Can anybody call themselves a "Private Investigator" if they only got a computer, no license & no police link?

Question

For years I know this full-time nurse (!) who calls herself a PI just by looking up search sites from her home computer on her time off from the hospital. Her clients are adopted people who pay her to search for their real parents. She DOES go on location & grill those in question at their home just like a police detective if they're in her home area.

She also "abuses" her power by looking up dirt on any one on the internet who disagrees with her. She does threaten them by showing them their social security numbers to them as proof of her expertise.

She has NO license to be a real PI, nor does she have any police connections in case of trouble. So I figure she cannot just walk into a station and ask to look up someone's police report there for instance.

I think she is running a very dangerous "second job," because if she provokes the wrong person, she could be targeted herself.

Is it THAT easy for you and I to call ourselves a PI?

Answer 1

I think she's already run afoul of the law. I'm thinking privacy act violation, invasion of privacy, and coercion.

I don't know if there's a law against using the title, "Private Investigator" like there is "Realtor." But the appellation does imply (at least to me) "trained and licensed." So she might be able to add fraud to the list of charges against her.

If she carries a concealed weapon, that's another charge. And the way she operates, she really needs to have some kind of protection.

If she uses the mail for her business, she could be breaking Federal law.

If she came to me and tried to coerce me with personal information protected by the privacy act, I'd report her to the County Prosecutor, and the State Attorney General.

Here's another scenario. She enters my house under false pretenses.. She tries to extort information from me through the use of privacy act information. At that point she's a definite threat. Now, if I beat the stuffing out of her, I could be in trouble. But if she dies, she's merely a trespasser, who broke into my house and threatened me and my family.

I'd say the lady's a moron.

Answer 2

Laws differ state to state as far as private investigators go. In my state you must take an exam and IF you pass your exam, then you need to be finger printed for the federal government. If you just work FOR a private investigator and you don't actually do any investigative work such as a decoy (the sexy girls PI's use to lure a man into cheating), then all you have to do is be finger printed.

When I worked as a security officer at a concert night club, I had been finger printed and classified on the federal government level as a private investigator because the company I worked for was also a private investigation company. Didn't mean I actually WAS a private investigator. You must have a special license to do that.

Either way, she is running a risky business.

Answer 3

Okay you can call yourself what you want however when you charge for it that is a civil matter and you should turn her in to the police. However you can get information online and sell it as you wish it is public information. This does have some moral issues and ethical issues but still the best action to take is contact the police. Now going to peoples house and asking questions and theating then WOW she is bold this opens a whole new can of worms so same answer you need to call the police.

Answer 4

She is running an illegal business without a license. A call to some of the tax enforcement offices could get her attention since she probably is not paying taxes on her 2nd job.

Answer 5

No, in order to be a real PI you have to obtain a license.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Report her .