When a fraud is suspected, the litigator often turns to a private investigator to gather evidence about, and to use against, the fraudster. Retaining and instructing an investigator must be undertaken with extreme caution to avoid ultimately prejudicing the case against the wrongdoer. Those retaining and instructing investigators should pay particular attention to issues surrounding privilege and privacy legislation. Published in Volume 11, Number 7 of Canadian Privacy Law Review by LexisNexis Canada Inc.