Intermountain PI Podcast | Ep. 9 | August 6, 2019 | Private Investigator Review of the Keychain Spy Camera

This is an independent private investigator review of the Keychain Spy Camera.  To begin with, there are several versions of this particular Keychain Spy Camera.  However, the device I’m reviewing is also called the Car Key Video Recorder or the KeyChain Hidden Cam.  That’s probably clear as mud.  

By the way, a quick disclaimer about this and all private investigator equipment and services I’ll be reviewing in the future:

DISCLAIMER

REVIEWS ARE INDEPENDENT AND BASED SOLELY ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND OPINION

I NEVER REVIEW ANY EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE UNLESS I HAVE USED IT FIRST

I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THE VENDORS WHOSE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES I REVIEW

FINALLY, I DON’T RECEIVE COMPENSATION FOR ANY OF MY REVIEWS

Going forward, all of my private investigator reviews will proceed as follows.  First, I’m going to give you The Rundown.  This week’s rundown is on the Keychain Spy Camera.  In other words, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about it.  Second, I’ll give you The Specs.  Everything a private investigator needs to know about the product.  Including information about the battery life, storage capacity, operating temperatures, etc.  Third, I’ll give you The Score.  This is my score of the product or service.  I’ll write a short review and then rate the product or service giving it a score from one to five Sherlocks. With one Sherlock being the worst and five Sherlocks being the best.

Let’s begin this week with a private investigator review of the Keychain Spy Camera.

THE RUNDOWN

The Keychain Spy Camera is a covert video camera that looks exactly like a car alarm remote.  In other words, it’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and it’s extremely versatile.  For example, it can be used to covertly obtain video of your subject inside most businesses.  You can just follow your subject around and gather video.  The Keychain Spy Camera makes it easy to stand next to your subject in Walmart or follow them at outdoor events.       

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To say nothing of putting the device on a bar or on a table at a restaurant.  In fact, I’ve used it in all these different ways.  To clarify, it’s suitable for just about any occasion.  With this in mind let’s look at the product specifications.

THE SPECS

The Keychain Spy Camera records audio, video and takes photographs.  It comes with the actual Keychain Spy Camera, a USB cable and a short manual.  It does not come with a power plug.  You’ll have to buy one separately or just charge it with your computer.  The device has the following specifications:

Color  Black with silver keychain.

Dimensions  2.05″ by 1.3″ by 0.39″ 

Battery Power  1.5 hours

Storage  The device has no internal memory.  But you can record up to 16 hours of video on a Micro SD Card (up to 32GB of memory) 

Video Format  AVI

Video Resolution  720 x 480 at 30fps

Audio Format  WAV

Image Resolution  1280 x 960, JPEG 1,300,000 pixels

PC Interface  Mini USB 2.0

Time and Date Stamp set by means of a .txt file

Time and Date Stamp Format  yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

Battery Charge Time  3 to 4 hours.  You can charge it on your computer in a USB port or buy a power plug and plug it into an electrical outlet.

Battery Type  DC 5V/180 mA Lithium Battery

Compatibility  Windows ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/8/10 and Mac 10.4

Finally, let’s look at the the score.

THE SCORE

2 SHERLOCKS

The score reflects my experience with the Keychain Spy Camera.

Intermountain PI Podcast | Ep. 9 | August 6, 2019 | Private Investigator Review of the Keychain Spy Camera

This is an independent private investigator review of the Keychain Spy Camera.  To begin with, there are several versions of this particular Keychain Spy Camera.  However, the device I’m reviewing is also called the Car Key Video Recorder or the KeyChain Hidden Cam.  That’s probably clear as mud.  

By the way, a quick disclaimer about this and all private investigator equipment and services I’ll be reviewing in the future:

DISCLAIMER

REVIEWS ARE INDEPENDENT AND BASED SOLELY ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND OPINION

I NEVER REVIEW ANY EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE UNLESS I HAVE USED IT FIRST

I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THE VENDORS WHOSE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES I REVIEW

FINALLY, I DON’T RECEIVE COMPENSATION FOR ANY OF MY REVIEWS

Going forward, all of my private investigator reviews will proceed as follows.  First, I’m going to give you The Rundown.  This week’s rundown is on the Keychain Spy Camera.  In other words, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about it.  Second, I’ll give you The Specs.  Everything a private investigator needs to know about the product.  Including information about the battery life, storage capacity, operating temperatures, etc.  Third, I’ll give you The Score.  This is my score of the product or service.  I’ll write a short review and then rate the product or service giving it a score from one to five Sherlocks. With one Sherlock being the worst and five Sherlocks being the best.

