’s another example of a dumb criminal with a twist. It appears that two Mississippi men thought they could actually help free their buddy in a Wilkinson County jail using forged court documents with one of the men posing as a private investigator...

Private Investigator License May Be Required for Computer Forensics

Posted on January 04, 2008
Computer Forensic professionals are quickly finding out that several states are now requiring them to be licensed as private investigators. A recent article in Baseline Magazine details how legislators in South Carolina have introduced pending legislation where “digital forensic evidence gathered for use in a court in this state must be collected by a person [...

Database of the Day: Inactive Voters Lists

Posted on January 02, 2008
Some states, counties and towns list current registered voters on a Web site. But you might also look for databases and PDF files that voter registrars and town clerks compile of formerly registered voters. States and local agencies variously refer to these non current registered voters lists as purged, inactive or excluded...

This week in public records: Massachusetts - Illinois - Washington

Posted on December 31, 2007
Town registrars in Massachusetts publish an annual “street list” of local resident names, dates of birth, occupations, veteran status and nationality, which has been a public record. A state Senate bill would change that status, from one of a public record, to one that is only available for federal, state and local governmental use...

The armchair investigator: Employment background on the Internet

Posted on December 29, 2007
The online telephone directory, 411.com isn’t just for finding listed telephone numbers. Use it to identify current employment or to expand the employment history profile of your subject. A search on my name in California returned 40 results. Some are home listings, but other records are work contacts...

The armchair investigator: Social Media and Teens

Posted on December 24, 2007
The Pew Internet & American Life Project report, Teens and Social Media, supports the continuing importance of the Internet for due diligence, background, employment and skip tracing investigations, as well as, reputation research and even surveillance for legal and insurance matters...

This week in public records: New York - Minnesota - Vermont

Posted on December 23, 2007
The New York Court of Appeals supported the private real property data vendor, Data Tree, in its quest to secure an electronic version of property records. New York Court of Appeals Rejects Reporters Committee Rationale, Access Reports, December 20, 2007...

Database of the Day: Historical SEC Records

Posted on December 13, 2007
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Access to Archival Databases (NARA AAD) maintains searchable collections of government records and indexes online. The most popular are military: World War II Army Enlistment Records, Records on Korean War Dead and Wounded Army Casualties, Records of World War II Prisoners of War and Records with Unit [...

Monday, December 10 FTC workshop on Social Security numbers

Posted on December 09, 2007
This 1 1/2 day workshop starts at 8:30am and will be Webcast. The agenda of topics and speakers from government and commerce, and professional and advocacy groups, is prominently sprinkled with privacy activists who take absolutist positions against access by private investigators to credit bureau and government records that contain Social Security numbers...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.