How to use these articles

These articles come out of real casework. When the same question comes up on enough calls, we write the answer down.

Three kinds of posts sit here. Practical guides explain how something works, such as what a polygraph can and cannot show, or how investigators actually find someone who does not want to be found. Warning sign pieces help you catch a problem early, such as elder financial abuse or a romance scam. Process pieces cover what hiring an investigator involves, including what it costs and what a surveillance operation looks like from the client side.

None of it is legal advice. Investigation law in New York is specific, and your situation may turn on a detail an article cannot know about. If a post is close to your problem but not quite it, call and ask.

Every article is directed by David Schassler, who has run the agency since 1989 under New York DOS license number 11000169770, which you can check at the New York Department of State license search. Where an article cites a statute or a federal reporting body, the link goes to the primary source so you can read it yourself.