How To Tell if a Private Investigator is Following You
February 27, 2021 - Reading time: 14 minutes
Have you ever wondered how you can tell if a private investigator is following you? The goal for private detectives is to remain hidden and unnoticed by the subject during an investigation, and if the investigation is conducted properly then the subject should never be made aware that they are being followed. However, there are certain clues to look for that a PI might be following you, and steps you can take to verify that this is the case.
Is there a reason for a private investigator to follow me?
This is the first question that you should ask yourself if you believe that you are being followed or watched by a private eye. Hiring a private investigator to conduct surveillance and follow someone around is not usually a cheap endeavour and is typically only undertaken for good reason.
Have you recently made an insurance claim which is likely to be investigated? Are you currently in the midst of divorce or child custody proceedings which involve allegations of infidelity or improper conduct? These are some of the situations where a detective may be instructed to place you under surveillance.
Perhaps you have been warned by your legal counsel that you may be placed under surveillance by a private investigator pending legal proceedings, or have suspicions that a partner or ex-partner may decide to keep tabs on you by hiring a private detective. If any of these points apply to you, then you might decide to be extra vigilant with the hopes of blowing the detective’s cover.
How to tell if a private investigator is following you?
If you suspect that someone might be following you, then this should act as a cause for concern. While private detectives operate within the law and are merely tasked with following and photographing their subjects, private investigators are not the only people that might place you under surveillance. An assortment of different crimes such as kidnapping, burglary, or extremism, all rely on an element of surveillance so that the perpetrator can gather intelligence prior to committing their crimes.
We have put together the following 12 tips that can help you to tell if a private investigator is following you.
1. Change your routine
People are creatures of habit and tend to form routines in their day-to-day lives. Most people take the same route to and from work every day, they shop at the same stores, and develop predictable routines. Perhaps you always mow the lawn on a Sunday afternoon or wash your car on Saturdays… Whatever the case, it’s likely that you have developed a routine which a private investigator would look to understand and use to their full advantage.
Changing your routine can help to notice any abnormalities and make surveillance a more cumbersome task. You could take different routes to work each day, for example, and try to keep a mental note of any vehicles in your rear-view mirror. If the same vehicle continues to reappear despite you taking different routes, this could be a sign that perhaps you are being followed by a private investigator.
2. False indicating and abrupt turns
If a person suspects that they are being followed, they will sometimes use tactics such as indicating to turn right, but instead turning left at the last moment. Whilst doing this they can check to see how the vehicle behind them behaves. Was the car behind also indicating to turn right but instead turned left? If this is the case then it can be taken as a strong indication that you are being followed.
3. Doubling back
Doubling back is another common tactic that a person might use if they believe they are being followed, and this tactic is effective in many cases. For example, during one infidelity related case, we were tasked with following a gentleman that was taking a break from his wife in a hotel. An agent was placed outside the subject’s hotel and after a period of time the subject left the hotel and was followed on foot.
The subject was followed for approximately 600 meters before he reached a crossroads. Once he reached the crossroads he stopped, turned around and walked back. We then followed him for several minutes before he again stopped, turned around, and double backed. This continued several times.
As it turns out, the subject was visiting the area again after some years and was trying to familiarize himself with the location. However, his tactic of turning around many times would have hampered the efforts of most detectives.
If you turn around more than once and notice the same person behind you, remember their face. If this person continues to appear then perhaps they are behind you for a reason.
4. Make three left or three right turns
If a vehicle is continuing to follow behind you after you have made three left turns in a row, or three turns right in a row, then this can act as a fairly strong indication that you are being followed by that vehicle.
Competent private detectives are trained to spot abnormal behaviour and would likely notice that a subject vehicle has made 3 left, or 3 right turns, and would then either end the surveillance assignment or break off and allow a different agent in a different vehicle to continue following.
5. Making abrupt exits
What do we mean by making abrupt exits? Well, if the subject is making a visit to a supermarket, gym, or restaurant, for example, then it would be reasonable to assume that they will spend anywhere from 30-60 minutes inside those type of establishments. If a subject walks into a gym carrying their gym bag, and then turns around and walks back out 2 minutes later - this will potentially catch the agent off guard, as they won’t be expecting such an abrupt exit.
Strange or unexpected activity like this can cause a private investigator to lose the subject, as they might have started to follow on foot and struggle to return back to their vehicle in time, or if the agent is waiting inside their vehicle, they may be in the process of preparing or repositioning themselves.
6. Be unpredictable
A subject that is making odd and unpredictable movements is usually the most difficult for a detective to follow or keep tabs on. Certainly, if the subject’s movements are so strange as to warrant concern, then surveillance might be called off altogether for fear that the subject might be catching on to the detective’s activities.
If a vehicle stops abruptly on the side of the road, or drives more than once around a roundabout, for example, then it may be difficult for the detective to continue following the subject while remaining unnoticed. If a vehicle is expected to travel a short distance, but instead drives a very long distance, this can also make surveillance more difficult if the surveillance team are not setup for such an eventuality.
