FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I’ve Never Hired a Private Investigator Before. How Does it Work?

Hiring a Private Investigator may seem a bit daunting at first. You may feel like you’re the only one that’s ever needed to do this. No need to worry! We’ve handled hundreds upon hundreds of cases - in fact, most of our clients have never called a Private Investigator before. Listed below is what generally happens when our new clients call BrightStar Investigations.

When you first call BrightStar Investigations, you will be greeted by one of our receptionists. You will then be transferred to an investigator. Our guarantee to you is that you will always discuss your case with one of our investigators – never with an assistant or case manager. Once on the phone with an investigator, you will be asked to explain your situation. No need to be shy – we’ve just about heard it all. We genuinely care about your situation and want to help you come up with a solution.

The investigator will then ask you various questions about your situation to gain a deeper understanding of what is going on. Once the situation has been analyzed, the investigator will develop a plan of action with you to undertake an investigation. We want your investigation to be successful, so we will work with you to develop a plan that is targeted, effective and smart. At BrightStar Investigations, we believe in solutions. Many of our investigations require a great deal of creativity. We thrive on out of the box ideas. Conversely, if we can’t help you, we will be honest and let you know. We value your time and money and believe that it is better to be upfront with a client instead of giving them false hope.

Once it is determined that a private investigation is right for you, a price for services will be agreed upon by both parties, and an invoice and retainer agreement will be sent over to you. No need to worry, we use E-signature for our documents so you don’t have to print a bunch of paperwork. In addition, we also take all major credit cards and PayPal. If necessary, we also accept cash or certified bank checks.

Your situation is stressful. Calling a Private Investigator shouldn’t be. If you need an investigation, give BrightStar Investigations a call today to speak with one of our highly skilled professional investigators. You’ll be relieved that you did.

I Want my Payment to be Discreet – Can You Help with That?

Want to pay discreetly? We can do that. Will we accept payment in a parking garage late at night, or under a bridge? Yes. But we recommend meeting us in our office to pay in cash or paying with a Visa/American Express gift card. You can buy them at any store like Target or WalMart. Simply pay at the register in cash, and go to your computer and pay the invoice online.

How Does Surveillance Help my Case?

Surveillance is one of the most powerful forms of investigation that a Private Investigator can provide. Surveillance obtains information in ways that other methods of investigation cannot. For example, we have conducted surveillance in the past for a child custody investigation where one party was not allowed to drink alcohol. We followed the subject and videotaped them going into a bar and drinking multiple mixed drinks. One time we even videotaped someone drinking alcohol at a bar with their child sitting with them at the bar. To say the least, this information could not have been obtained any other way. The video evidence obtained provided the client with evidence that they needed, and we testified in court concerning the evidence we obtained.

Surveillance is an essential investigative tool. If you are facing infidelity, child custody, high-risk termination, or a myriad of other reasons to conduct surveillance, we have the experience and track record of success to get the answers that you deserve. Call us now for a free consultation and see how our private detectives can get results for you.

When Doing Surveillance, how do You Not Get Caught?

Sometimes our clients ask us how we don’t get caught doing surveillance. The answer is simple: Our Private Investigators have years of experience practicing stealthy surveillance, being silent and remaining unseen. Whether it’s following someone in a vehicle, following them into a shopping mall, or eating dinner in the same restaurant with them, we remain covert and undetected while obtaining the critical video evidence you need. Our investigators have a combined experience of over 94 years, with extensive experience and expertise conducting surveillance. In addition, we love our work and take pride in the job that we do. We have every incentive and motivation not to get caught. Rest assured, when you call BrightStar Investigations your surveillance needs will be in good hands.

Can the Evidence You Obtain on Surveillance be Used in Court?

Anytime we conduct surveillance, we become witnesses. Your attorney will decide the best way to use the evidence we collect. When appropriate, our surveillance video can be used as
leverage in legal negotiations, or it can be presented in court as evidence where we will testify. No matter what the case, our Private Detectives have extensive experience testifying in court, and are ready to collect the vital evidence you need to win your case.

What Kind of Product Will I get After Surveillance?

This is a great question that we receive fairly regularly. When we conduct surveillance, we use cutting-edge investigation equipment and technology to deliver the best possible product to our clients. When performing surveillance, we use various cameras. We obtain surveillance video from within our vehicles using cameras that are equipped with 1080p/720p HD 30/60fps quality videos. We can even obtain video in stunning 4K when requested. In addition, when we go undercover, our covert cameras are high definition 1080p/720p and vary in frame rate. All of our video is shot in color. Given the right circumstances, our surveillance video can feel like watching a movie!

We deliver a product in several forms. The most common way that we deliver a surveillance video to our clients is through digital delivery via iCloud attachment or a Dropbox link. This provides our clients the ability to watch our surveillance video quickly, and in the privacy of their own home. The second and less common way that we deliver video to our clients is via DVD. The third and very rare way we deliver surveillance video to our clients is by thumb-drive, or by showing the client the video in person.

In addition to dynamic video, if you request a report, we will generate a report for you that is court-ready. All of our investigative reports are PDF/A compliant for extended archiving. Our reports make for great exhibits in court or are good for presenting evidence for your own personal needs. Each report is typed in a professional manner that uses investigative language and contains pictures to help explain the investigation. These reports are very effective at conveying the evidence that we have collected.

No matter what the investigation, we will provide you or your legal counsel the video in any format you request! If you want industry-leading surveillance video quality and court-ready reports, and an efficient and easy way to receive it, you came to the right place!

What’s in a Background Check?

We get many phone calls for background checks. One of the first questions asked is, ‘What’s in your Background Check?’ The short answer is simple: It depends on what your needs are. Some clients want background investigations just in the state of Colorado. Other clients want us to look at an individual on a national level. Some of the most common background investigations we conduct are criminal history checks. Other types of areas that we check in a background investigation are Assets, Liens, Judgment, Foreclosures, Evictions, Address History, Social Security Fraud, and Federal Court Checks. We even have checks that will tell us if someone is on a national and/or worldwide Watchlist.

In some circumstances, we can retrieve documents from the Department of Motor Vehicles such as purchasing documents, title, and Driving Records. One time we had a case where an individual was telling the court that he had no money and could not pay child support. We went to the DMV and retrieved the documents that he purchased his vehicle with. We discovered that the vehicle was purchased mostly in cash and that the cost of the vehicle was highly expensive. We also found that this individual had over $1million dollars’ worth of assets in real estate, but was hiding them in shell LLC’s. To say the least, our client was very satisfied.

Background investigations are essential if you are just not sure about someone. If your instincts are telling you that there is something more to the story, call BrightStar and we will uncover the truth.

What do you do in a Social Media Investigation?

We are a very unique investigative firm when it comes to Social Media investigations. Most notably, anyone working on your case will be a real intelligence analyst with a degree in intelligence studies. Yes, you heard it right. All of our analysts have spent years perfecting the art of collecting information online.

The way that we collect Social Media is simple. Our analysts scour the internet for information that is relative to your case, sometimes in multiple languages. In addition, our analysts can search various corners of the Dark Web (TOR) when relevant. The greatest value that we add is that our analysts are able to collect and analyze information at a very rapid rate, which means that they can get more accomplished in a faster and more efficient amount of time, and find information that the average user may not be able to find.

Once we have identified the various places where valuable information is, we then archive it. We use proprietary law enforcement grade E-Discovery software to archive every post and data point that is relevant to your case. The best part of this service is that once the subject of the investigation deletes the information off of the internet (which they probably will), we already have it archived. That way you don’t have to subpoena Facebook or a website and wait an indeterminate amount of time to get the information, if you even get it all. Even better, the software we use creates a chain of custody with the data and is presented in a highly professional PDF file, so it is easy and effective to present in court.

Social Media investigations may seem simple at first glance. However, they are often complex and difficult to navigate. In addition, the way that we archive information is extremely valuable and may be the difference between you winning your case, or losing it.

Whether we are working for a major Hollywood production company, corporate client, or someone like you, we take our cases very seriously and dig deep to find the information you
need. If you need a social media investigation, call BrightStar Investigations and speak with one of our skilled Private Investigators today.

I Need to Find Someone – Can you Help with That?

We love finding people. Especially when they can’t be found or don’t want to be found. We are experts at tracking down people evading service of process, child support dodgers, long-lost relatives, or even lost connections. We have even tracked down stolen property.

We use a multitude of methods to find people. One method that we use is our proprietary databases. Our databases are law enforcement grade, and gather information from credit bureaus, utilities, property deeds, the DMV, and many more sources. These databases are not available to the general public, so they will provide much more accurate and detailed information than the regular people searches you can find online.

We even have access to license plate scanners that can show us where vehicles have been. When we get a hit, it can even be as recent as the last 24 hours. We have tracked down a stolen trailer using this method, and also found where someone was living who was evading service for a very long time.

There are other methods we use, some of which are trade secrets. Nonetheless, we get results for our clients, and our track record proves a high level of skill and success with finding people.If you need to find someone that can’t be found, call one of our Private Investigators today.

I Can’t Serve Someone – Can you Help?

Having problems serving someone? Are you dealing with someone who won’t answer their door, or keeps moving from place to place? I’m glad you came to BrightStar Investigations. We have served people who were deemed ‘impossible’ to serve. We have served people who needed to be served in two hours. We have served people while wearing bulletproof vests. We have served people as a pizza was being delivered to them. In fact, Investigator Craig Smith, our owner, once served an evader while he was pumping gas!

We know that you are going through a terrible situation trying to serve an evader. They have to answer to the court for what they have done! Why can’t they just take the papers like a responsible adult? Who knows? Their excuses just give us more motivation to have one of our licensed Private Investigators serve them. The best part is, we videotape our serves so you can see the great reaction on the face of the person who is trying to avoid going to court with you!

There is nothing more satisfying than serving an evader with papers and making them show up at court. Give us a call today so we can get this person served!

Your Job Must be so Fun. Is it exciting?

Craig Smith here, owner and Executive Investigator of BrightStar Investigations. Is our job fun and exciting? Absolutely. As a Private Investigator, I can say with 100% confidence that there is never a dull moment. Whether it’s conducting surveillance, going undercover, working with attorneys, conducting a high-risk serve, or engaging in a social media investigation, our job is always exciting.

I’ve been on cases that no one would believe, even if I told them. I’ve videotaped people from the side of a mountain, in theme parks, in a cocaine-fueled bar (Don’t Ask), on buses, on trains, in airports, in shopping malls, grocery stores, hotels, and all sorts of other places. In fact, one time, Investigator Gerardo and I even rode a rikshaw in downtown Denver on surveillance! Crazy night!

I thank God for my profession and consider it an amazing blessing in my life!

Even though we love our job and what we do – in the end, it’s not about us, it’s about you. My greatest enjoyment is when we get life-changing information for our clients. There is nothing better for me as a Private Investigator, then making the phone call to tell a client that we have found the information that they so desperately need. Sometimes it can be a difficult call to make because of the personal nature of the investigation, but our clients are always relieved that they know the truth. After all, the reason that you’re here is because you are looking for the truth. It’s the most important thing you can have. Call us, and we’ll help you find it.