I, Spy: How to Be Your Own Private Investigator

by Daniel Ribacoff, Dina Santorelli

Have you ever wanted to be your own private eye? Have you ever wanted to track down long-lost relatives or people who've scammed you? Have you ever wanted to know if your kids really are where they say they are? Or if your significant other is cheating on you? Or how to locate assets in order to collect on a judgment?

In, I, Spy, World-renowned private investigator Dan Ribacoff will show you how. With decades of experience in public safety, private investigation and credibility assessment, Dan will teach you:

The do's and don'ts of surveillance
How to conduct a stakeout-from what to wear to what to bring
How to track down anyone anywhere
How to collect and interpret evidence
How to tell if someone is lying
How to utilize informants
How to protect your home, your valuables, and your privacy
How to go off-grid, for now or forever
How to know if you're being stalked
The fundamentals of garbage retrieval
And much, much more!

Learn the art of private investigation from a pro. With Dan's time-tested tips and stories of true crime detection-straight from the gritty streets of New York City-you'll be hot on the trail in no time!

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Psychology, Crime, Self Help, How To, True Crime

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 9, 2016

Reviews

[Kalvis Jānis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not dispute any of the information in the book, many of it was very useful and interesting to learn. What I do dispute is the way it was written.

The start of the book was interesting, with some stories background and information integrated in it, but somewhere in the 1/3 of it, it went total shit. I felt like I was reading a paranoid rednecks conspiracy theories in the internet because write and publish is all he could do without leaving his home.

Some stories just begged for a bullsh*t whistle. The story about how his friends neighbor told his friend to not go to Manhattan prior to 9/11 was such bullsh*it. The story clearly put in to express how everybody is an enemy and aimed at Muslims. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a advertisement somewhere behind one of these stories.

On a book about how to be your private investigator there was too many things not related to private investigating.

Like I said, the information is good, but it could be written in 20 pages without seeding paranoia and hate into peoples minds.

[Elena · Rating 1 out of 5]

The subject matter really interests me but i had to abandon the book at 60% of progress. It was torturing me. I perceived the author as a cynical person with no gift for story telling, humour or any other assets to justify readers' attention. I will wait for others to try to come up with an enjoyable non-fiction on this topic...

[Village Idiot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many interesting and useful tips here for if you find yourself in an unfortunate situation and even to protect yourself day-to-day. I really enjoyed it and will try to go by it in the future.

Can definitely see myself returning to it though because there was a lot of information here so I'm not sure how much I'll remember in the long term.

It would've been 5 ⭐ for me but I took off one because the author's tone comes off a bit douchey at times. Nevertheless, it was fun to read about the experiences of a real private eye.

[Brooke McArthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up reading Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, Ghost Writer, and Encyclopedia Brown and still enjoy fictional sleuths like Harry Dresden, Reacher, and not so fictional but dramatized ID Discovery. This book is right up that alley but way more useful in everyday life. I, Spy contains on point info for keeping your home safe, avoiding identity thieves, tracking down old high school buddies, busting unfaithful spouses, small businesses proving employee theft, and catching your kid taking drugs and much much more.
I'm also going to recommend it to my friends (and anyone) who have dealt with abusive husbands and stalkers as the book goes in deep into the ways those types track their victims and use pilfered personal info to harm. The author offers countermeasures that might not occur the everyday citizen having to deal with this type of nightmare. The book is easy to read. My daughter who is going into middle school is spellbound with it right now.
The only caveats are that I felt uneasy with the section detailing how to disguise oneself buying untraceable phones. The author usually goes out of his way to express what is legal and what is not and frequently states that if you commit a crime people like him are going to find you and the law will be able to access records to find you too. Not in this small section. It is the only one that reads like the how to for the beginning terrorist. Why would an everyday person be concern that the law would see you on camera?
The other problem I had was the author states that he advises clients not to have sex with people who are too drunk.
Absolutely great advise.
Unfortunately, the way it is stated in the book gives the impression that it isn't rape unless the victim complains about it later. If a person is too drunk or drugged to give consent or unlikely to remember giving consent then it is most definitely rape as more court cases are determining. Even worse is if the college age victim is unconscious while she or he is raped. Thankfully, judges are buying the "she was drinking so she deserved it" mentality less and less. If this is unclear to you try googling "Consent: it's as simple as tea" video.
Overall a excellent read.

