Whether you received a call from a private investigator (PI), or keep seeing someone lurking everywhere you go, or your friend told you that a PI is looking for you, first of all, take a deep breath. Now take another one.

If a private investigator is looking for you, has contacted you, or is following you, just remember, just remember, they have to follow the law just like you do. They can’t enter your private residence without permission, they can’t hack your phone or computer, and they certainly aren’t allowed to use force on you. So you shouldn’t be in any danger from a private investigator.

But that doesn’t make it easy.

Knowing that a private investigator is looking for you can be a little disconcerting, especially if you have no idea WHY they are looking for you.

First, let’s consider what your situation is where you became aware that a PI is looking for you, from the least disturbing to the most disturbing:

A private investigator called you

“Why would a private investigator call me?” you ask. That could be for a lot of reasons. And it very well could be that the PI is just following up on a lead about something totally unrelated to you.

A private investigator came to your house

Okay, this is getting a lot more direct if this private investigator has come directly to your door and is trying to confront you in your own safe space. Your place of residents. Your turf. Not cool!

But seriously, it could be totally fine that a PI comes to speak with you in person. So many people are not willing to disclose information about themselves or others via the telephone, so it does make sense that the PI would come to speak to you in person — and one’s own house is literally the best place to look for a person.

A private investigator keeps following you

Are you feeling stalked? Is there a car across the street from you watching everything you do? Does it start driving and following you every time you leave the house? Does the person keep seeming to appear everywhere you go? Yeah, that’s disturbing. You have every right to call the police and report this.

Some reasons why that feisty PI may be in your life

Having a PI following you can be a good thing, and it can also be bad news. Here are a few reasons why it could be bad news:

Here are some possible unfortunate reasons why a PI may be trying to track you down and keep track of you and some fortunate reasons:

Alimony 🙁
If your ex wants you to pay more than what you’re already paying, or they want to pay less, they might try to discover if you haven’t been completely honest about how much money or assets you have.
Your spouse doesn’t trust you 🙁
Does your spouse or significant other want to be sure you’re being faithful? Does someone you know suspect you of some kind of foul play? They may be monitoring you or trying to catch you in the act of something.
Someone wants to tell you something 😐
Maybe you were adopted and your birth family is looking for you. Or maybe one of your parents had another child before you were born that they didn’t tell you about. They really meant to, but as you got older there just didn’t seem to be a right time, and before you know it, your long-lost-biological brother is sending a detective to come find you. Believe it or not, I actually know a story similar to this one.
You’re getting an inheritence 🙂
Now that everyone knows not to trust random emails saying that you inherited a fortune or the like, it’s all the more difficult for legitimate people to contact someone and convince them that they really are getting something of value that they otherwise wouldn’t have known about.
You’re a celebrity
Just kidding.
Your ex wants the kids 🙁
This is a painful one, but it can be very real. And your ex might be searching for a flaw in your parenting to snatch the kids away or at least to get more time with them.
Shady business dealings 🙁
Maybe someone suspects you of cheating them or their company. Did you register a big insurance claim recently that the insurance company would love to not pay? They may just be trying to be sure you’re legit.
Someone wants you as a business partner 🙂
Sometimes people will check out potential business partners before moving forward with them to be sure they are as great as they seem. Just keep being as great as you seem and you’ll be fine.
Someone’s worried about you 🙂
Did you just move out of your parents’ house recently? Or is one of your family members worried about you because you haven’t seemed yourself recently? If that could be the case, they might have hired a PI to keep tabs on you because they care.

Next, but not least…

How to be sure a private investigator is who they say they are

Anyone can introduce themself as a private investigator. If someone does, they should be able to prove it. Private investigators need to be licensed to practice in most states. You can ask for their license number and literally, you can look them up to see if they are registered.

Hope that helps.