Man at desk holding searching phone records

Using a Private Investigator to Search Phone Records for Cases

Private Investigators can be hired to perform phone record searches for any number of reasons. Those reasons normally pertain to a civil or criminal case that is being handled by an attorney.  

Wireless phone records are known as Call Detail Records or CDR. These records are not protected under the Stored Communications Acts nor are they protected by the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution which protects privacy. Although, in 2007, it was signed into effect that fraudulently obtaining phone records is a felony.  

A Private Investigator will be able to gather these records legally by subpoena or by the account holder presenting a notarized letter. 

Phone companies keep very detailed records of each cell phone. Information you can expect to find when searching phone records includes:

  • Where the calls are made
  • The numbers of the calls
  • Start and end times of the calls
  • Times of text messages being sent and received
  • Times of any data transfers 

The actual contents of the text messages cannot be found with wireless phone records. If the content of text messages is needed, a direct request will need to be made to the cell phone company within days. However, what a cell phone company considers a text message depends on the service. A Private Investigator will understand the difference and be able to pursue the information necessary to gather evidence for the case.

Because there are so many different layers to cell phone records, it is a key element to be able to differentiate between each layer and knowing how to break them down. Another layer is added if it is suspected that the cell phone in question was being used by someone other than the owner of the phone.

Private Investigators are trained to work legally and ethically. If you are an attorney and need a phone records search performed for a case you are working on, we at CIAPI can help you.

 

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication at the time it was written. It is not intended to provide legal advice or suggest a guaranteed outcome. Individual situations will differ and the law may have changed since publication. Readers considering legal action should consult with an attorney to understand current laws and how they may affect a case.


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