Let’s begin this week with a private investigator review of the Keychain Spy Camera.

THE RUNDOWN

The Keychain Spy Camera is a covert video camera that looks exactly like a car alarm remote.  In other words, it’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and it’s extremely versatile.  For example, it can be used to covertly obtain video of your subject inside most businesses.  You can just follow your subject around and gather video.  The Keychain Spy Camera makes it easy to stand next to your subject in Walmart or follow them at outdoor events.       

JOIN THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI NATION AND SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

To say nothing of putting the device on a bar or on a table at a restaurant.  In fact, I’ve used it in all these different ways.  To clarify, it’s suitable for just about any occasion.  With this in mind let’s look at the product specifications.

THE SPECS

The Keychain Spy Camera records audio, video and takes photographs.  It comes with the actual Keychain Spy Camera, a USB cable and a short manual.  It does not come with a power plug.  You’ll have to buy one separately or just charge it with your computer.  The device has the following specifications:

Color  Black with silver keychain.

Dimensions  2.05″ by 1.3″ by 0.39″ 

Battery Power  1.5 hours

Storage  The device has no internal memory.  But you can record up to 16 hours of video on a Micro SD Card (up to 32GB of memory) 

Video Format  AVI

Video Resolution  720 x 480 at 30fps

Audio Format  WAV

Image Resolution  1280 x 960, JPEG 1,300,000 pixels

PC Interface  Mini USB 2.0

Time and Date Stamp set by means of a .txt file

Time and Date Stamp Format  yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

Battery Charge Time  3 to 4 hours.  You can charge it on your computer in a USB port or buy a power plug and plug it into an electrical outlet.

Battery Type  DC 5V/180 mA Lithium Battery

Compatibility  Windows ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/8/10 and Mac 10.4

Finally, let’s look at the the score.

THE SCORE

2 SHERLOCKS

The score reflects my experience with the Keychain Spy Camera.

Intermountain PI Podcast | Ep. 8 | July 30, 2019 | Private Investigator Steven Rambam Missing Persons Expert

Steven Rambam is a private investigator.  He’s the founder and CEO of Pallorium, a licensed private investigation firm in New York City.  Founded in 1981, his company has closed more than 10,000 cases all across the fruited plain, as well as internationally.   His cases have ranged from homicide to complex insurance and financial fraud.  But where Steven Rambam really excels, is in death claim investigations and missing person cases.  Why?  Because he has this innate ability to find people that don’t want to be found.  In fact, if Rambam can’t find you…you probably don’t exist.

PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

Private Investigator Steven Rambam Missing Persons Expert, is also host of a new reality television show. The show will be based in New York and Texas.  Plus, Rambam was previously the host of Investigation Discovery Channel’s Nowhere To Hide. If you’re reading this post, please listen to the podcast to hear my complete interview with Steven Rambam.

LECTURER AND KEYNOTE SPEAKER

He has spoken on many topics including, The Location of Missing Persons, The Criminal use of False Identification and Foreign Investigations.  Not to mention War Crimes and the Pursuit of War Criminals.  Moreover, his lectures have included Privacy Is Dead – Get Over It and International Investigations.  Rambam has been a licensed Investigator and Security services provider for more than 35 years.  He’s worked in more than 60 countries. 

JOIN THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI NATION AND SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Additionally, Steven is an instructor, trainer and a recognized subject matter expert.  Especially on topics such as Computer-Aided Investigation and Open Source Intelligence.  Plus, International and Multi-Jurisdictional Investigations and Digital Officer Safety.  

And if that’s not enough, Rambam holds the CFE board certification from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner, the CPP, PSP and PCI board certifications from ASIS International and the CSAR certification from the International Association of Asset Recovery Specialists.

ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS  

Furthermore, he’s also a member of just about every important industry organization, including the Fraternal Order of Investigators, World Association of Detectives, National Association of Investigative Specialists, National Council of Investigation and Security Services, Texas Association of Licensed Investigators, Florida Association of Licensed Investigators, California Association of Licensed Investigatorsand the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners just to name a few.  There’s a lot more but we’d be here all day. 

Finally, for additional information,

THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI PODCAST | EP. 7 | JULY 23, 2019 | CONFESSIONS OF A PRIVATE EYE BY SCOTT FULMER

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a real private investigator?  I’m not talking about television private eyes like The Rockford Files or Magnum, P.I.  No, I’m talking about what it’s really like to be a private investigator.  

Today’s podcast will be a short book review of Confessions of a Private Eye by Scott Fulmer.  That’s me.  And this is my book.  To explain, it’s a true crime memoir about my thirty years as a real private investigator.  Throughout its 248 pages I offer an accurate behind-the-scenes look at some of my

real-life cases. For starters, it was published in February 2018 and has received some great reviews.  So, why a book? And why my book?  As a matter of fact, I am devoting one podcast episode a month to reviewing true-crime and private investigator-related books.  Furthermore, I think you’ll enjoy it.

CONFESSIONS OF A PRIVATE EYE    

To begin with, Confessions of a Private Eye by Scott Fulmer is about my thrilling private eye career spanning some three decades.  I’ve seen it all.  At least I think I have.  To begin with, I  describe in breathtaking detail my investigations and daring challenges involving kidnapped children, complex insurance scams, and even a missing 3 karat diamond ring.  In addition I talk about the time I busted a fake chiropractic clinic or recovered thousands of dollars of purloined tortillas.  Yes, I said tortillas.  True story. Additionally, there was the time I proved an injured stripper wasn’t so injured after all.  In the shadowy world of the private eye, truth really is stranger than fiction.  First, let’s look at some reviews.  I begin with Deseret News.

DESERET NEWS BOOK REVIEW

Reporter Amanda Olson of the Deseret News reviewed Confessions of a Private Eye by Scott Fulmer, in April of 2018.  Olson writes:

Fulmer’s modesty is part of what makes this book worth reading. He’s just as hardworking as we are, he gets nervous like we do and he asks the same kinds of fine-lined questions — what’s illegal and what’s unethical — at his job as we do at ours. Only Fulmer isn’t drinking his Dr. Pepper at a desk like the rest of us, and the variation of his day-to-day is another part of what makes his stories so fun.”

“Fulmer is sorting through trash one moment and getting accosted by a subject the next. He’s working for an angry ex-husband one week, and then he’s off on a case for the federal government. But Fulmer doesn’t glamourize this; he gets tired and his days can be lonely, especially as he often has to leave his family for long stretches of time. Because Fulmer isn’t romanticizing his experiences, it’s easy to like them — and him—all the more.  

Wow.  That sounds exciting.  Although it’s Diet Dr. Pepper these days.  By the way, you can read the full review of my book by the Deseret News here.  

At the age of eight, I discovered the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators and the Hardy Boys in the library at Huppertz Elementary School.

THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI PODCAST | EP. 7 | JULY 23, 2019 | CONFESSIONS OF A PRIVATE EYE BY SCOTT FULMER

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a real private investigator?  I’m not talking about television private eyes like The Rockford Files or Magnum, P.I.  No, I’m talking about what it’s really like to be a private investigator.  

Today’s podcast will be a short book review of Confessions of a Private Eye by Scott Fulmer.  That’s me.  And this is my book.  To explain, it’s a true crime memoir about my thirty years as a real private investigator.  Throughout its 248 pages I offer an accurate behind-the-scenes look at some of my

real-life cases. For starters, it was published in February 2018 and has received some great reviews.  So, why a book? And why my book?  As a matter of fact, I am devoting one podcast episode a month to reviewing true-crime and private investigator-related books.  Furthermore, I think you’ll enjoy it.