[Katie Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very well written, very informative. A must-read for any wannabe crime writers. Includes a lot of common-sense stuff about security and self-defense, and also lesser-known details about surveillance and investigation. Includes case studies, resources, and is generally useful for anyone interested in being more aware of their surroundings, and more capable of looking after their own interests.

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. I wasn't bored like the traditional informational books. Dan is a great writer and I hope he has another book because I will definitely read that one too.

[Micheal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good info, but mostly useless for readers outside of the USA and written in a supercilious tone.

[Gregory Eakins · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think everyone has met a guy like Ribacoff and wished they hadn't. He's the type that wears sunglasses in his basement while reading through conspiracy theory forums late at night. He sounds like he's an expert in his field, but is actually full of shit.

He pumps himself up as some kind of expert in PI by detailing how to stalk someone, and then explains to you like you have grandchildren how to make a secure password. Almost everything here is common sense to anyone with an IQ over 80. Except for the pee bottle tip. Thanks, Dan, I won't forget my pee bottle next time I'm snooping on someone.

Some parts are outright lies. He states confidently, "It is not possible to beat a polygraph," yet the reliability of these devices has been so poor that the results are generally not even admissible in court.

My favorite bit is the, "What would Dan do?" part near the end.

You are concerned that your wife is having an an affair. What should you do?

I might check the undergarments of my wife after she places them in the hamper. Utilizing commercially available test kits, I would check for the presence of semen. If the undergarments tested positive, I would send them to a DNA laboratory along with my DNA sample to see if the semen matched.

Thanks, Dan, for your sage wisdom.

[Maria Isabel Chang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this book contains good practical advice (I guess) for aspiring private investigators, there are things in this book that I personally found quite offputting. The constant self-referencing in an almost there-is-no-better-expert-than-me tone is one of them. There are also some shocking statements such as getting one´s son/daughter to confess to something they did wrong by making them think you just want to help them, after they open up the author suggests to ´´ground them for life´´Terrible parenting advice. I am not going to list similar things said in the book, but hopefully, that example will be giving a picture of what I mean.

[NICOLAS · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, light read. There were some very practical methods (like placing a cheap watch under a tire and having it broken when the subject leaves- giving you whereabouts pertaining to their routine) was my favorite, although there were plenty more. Often reiterating laws, and how to interact with police among other reasons to do specific things with others; I r3ally enjoyed the ride.

Only criticism:
This book was oriented around physical surveillance and investigation that (although exciting) feels less relevant in the modern, internet drivin world.

[Steven Yenzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

About a third of this book has interesting information about private investigation. The rest is kind of fluff — a lot of lengthy explanations of basic concepts (search engines, social media, etc.) and then kind of tangential content related to "personal protection" (like a recommendation to get flood insurance).

[Vince Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an investigator I found this book helpful, full of tips from an experienced investigator, lessons learned, and a good foundation in which to build on. This book will not make you a Private Investigator, but does provide insight to get you in the right mindset.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok. I wasn't enthralled by it, but I did finish it. A lot of the tips and information seem fairly common sense. In addition, sometimes the author's voice seemed a little condescending which I didn't love. Overall, it was ok, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

[Crystal Caudill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and a very interesting read!

[David Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Intro to Conducting Private Investigations but still didn't have the meat that I was looking for. Last two chapters were total filler too.

[هابنولا · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I didn't read this book completely because It was not the thing which I thought. Although I learned some points from somewhere in the books and it not very useful in middle east community :)

[AN R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly good info, but the racism really turned me off and each anecdote was so implausible as to be annoying

[Steve Zimcosky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and found a lot of useful information.

[Tiffany Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! It is short, packed full of useful and shocking information, entertaining, and worth everyone’s time. READ IT!

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good tips considering online and offline osint + the line between legal and illegal intelligence gathering.

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it - it's good for the layperson, too, if you just want to find phone numbers online and read people's body language.

Recommended!

[Lionkhan-sama · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that great of a book. True, it does tell you all you need to know to become a private investigator, but honestly, after having listened to this whole book, most of that information is common sense. There are some useful bits of novel information here and there, but that's about it.

Oh, and this book will probably indirectly piss you off, because it lets you know just how easy it is for someone to spy on you both legally and illegally. Knowing the details made me pretty mad..