7. Check your vehicle for tracking devices
GPS tracking devices are small gadgets which are often used by private investigators. Trackers are usually attached underneath cars using powerful magnets or tape. The tracker can then provide the detective with the vehicle’s exact location at any time of the day or night. GPS trackers will track the movements of a vehicle 24 hours per day, with the detective able to view this information through an online control panel.
GPS trackers are usually fitted to the vehicle using strong magnets or tape in some case. Taking a look underneath your vehicle for anything unusual would be a good idea if you suspect that a detective could be following you; although it should be noted that many trackers are very small and when fitted correctly can prove difficult to spot. Once your vehicle has been thoroughly checked for trackers, it should then be parked in a secure location to prevent any trackers being fitted.
8. Check for bugging devices
Hidden cameras and microphones can be easily purchased on the internet. Anyone, whether they are a private detective, jealous partner, or business rival, are able to purchase bugging equipment with the goal of eavesdropping on your private conversations. Bugging equipment poses a significant threat to privacy when misused.
Thousands of hidden microphones and cameras are sold on the internet every day, and these devices end up in homes and businesses all-over the country. If you suspect that your home or business has been bugged, or that a tracker has been placed on your car, then we can help to check your property or vehicle for any bugging devices. Using specialised debugging equipment our detectives are able to seek out any bugs or tracking devices. Please read our bug sweeping page for more information on this service.
9. Be more vigilant
There is a fine line between having well founded concerns that a private investigator could be following you, and being paranoid. With that said, if there is a valid reason that a private detective is likely to follow you, then being more vigilant of people or vehicles can help to discover that you are being followed and blow the detective’s cover.
Let’s say you spot a vehicle parked on your street in the morning before driving to a supermarket where you spot the same car again. While the odds of this occurring naturally are slim, it may not be cause for concern by itself. However, if you spot the same vehicle again in a different location later that day or the following day, the odds of this being a coincidence are further reduced.
10. Check your social media
It is no secret that private investigators frequently use social media to gather information on subjects. In some cases, valuable clues and pieces of information can be gathered using social media.
As many people choose to lock down their social media privacy settings, and limit their post visibility to “friends only”, private investigators will often create many different social media accounts for use in these cases. The detective can then choose whether he will send a friend request using a fake account where he poses as an attractive female, or an elderly man, or anything in-between. Sometimes private detectives will first send friend requests to people on the subject’s friends list, this way the detective’s account and the subject’s account will have mutual friends, and the subject might be less suspicious and more likely to accept the detective’s friend request.
The bottom line is that social media can be used by private detectives, or other adversaries, to gather information. Paying extra attention to your social media presence would be a good idea if you feel that you might be getting followed be a private investigator.
11. Use counter-surveillance
We frequently perform counter-surveillance across the UK. Using proven techniques, our detectives can help to identify private investigators or other individuals that are conducting surveillance against our clients. Once we have confirmed that surveillance is taking place, we will alert our client and work with them to hinder the surveillance operation by feeding disinformation and red herrings to the other side. Cleverly feeding disinformation in this way can help to draw out the surveillance campaign and cause it to be as expensive as possible for the other side.
If you feel that a detective might be following you, then we can help to check if this is the case as part of our counter-surveillance service. Please click through our website for more information and pricing.
12. Camera up!
If you suspect that a private investigator, or even a stalker might be following you, then we would suggest using cameras to your advantage. CCTV cameras on your home can help to alert you of suspicious vehicles or people; though we would also recommend a dash cam system for your vehicle (preferably with at least front and rear cameras).
The person following you may not always be a private investigator, and they might be surveilling you in order to gather information which could aid them in committing a crime against yourself or your property. Camera systems can act as a deterrent and also help to gather information which could be used should you be subject to a hostile act at a later date.
What should I do if a private investigator is following me?
Is you suspect that a private investigator might be following you, our advice would be not to panic, and not to immediately throw your cards on the table either. What do we mean by this? Well, if a private investigator is following you pending legal proceedings, then taking the opportunity to demonstrate that your claims are correct, or that no foul play is taking place, could actually work in your favour.
If the subject of an investigation freaks out, or simply makes it known that they are aware they’re being followed, the detective will use more tricks to avoid being noticed in the future. This could mean using a different vehicle each time surveillance is conducted, using different agents which the subject will not recognize, sending agents to take photographs on foot instead of using vehicles, parking further away in order to remain unnoticed, or using multiple vehicles while conducting surveillance.
While a competent detective should not gather attention from the subject of their investigation whilst conducting surveillance, if you have noticed that a PI is following you, and you make this known, then the detective will almost certainly take extra precautions to ensure that their cover is not blown again in the future.
If a detective suspects that a subject might be catching on, they will typically use more tricks to avoid being noticed in the future. The best idea in most cases would be to “play dumb”. Private investigators work within the law, and contacting the police will not stop a legitimate private detective from following you. In some cases private investigators may even forewarn their local police force that they will be conducting surveillance, in which case the police might decide not to respond if they are contacted by suspicious members of the public.
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