PI Background Investigation Techniques 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a background investigation conducted by a private investigator?
- To gather personal information for marketing databases
- To verify an individual's identity, history, and stated credentials (Correct answer)
- To build a criminal case for law enforcement agencies
- To monitor a person's daily activities and movements
Correct answer: To verify an individual's identity, history, and stated credentials
Background investigations are conducted to verify that an individual's stated identity, history, and credentials are accurate and truthful.
Question 2: Which federal law primarily governs the use of consumer reports in background investigations conducted by private investigators?
- Privacy Act of 1974
- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (Correct answer)
- Electronic Communications Privacy Act
Correct answer: Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates who may access consumer reports, for what purposes, and what disclosures must be made to consumers.
Question 3: When conducting a pre-employment background check on behalf of an employer, a private investigator must ensure written authorization is obtained from the subject primarily due to requirements under which law?
- The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
- The Americans with Disabilities Act
- The Driver's Privacy Protection Act
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The Fair Credit Reporting Act
The FCRA requires that written authorization be obtained from the consumer before an employer can procure a consumer report for employment purposes.
Question 4: Which type of public record is typically most useful for verifying a subject's residential history during a background investigation?
- Tax lien filings
- Professional license records
- Property deed and property tax records (Correct answer)
- Voter registration records
Correct answer: Property deed and property tax records
Property deed and property tax records document ownership history at specific addresses and are among the most reliable public records for establishing residential history.
Question 5: The term 'skip tracing' in private investigation refers to which activity?
- Monitoring a subject's financial transactions over time
- Reviewing surveillance footage for suspicious behavior patterns
- Tracing the origin of anonymous written communications
- Locating a person who has moved without providing a forwarding address (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Locating a person who has moved without providing a forwarding address
Skip tracing is the process of finding a person who has 'skipped' (left) their known address without providing contact information, using records and databases to track their new location.
Question 6: Which of the following is a legitimate commercial database platform commonly used by licensed private investigators for background investigations?
- NCIC (National Crime Information Center)
- LexisNexis Accurint (Correct answer)
- CODIS (Combined DNA Index System)
- AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System)
Correct answer: LexisNexis Accurint
LexisNexis Accurint is a commercial aggregated public-records database licensed to authorized investigators; NCIC, CODIS, and AFIS are restricted to law enforcement only.
Question 7: What is 'pretexting' in the context of private investigation, and what is its legal status in the United States?
- A fully legal technique for verifying document authenticity under all circumstances
- A standard interview method conducted under an assumed identity, universally permitted
- Obtaining information under false pretenses, which is illegal in many circumstances and jurisdictions (Correct answer)
- A court-approved method of accessing otherwise sealed records
Correct answer: Obtaining information under false pretenses, which is illegal in many circumstances and jurisdictions
Pretexting involves using deception or false identities to obtain information, and while sometimes used, it is illegal in many contexts including obtaining financial records under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
PI Background Investigation Techniques 1
What is the primary purpose of a background investigation conducted by a private investigator?