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hokay, let me say up front that I had no idea who Steve Wilkos was before picking up this book. I had to look him up. He has a show, apparently, based on being the bald guy on Jerry Springer. I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would care about such a thing, but apparently the author of this little "how to" book works with the guy and it's the closest thing he has to a claim to fame, so you'll read about it in this text.

At the very least, I can say I cut my investigative chops on that bit of detective work.

At a guess, about half of this book is about what it purports to be about in the title. That is, the methods and techniques of private investigation. The remainder is a primer on things like home security, identity theft, internet behavior, etc. all of which are topics that should be addressed in much more detail than Mr. Ribacoff gives them and, frankly, by people much more qualified than he is to describe them. Most of what Mr. Ribacoff can muster in those areas fall under a blanket of common sense ideas for anyone with the wherewithal to be reading this particular review on the Internet on a site dedicated to books... but that's a whole 'nother rant.

Crime and home security are important issues to be mindful of, but one of the failings of a book like this one is that it fails to live in the real world. Sure, bad things happen to good people, but you're much more likely to get into an accident than be the victim of a homicide. Don't believe me?

2011 U.S. homicide deaths: 15,809
2011 U.S. automobile accident deaths: 35,398

Source: www.cdc.gov

So, off the cuff, that would seem to indicate that crashes are more than twice as deadly as crime.

Furthermore, most people are killed by people they know, so things like a home security system aren't going to protect you from any but the most unusual kinds of violent crimes. In truth, if your physical safety is what you're concerned about, you're probably better off getting all the relatives a Prozac prescription than a high security front door.

Because the target audience of this text are, apparently, viewers of daytime TV, we get such pearls of wisdom as "Do change your locks immediately if you lose your keys" and "Don't forget about flood insurance."

Ribacoff ranges further and further from his topic until the last chapter is dedicated to how the average Joe can help fight the war on terrorism, which I guess is loosely enough based on the premise of the book to warrant mentioning, but read as more than a bit of a stretch to me, especially given the weight he attributes to it. In fact, I'd suggest that at a certain point (around the third page of that chapter) he stops being a reasonable descriptor of the dangers and launches into the kind of rhetoric that really just winds up wasting a lot of time and resources.

[Son Tung · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an short, enjoyable but very practical book on issues such as investigation, surveillance, security.

Most people do not have a good awareness of thier surrounding. If they are followed by someone on the streets, it's unlikely they know it. You can test it yourself. What surprised me is that private investigator must obey the laws strictly to avoid physical harm for both him/herself and the subjects. It is acceptable for using white lie to find out the truth as long as no laws being violated, expecting outcomes are not being framed or distorted. Then it comes handy with advices on basic rules if you want to investigate things on your own or to avoid being followed. Common scenes from Hollywood movies about the same theme have great resemblance to these advices. Nevertheless, the book gives you more food for thoughts and corrects popular myths from those movies.

There are many small insights, tips and tricks which i like such as how to protect your house from burglar, how to travel home safe at night, what protection gear must have, etc... The only hard thing about all this is that you have to create mental habit to be mindful, observant and practice "some" of the suggestions.

[Tay_kin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this book made me feel as if everyone around me is a criminal. I had that Trust No One feel to it! Good book if you are a criminal wanting to avoid the honest side of the world. Suitable for film noir lovers or those addicted to criminal shows on TV. Though interesting to know the tricks of the trade and hopeless enough to not make it to the FBI. Time to read something more peaceful and halt the paranoia.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I-Spy is a gumshoe guide for the 21st century. It is also a good primer on protecting one's self from a potential invasion of privacy, as well as unearthing information on potential business and personal partners. Of great use are the resources for how to avoid being scammed/abused in today's tech-savvy society.

[Glenn Popson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read, but there's not much here that isn't common sense or easily googled. Starts out with decent tips about investigative techniques, but moves on to general personal safety and anti-crime/anti-terrorism advice, most of which is super obvious. If you need to be told not use your pets' names as account passwords, this book might be for you.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book via Goodreads Giveaways. I love watching shows about how crimes are solved, so reading this book gave me some deeper understanding into what kind of knowledge the detectives must have to move forward. Very interesting and good info.

[Fee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative, practical book on spying, self defense, theft and more. Highly recommended even if you don't want to become a spy. (but i I must say I am interested now)
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator certainly added to the fun.

[Vader · Rating 2 out of 5]

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish