A Mysterious "Official" Visited My Home Today, Questioned Me

a reply to: clearmind

OutSTANDING input there... and from another primary source. Thank you...

I am looking over your thread now, and I'm shocked. What you've described does go along quite well with this woman at my doorstep today.

..always very polite and with the 'by law you must call me' and a new one..'by law i am required to return untill i contact you'..persistant little bugger....

You basically made a big mistake by even talking to her without finding out who she worked for and demanding full identification. I would even go as far as demanding a second photo id, other than the one she may present professionally and a number where you could contact her supervisor, if you had any more questions.

I can tell you from brief personal experience as one, it was probably not a PI. The whole idea of a PI is to go unseen. You are the one doing the observation, not the other way around. You don't talk to people unless you absolutely have to. Talking to people about the subject is as good as talking directly to the subject, and is counterproductive. The first thing they will do is change their regular behavior. And a PI would know to check day and night to find someone. After all, they get paid by the hour, so sitting down the street for ten hours waiting for them to come home isn't out of the question.

My rules are simple for people on my property. If you cross the property line you had better be able, and willing, to tell me who you are, who you work for, and why you are on private property. Fail any of those and its going to get loud fast.

If she was looking over your shoulder it could have been just a safety thing but then again maybe not. Try standing where she was and seeing what she might have seen and if it could be used against you in some way. I might even go as far as to take a few pictures estimating her position and the direction she was looking just to stare at. Sometimes it helps things you take for granted to jump out at you. Remember to look at the pics as though you are seeing them for the first time. Don't ignore the clock on the mantel because you know what it looks like. Look at it.

I have one neighbor that I keep in close contact with. We watch out for each other. I don't even speak to the other neighbors. Not that I go out of my way to ignore them but I don't go jumping over the fence when they are in their backyard either. Information can be dangerous.

I'm just popping back in to acknowledge the class that the OP has handled the "feedback" in this thread. Very cool to see IMHO.

i admit i probably would have been caught off guard and answered a few "harmless" questions as well. now that i read this i will require id and credentials at least.

a reply to: Aqualung2012

The first thing that comes to mind is that she was working with a burglary ring checking to see if anyone was home before they pull the big truck into your driveway and load up your positions. Her story was absurd but almost any story would work for the purpose mentioned. If someone is home, she just makes up a reason for knocking on your door and moves on down the street until she finds a place where no one comes to the door.

Anyone with a non-covert government agency would identify themselves and their agency. It makes no sense that a public health official would ask such questions.

You should definitely alert the older couple and your other neighbors, too. Also call the Health Dept. and the Police.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

You said it:

The whole idea of a PI is to go unseen. You are the one doing the observation, not the other way around. You don't talk to people unless you absolutely have to. Talking to people about the subject is as good as talking directly to the subject, and is counterproductive.

Any neighbor worth their salt would mention an interrogation such as this, however mild it may be. So of course that would be an impractical method of PI'ing (ha)

You're just thickening the sauce, source.

1) Why were you opening your door for people you do not know

That in and of itself is a violation of your own security.. No one has a valid reason to be at your front door


2)Go over the order of everything that was said

You write down what you heard and saw
anyone else present do the same thing..

Write separately and THEN compare timelines

When your done post again and I will tell you what I would be looking for

3)follow some of the advice here

Upgrade security
focus on basic safety with common sense
Ask and the members here have better details then I can give
(like not opening the door for people you do not know)

Talk with the elderly couple
Tell them you had the weirdest visitor the other day

next if they are doing nothing interesting
file the report at the police station..
the cop should just take the information
get the report number- better safe then sorry
play it off as so your insurance company has the information if anything is stolen
(the cop should be bored but mentioning it is insurance should do the trick)


4) Do you have skeletons in your closet
or anyone living in the house

there is a limited number of reasons
Quietly dig

If its not the PI, the Health department, or the government
you were being cased

Try and write down the details on the womans face same for the other people present

a reply to: ripcontrol

1) I'm not a 12 year old...

2) What do you call this thread if not a detailed account of the event?

3) (See Thread: I do highly value and appreciate the advice given)

4) I love that album! (And I'm by far the worst skeleton in the whole house.)



(Thank you for the reply)

originally posted by: Tangerine
a reply to: Aqualung2012

The first thing that comes to mind is that she was working with a burglary ring checking to see if anyone was home before they pull the big truck into your driveway and load up your positions. Her story was absurd but almost any story would work for the purpose mentioned. If someone is home, she just makes up a reason for knocking on your door and moves on down the street until she finds a place where no one comes to the door.