CONFESSIONS OF A PRIVATE EYE    

To begin with, Confessions of a Private Eye by Scott Fulmer is about my thrilling private eye career spanning some three decades.  I’ve seen it all.  At least I think I have.  To begin with, I  describe in breathtaking detail my investigations and daring challenges involving kidnapped children, complex insurance scams, and even a missing 3 karat diamond ring.  In addition I talk about the time I busted a fake chiropractic clinic or recovered thousands of dollars of purloined tortillas.  Yes, I said tortillas.  True story. Additionally, there was the time I proved an injured stripper wasn’t so injured after all.  In the shadowy world of the private eye, truth really is stranger than fiction.  First, let’s look at some reviews.  I begin with Deseret News.

DESERET NEWS BOOK REVIEW

Reporter Amanda Olson of the Deseret News reviewed Confessions of a Private Eye by Scott Fulmer, in April of 2018.  Olson writes:

Fulmer’s modesty is part of what makes this book worth reading. He’s just as hardworking as we are, he gets nervous like we do and he asks the same kinds of fine-lined questions — what’s illegal and what’s unethical — at his job as we do at ours. Only Fulmer isn’t drinking his Dr. Pepper at a desk like the rest of us, and the variation of his day-to-day is another part of what makes his stories so fun.”

“Fulmer is sorting through trash one moment and getting accosted by a subject the next. He’s working for an angry ex-husband one week, and then he’s off on a case for the federal government. But Fulmer doesn’t glamourize this; he gets tired and his days can be lonely, especially as he often has to leave his family for long stretches of time. Because Fulmer isn’t romanticizing his experiences, it’s easy to like them — and him—all the more.  

Wow.  That sounds exciting.  Although it’s Diet Dr. Pepper these days.  By the way, you can read the full review of my book by the Deseret News here.  

At the age of eight, I discovered the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators and the Hardy Boys in the library at Huppertz Elementary School.

THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI | EP. 6 | JULY 16, 2019 | PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR SCOTT FULMER AND THE GREAT TORTILLA CAPER

I had worked for these guys before when they had a similar  employee theft issue. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything about it after the first time.  And so, like the round shape of a

tortilla, things had come full circle.  Anyway, I found myself landing at Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas where I rented a car and then headed to Caliente Sabroso Foods.*  They’re one of the largest distributors of Mexican Food products in the southwestern United States.  As it happened, they were dealing with an apparent inventory shortage; somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars.  They suspected it was an employee or two on their warehouse closing crew but they needed proof of the employee theft.  I was there to meet with Rocky Sepulveda,* the senior manager of their facility in southeast Houston.  By the way you can read the full story of Private Investigator Scott Fulmer and the Great Tortilla Caper in my book, Confessions of a Private Eye.

To begin with, the Caliente Sabroso warehouse was at the lonely end of large commercial business park. In fact, it faced a similar warehouse with a large parking area between the two.  A few employee vehicles and some empty tractor trailers were scattered throughout the parking lot.  Unfortunately, there was no suitable vantage point to conduct surveillance.  I would need some help on this caper.  I phoned Stu Hall, a former business partner of mine and a Texas private investigator.  Stu agreed to help me with the surveillance and we got down to business.  But proving employee theft isn’t always easy. 

PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR SCOTT FULMER AND THE GREAT TORTILLA CAPER

In the first place, the closing crew was keenly aware of any and all vehicles that belonged in the parking lot in front of the warehouse.  For this reason, sitting in a surveillance vehicle to document employee theft was out of the question.  I had Rocky rent a van and park it near the warehouse.  He then let the employees know a Caliente Sabroso sales manager was flying in from the Dallas office to use it in the next few days.  Later that night, I snuck into the van under the shroud of darkness.  I stayed on surveillance until midnight hoping I would observe members of the warehouse crew engage in employee theft. However, no one on the closing crew ever made a move that would explain the inventory shortage. Speaking of surveillance, check out one of my earlier podcasts.  After a week of this Rocky grew impatient.  We needed another plan if we were going to prove employee theft.  In this case, it was Stu that finally hit upon a solution.

To clarify, Stu would scale the roof of the adjoining warehouse and shoot video of the employee theft from above.  The warehouse crew always kept their eyes on the parking lot.  But they never bothered to look up on the roof of the adjacent warehouse.  As we use to say in the Army: if it’s stupid but it works…it isn’t stupid.  A week later we hit pay dirt.

PROVING EMPLOYEE THEFT FROM A NEARBY ROOF

I think it was about 10:00 PM on an unusually cold clear Fall night when Stu and I arrived to begin surveillance.  A biting wind was blowing in from the north.  We parked our cars at a small commercial bakery around the corner from the warehouse and then quietly made our way on foot to the back of the bordering warehouse.  A permanent iron ladder descended from the roof of the warehouse but for safety reasons ended about seven feet from the ground.  Stu had brought a yellow tow rope with a hook on the end and, after several attempts,

THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI | EP. 6 | JULY 16, 2019 | PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR SCOTT FULMER AND THE GREAT TORTILLA CAPER

I had worked for these guys before when they had a similar  employee theft issue. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything about it after the first time.  And so, like the round shape of a

tortilla, things had come full circle.  Anyway, I found myself landing at Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas where I rented a car and then headed to Caliente Sabroso Foods.*  They’re one of the largest distributors of Mexican Food products in the southwestern United States.  As it happened, they were dealing with an apparent inventory shortage; somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars.  They suspected it was an employee or two on their warehouse closing crew but they needed proof of the employee theft.  I was there to meet with Rocky Sepulveda,* the senior manager of their facility in southeast Houston.  By the way you can read the full story of Private Investigator Scott Fulmer and the Great Tortilla Caper in my book, Confessions of a Private Eye.

To begin with, the Caliente Sabroso warehouse was at the lonely end of large commercial business park. In fact, it faced a similar warehouse with a large parking area between the two.  A few employee vehicles and some empty tractor trailers were scattered throughout the parking lot.  Unfortunately, there was no suitable vantage point to conduct surveillance.  I would need some help on this caper.  I phoned Stu Hall, a former business partner of mine and a Texas private investigator.  Stu agreed to help me with the surveillance and we got down to business.  But proving employee theft isn’t always easy. 

PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR SCOTT FULMER AND THE GREAT TORTILLA CAPER

In the first place, the closing crew was keenly aware of any and all vehicles that belonged in the parking lot in front of the warehouse.  For this reason, sitting in a surveillance vehicle to document employee theft was out of the question.  I had Rocky rent a van and park it near the warehouse.  He then let the employees know a Caliente Sabroso sales manager was flying in from the Dallas office to use it in the next few days.  Later that night, I snuck into the van under the shroud of darkness.  I stayed on surveillance until midnight hoping I would observe members of the warehouse crew engage in employee theft. However, no one on the closing crew ever made a move that would explain the inventory shortage. Speaking of surveillance, check out one of my earlier podcasts.  After a week of this Rocky grew impatient.  We needed another plan if we were going to prove employee theft.  In this case, it was Stu that finally hit upon a solution.

To clarify, Stu would scale the roof of the adjoining warehouse and shoot video of the employee theft from above.  The warehouse crew always kept their eyes on the parking lot.  But they never bothered to look up on the roof of the adjacent warehouse.  As we use to say in the Army: if it’s stupid but it works…it isn’t stupid.  A week later we hit pay dirt.

PROVING EMPLOYEE THEFT FROM A NEARBY ROOF

I think it was about 10:00 PM on an unusually cold clear Fall night when Stu and I arrived to begin surveillance.  A biting wind was blowing in from the north.  We parked our cars at a small commercial bakery around the corner from the warehouse and then quietly made our way on foot to the back of the bordering warehouse.  A permanent iron ladder descended from the roof of the warehouse but for safety reasons ended about seven feet from the ground.  Stu had brought a yellow tow rope with a hook on the end and, after several attempts,

THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI | EP. 5 | JULY 9, 2019 | PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR’S USE OF OBSERVATION ON SURVEILLANCE

I think it all began with her neighbor, Phyllis.  She was this tall older lady in her late 60’s.  Her husband had  passed on a few years ago so she spent a good deal of time out in her yard.

