People often ask what the most popular requests for service or information we get are.

In the past 6 months or so, the most popular request we’ve received is for information on cell phone bills or landline bills. As we’ve covered before, phone records are only obtainable with a subpoena.

The next most popular request comes from people who want us to follow their spouse or significant other. We can do this, however, we will not give you specific details unless you retain counsel or are listed as pro se in an active court case. We can offer you non-specific information, for example, “He/she is at a chain food establishment in Berlin, NJ with a white male,” but nothing more.

While we will have photographs, we cannot release them to the general public (and that would include you). Think of it this way: would you want someone reporting to your significant other your every move, pulling phone records and/or running your license plate when you haven’t even done anything wrong?

Something else we are commonly asked about are social media searches. People are hearing about this practice on the news and honestly, everyone who offers them will tell you they are something different. At Harris Investigations we personally, thoroughly search over 100 sites for a specific person’s information. The more information you can provide – phone number(s), email address(es), screen name(s), etc – the more accurate the search we conduct for you can be. These searches are currently being challenged in the courts, but for now they are admissible.

Finally, another top-requested information item we receive is for medical records. While we can get them, you will have to provide a release signed by the patient and you must comply with all HIPAA laws.

Over to you: If you’ve ever hired a private investigator (or tried to), what information or service were you requesting and what was your result?