The problem with this strategy is that you are effectively going head-to-head with your pursuer, trying to beat him at his own game. And there’s a serious problem for you: he does this for a living. He’s probably already done three this month, and seen more tricks tried than you ever dream of.

As a professional investigator, the only criticism I would make is that the techniques used by the PI’s didn’t appear to make any use of the aforementioned databases other than accessing birth certificates. Similarly use of technology such as IP traces proved fruitless.

Tracking your “electronic footprint” on the internet relied on you providing information on blogs and social networking sites which could equally well have been used for disinformation as suggested by Johan.

The successful approach adopted by the PI’s involved stealing bin bags and blagging information from people over the telephone; a traditional approach but also an illegal one in both instances. Such breaches of the Data Protection Act, particularly by PI’s, are actively pursued by the Information Commissioner’s Office and result in fines or even imprisonment for the perpetrator.

As Johan suggests again, PI’s typically have a limited budget and furthermore they have no legal means of accessing information held in private or government databases beyond that open to any other member of the public.

As shown in your documentary it is possible for a PI to trace someone using both legal and illegal means, but there are severe limitations. I think the main focus of your documentary was really the disturbing amount of information held on all of us without our knowledge and I look forward to seeing any follow ups you might make on this topic.