Anyone with a non-covert government agency would identify themselves and their agency. It makes no sense that a public health official would ask such questions.

You should definitely alert the older couple and your other neighbors, too. Also call the Health Dept. and the Police.

That's a quotable post right there... and hearing it put that way does make me take that possibility much more seriously.

I will be taking care of it tomorrow, just like you've said, to be sure.

a reply to: Aqualung2012

Could've been a process server digging for information on when she could catch your neighbors to serve them. I've seen some shady tactics used in an apartment building I lived in when people were trying to avoid being served eviction notices. Prior to that I had always thought only a sheriff could serve someone with those types of notices.

a reply to: U4ea82

Definitely possible, and I hadn't though of that. She probably wouldn't want to be identified as such either... so good point.

Although I've learned something else since I started this thread: the neighbors in question actually own the first house that was ever built in this town. I have zero clue as to how that effects this at all -BUT- it could serve as a testament to their good character: and thus negate the idea of them being involved in the court system.

a reply to: howmuch4another

I'm just surprised this many people have this much to say about it. That's pretty cool to me, but thank you.

a reply to: Aqualung2012

Hmm. Well....you never know. Someone could be suing them for something silly, and from my limited experience, a process server will say pretty much anything to get info on their target. Sort of like those debt collectors that harass people over the phone...only these people come to your place of residence.

In any case, you didn't do anything wrong. You gave vague information that could point to half of most neighborhoods. It's not as if you passed along copies of their driver's licenses and social security cards. If anything, you just made them sound like nice normal people. I see no harm in that.

a reply to: Aqualung2012

1)There is a basic security procedure
the question and its answers can prevent a lot of issues

The truth is neither rude nor kind

You have answered a lot in your response.. I see the issues with home security that present themselves in your home..
look into the survival thread and think in terms of prevention

2)A thread on ATS

It is NOT the same thing
You want to know what was going

You need answers..
it is a procedural set

Your looking for simple things
and you need that I will ruin it
Like who spoke first
Who said what first
names spoken first
Hand shaking ect..

You may be biased and have missed something
A complete writing by all parties is needed for that backup


3)look over the thread again

4) not the safety of my house

see #3




your welcome

a reply to: U4ea82

Yeah, you never can really know. It would all depend on why they are being asked about I guess.

For most purposes my answers were simply general statements, like you said, and wouldn't be of much use... but I can imagine a few that could be not-so-nice as well... it just depends.

Whatever the case, I hope the best for my neighbors.

a reply to: ripcontrol

Let me step back and say I appreciate your thoughts and advice. I realize I sounded a bit like an ass up there, which is not my intention. You've taken the time and interest to type up a reply to my thread, and I thank you for it, I shouldn't be rude.

I just have to admit that I don't really take home security as seriously as you do (or as much as I should myself.) Your reply struck me as overly-survivalist, and so I took a sarcastic tone... but I'm the fool for doing so, because you're absolutely correct in emphasizing strict security protocol.

I answer my door because I'm not afraid of my surroundings, but I know that some day it's not going to be that way, and the time to learn how to operate in survival situations/settings is not once you NEED to... it is NOW.

So, please forgive my naivety back there, my sense of humor betrays me sometimes. I'd like to learn more (keeping in mind that I'm still going to answer my door in the middle of the day.)

originally posted by: ripcontrol

1) Why were you opening your door for people you do not know

That in and of itself is a violation of your own security.. No one has a valid reason to be at your front door.

Damn dude, people like you make me nervous. If you have a utility pole on your property and the place is locked up like Fort Knox, I most certainly do have a valid reason to knock on your door.

You said it well.If some one like that came to my door,they'd be wasting their time if they could not provide ID.And I would close the door and make them wait outside while I checked it out.And made sure the number she provided,verbally or on a business card,Matched the real number of the agency/business in question-whether PI or government agency.They'd have to just Wait too,I'm not rushing about toot-sweet for any Tom Dick or Jane who comes to my door.

And If the person checked out legit,then I would say the absolute minimum.Unless there was Really suspicious activity going on next door,that troubled me also,I'd not want to make trouble for other folks. a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

And tell your neighbours about this,I would suggest,would be a shame for a perfectly nice +decent old couple to have their house burgled.Burglars in our country usually poison the dogs with a fast-acting poison like Aldicarb,so if they have a dog it might be best to look out for the animal's welfare too.a reply to: Aqualung2012