The things people actually ask us.

It depends on the size of the area, how many rooms, lines, vehicles or devices are in scope, and how quickly you need it. We quote a fixed price in writing before we arrive, so there is no meter running. The initial consultation is free and carries no obligation. Be wary of any firm that quotes a flat figure for 'a sweep' without asking a single question about your situation.

We operate 24 hours a day, including nights, weekends and holidays, because that is frequently the only discreet window available. Urgent matters in the Chicago area can usually be attended the same day or the same night. We travel nationwide, and to select clients abroad.

Not unless you tell them. We arrive in unmarked vehicles and plain clothes, we bring nothing branded into the building, and we photograph the space before we start so that everything goes back exactly as we found it. Where it helps, we will agree a cover story with you beforehand.

You can, and a great many people do. What those devices detect is a strong, continuous radio signal — so they will find a cheap always-on transmitter, and they will also light up beside your own Wi-Fi router. What they cannot find is a recorder that stores to a card, a device that transmits in short bursts, a voice-activated device that is silent while you sweep, a carrier-current device on your mains, a tap on a telephone pair, or a camera that never transmits at all. The real risk is not wasting the money — it is the false reassurance.

We stop and we talk to you before touching it, because what you want from that device depends on what you intend to do next. It can be left in place and deliberately fed information, it can be documented and removed under a proper chain of custody for police or litigation, or it can simply be neutralised. We will lay out the trade-offs and you decide, ideally with your attorney.

That is the usual outcome, and it is a real result rather than a failure. You receive the same written report, setting out precisely what was covered — which areas, which frequency ranges, which lines, on which date. That document is worth having. It also means the explanation lies somewhere else, and we can help you look there.

Special Solutions, Ltd. is a licensed Illinois private detective agency and has provided expert testimony and trial preparation for decades. Findings are documented with photographs and chain of custody where that is what the case needs. Tell us at the outset if litigation is likely, because it changes how evidence is handled from the first minute.

There is no universal answer, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. It depends on what is discussed, who has access and what is at stake. A board room used for live acquisition talks may warrant a sweep before each session. A professional practice might reasonably sweep quarterly or twice a year. A residence is usually swept in response to an event. We will recommend an interval in your report.

Yes. We are based in Arlington Heights and work throughout Chicagoland and Illinois, travel nationwide across all fifty states, and attend select clients internationally. Travel is quoted separately and agreed in advance.

Us, and whoever you choose to tell. We do not publish client names, we do not use client work in marketing, we do not confirm to anyone that you are a client, and we have no testimonials on this website for precisely that reason. Reports go only to you or to the person you nominate in writing.

Searching property you own or lawfully control for devices placed without your consent is ordinary and lawful. Where it gets complicated is what you then do — recording others, accessing a device's contents, or removing something that turns out to have been placed lawfully. That is why we recommend involving an attorney early, and why we never remove a suspected law-enforcement tracker.

Three things, and you can verify all of them. We have been a licensed private detective agency since 1991, so counter-surveillance sits inside a real investigative practice rather than standing alone. We carry and can demonstrate the instruments listed on this site. And we have told you, on this website, exactly how we work — the method, the sequence and the limits — which is not something a firm relying on mystique can afford to do.