Unfortunately, this gave her a superb vantage point with which to observe the comings and goings of her various neighbors.  As a matter of fact, she would often snitch on them for minor violations of the city code.  As it turned out, it was Phyllis’ snooping that put an end to the hubris and unbridled greed of Rosie and Cherry Jordan; the only mother and teenage daughter insurance fraud team I’ve ever come across.

To begin with, Rose and Cherry had been hit by a utility truck from Dallas County down in Texas. They were legitimately injured. But like many folks, they began to milk their case.  In other words, they began to exaggerate their injuries and drag out their recovery time in the hopes of getting as much money in a settlement as possible.  By the way, you can read the full story in chapter 5 of my book, Confessions of a Private Eye.  

Anyway, a few years before the accident Rosie had said something that angered Phyllis.  It was so long ago that Phyllis couldn’t even remember the exact details.  But Phyllis had held a grudge.  So when Rosie was talking to Phyllis about the accident and mentioned that she was going to take this utility company for every penny they had, Phyllis decided to drop a dime on her.  In short, Phyllis called the utility company.  The utility company called the insurance company.  And the insurance company called me.

“…Phyllis called the utility company.  The utility company called the insurance company.  And the insurance company called me.”

I began surveillance and discovered right away that despite the car accident both Rosie and her daughter Cherry appeared to be in good health.  However, it was my private investigator’s use of observation on surveillance that wrapped up this case in a nice beautiful red bow.  I happened to notice a decal on the rear window of Rosie’s vehicle.  It was one of those stickers with a volleyball on it and Cherry’s name and, if I remember correctly, something about the Lady Colts Varsity team.  Regardless, it was that decal that led to the unraveling of the case and some pretty amazing video.

I’m Utah private investigator Scott Fulmer.  This week I’m talking about a private investigators use of observation on surveillance.

Anyway, I made made a few phone calls and in short order discovered that Cherry played on the Lady Colts Varsity Volleyball team at Arlington High School.  Furthermore, I learned they would be playing the Grand Prairie High School Gophers the following Friday.  Long story short, I was there in the bleachers that Friday.  I spent the entire evening pointing my video camera from the floor to the opposite bleachers.  From Cherry spiking the volleyball with a blood curdling scream, to Rosie in the opposite bleachers doing a victory dance every time her daughter scored.  

In the end, due to the video evidence I obtained, Rosie and Cherry didn’t receive the huge financial windfall they were expecting. They were forced to resolve their claim and received a significantly smaller monetary settlement; one that was more in line with their injuries instead of their exaggerated claims.  All because I of my private investigator’s use of observation on surveillance. And a window decal.

You can do the same thing.  Set up your static surveillance so that you’re in a position to see the subject’s vehicle and residence.

THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI | EP. 5 | JULY 9, 2019 | PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR’S USE OF OBSERVATION ON SURVEILLANCE

I think it all began with her neighbor, Phyllis.  She was this tall older lady in her late 60’s.  Her husband had  passed on a few years ago so she spent a good deal of time out in her yard.

Unfortunately, this gave her a superb vantage point with which to observe the comings and goings of her various neighbors.  As a matter of fact, she would often snitch on them for minor violations of the city code.  As it turned out, it was Phyllis’ snooping that put an end to the hubris and unbridled greed of Rosie and Cherry Jordan; the only mother and teenage daughter insurance fraud team I’ve ever come across.

To begin with, Rose and Cherry had been hit by a utility truck from Dallas County down in Texas. They were legitimately injured. But like many folks, they began to milk their case.  In other words, they began to exaggerate their injuries and drag out their recovery time in the hopes of getting as much money in a settlement as possible.  By the way, you can read the full story in chapter 5 of my book, Confessions of a Private Eye.  

Anyway, a few years before the accident Rosie had said something that angered Phyllis.  It was so long ago that Phyllis couldn’t even remember the exact details.  But Phyllis had held a grudge.  So when Rosie was talking to Phyllis about the accident and mentioned that she was going to take this utility company for every penny they had, Phyllis decided to drop a dime on her.  In short, Phyllis called the utility company.  The utility company called the insurance company.  And the insurance company called me.

“…Phyllis called the utility company.  The utility company called the insurance company.  And the insurance company called me.”

I began surveillance and discovered right away that despite the car accident both Rosie and her daughter Cherry appeared to be in good health.  However, it was my private investigator’s use of observation on surveillance that wrapped up this case in a nice beautiful red bow.  I happened to notice a decal on the rear window of Rosie’s vehicle.  It was one of those stickers with a volleyball on it and Cherry’s name and, if I remember correctly, something about the Lady Colts Varsity team.  Regardless, it was that decal that led to the unraveling of the case and some pretty amazing video.

I’m Utah private investigator Scott Fulmer.  This week I’m talking about a private investigators use of observation on surveillance.

Anyway, I made made a few phone calls and in short order discovered that Cherry played on the Lady Colts Varsity Volleyball team at Arlington High School.  Furthermore, I learned they would be playing the Grand Prairie High School Gophers the following Friday.  Long story short, I was there in the bleachers that Friday.  I spent the entire evening pointing my video camera from the floor to the opposite bleachers.  From Cherry spiking the volleyball with a blood curdling scream, to Rosie in the opposite bleachers doing a victory dance every time her daughter scored.  

In the end, due to the video evidence I obtained, Rosie and Cherry didn’t receive the huge financial windfall they were expecting. They were forced to resolve their claim and received a significantly smaller monetary settlement; one that was more in line with their injuries instead of their exaggerated claims.  All because I of my private investigator’s use of observation on surveillance. And a window decal.

You can do the same thing.  Set up your static surveillance so that you’re in a position to see the subject’s vehicle and residence.

THE INTERMOUNTAIN PI | EP. 4 | JULY 2, 2019 | 5 UNUSUAL ITEMS PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS NEED IN THEIR VEHICLES

When I think about Boise, Idaho, I always remember that song by  Lynyrd Skynyrd, you know the one, “Its 8 o’clock in Boise, Idaho.”  Anyway, I was there last summer.  Actually, I think it was

outside of Boise. I had this accident investigation out on a rural highway.  And it wasn’t your typical accident.  Apparently, a savvy bovine was able to pick the lock on his enclosure.  And so this cow gets loose and he saunters over to the nearby road.  You can probably guess what happened after that.  Unfortunately, it involved a car.  Anyway, the insurance adjuster asks me to go out and take photographs of the cow’s enclosure and the gate latch.  Let me ask you this, have you ever walked in a cow pasture?  I wouldn’t recommend it.  Where does a cow relieve himself?  Anywhere he wants.  

At the time I didn’t have  1. RUBBER FARM BOOTS. But I pretty much learned my lesson that day.  In fact, the shoes I did wear went straight into the trash after my little cow pasture photo session.  Since that time I’ve always carried a pair of rubber farm boots in my vehicle.  It’s a really good idea, especially if you work in rural areas like I do.  

I’m Utah private investigator Scott Fulmer.  This week I’m talking about 5 unusual items private investigators need in their vehicles.

So what kind of items do you have in your surveillance vehicle right now?  Water?  A mobile phone charger?  Maybe a change of clothes?  I’m sure most of us carry many of the same things.  But after my cow pasture experience, it got me thinking.  What about those unusual items private investigators should have?  You already know a really good pair of rubber farm boots is one.  Let’s look at 4 other unusual items. 

2. HANDHELD GPS

To begin with, make sure you carry a handheld GPS.  Perhaps you rely on navigation apps on your cell phone.  Under most conditions that would be sufficient.  However, I conduct surveillance in the rural areas of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming; places where there is often no cellular coverage.  Nevertheless, my handy Garmin GPS keeps me in business.  

As an illustration, I once followed a subject into the backcountry in Canyonlands National Park.  I don’t know if you’ve been there. But it’s big; about 350,000 acres.  It’s referred to as Utah’s version of the Grand Canyon.  The views are absolutely stunning.  On the negative side, there is no cell coverage in the western part of the park.  However, because my handheld GPS is connected to a satellite moving above me in geosynchronous orbit, so I don’t worry whether I have cell coverage or not.  Moreover, if you work in rural areas, check out this article and SARTopo.

3.