The Great People Search Is On And How The Internet Is Helping
January 20, 2011All over the world people are looking for other people for all sorts of reasons that are as diverse as the day is long. You have single men and women looking for dates and lifelong partners. Friends looking for their high school sweet hearts or other classmates. Co-workers and college buddies trying to once again reconnect. Police looking for criminals and wanted persons for breaking laws of all sorts. Separated at birth brothers and sisters looking for each other and quite often their parents. Detectives trying to find people and items now in other peoples possession right down to my mother trying to find me when it’s time to mow her lawn again (:–).
Due to demand a pile of new people finder services have popped up seemingly overnight and most of them are online. Many of them are people search free type of sites. I’m sure you’ve seen the banner ads all over the net about finding your high school sweet heart and Mr. or Mrs. popular married the class nerd type ads. Everything from email people finder to business lead searches are being conducted online. There are phone number finders and even address finders.
For those of you looking for love or the partner of your dreams here are some quick simple and common sense dating tips once you’ve used one of the free people finder services I’ll mention later.
1) Write it down. Write down what you want in a life long partner. Basics of looks, hobbies, interests, etc. Simply by knowing what you like and dislike in a mate will immediately boost your confidence and help you to know if a second date is in order or not.
2) Be realistic. Every one has some presumptions about his or her life long partner. A rich, attractive and dynamic individual I’m sure (:–). 2 things to keep in mind about being realistic.
A. If you have high expectations because you’re an exceptional person yourself just keep in mind that the higher your demands are the longer it will probly take to find Mr. or Mrs. Right. Try to find a perfect person for you, instead of a perfect person. There is a big difference between the two and a life long commitment is about the 2 of you becoming the perfect person singular - so just know that your perfect mate may not be there yet but good chance you aren’t either. LOL. I’m enjoying writing this article more than I thought.
B. The second thing you should keep in mind is that if you find someone perfect for you, it does not mean that you are also perfect for him or her. Their expectations maybe even higher than yours or they are not interested. Don’t take it personally.
3) Clean up your act. Now I’m not advocating that you should not be you. I’m just saying that if you spend a little time preparing to meet someone it will be noticed that you regard them as special enough to prepare. Also, developing your personality and becoming the type of person you want to marry helps to have things in common as well.
4) Get Out There and Meet People. How and where is really up to you, personally I think pubs and nightclubs are horrible but on the other hand, you may like those places. If so, that might work for you but chances are it won’t or you wouldn’t be still reading this article. You need to go to a place that attracts the kind of people you’d like to meet. A couple places that may be of interest to you are internet dating, social groups, marriage parties, common parks, libraries, book club or sports clubs.
5) Be yourself. There is usually enough pressure put on a person within the first few dates that there is really no need to try and be something you think the other person is looking for. That is called lying and will cause more pain down the road when the person doesn’t want to be your friend anymore because you weren’t honest and upfront in the first place. So try to relax and have fun.
If you happen to fall into one of the people finder groups and are looking for someone for whatever possible reason here are some tips to find some great services online. Do a Google search in brackets like this “free people finder” or “free people search” <– I just did this search myself and found over 3 million web pages. This should be enough I’d think. (:–) Have a great day and I hope you find that special someone you’re looking for!
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The Best Way Of Searching For People Internationally
Do you have some old friends that you haven’t seen for a long time? Is he living abroad? Is communicating with him an impossibility?
Searching for people internationally is not an easy thing to do. One of the problems is because of the inconvenient and hard to reach location. Another thing is the lack of facilities to search the exact whereabouts of that person.
Now here is the good news, there are now websites that provide suitable ways of searching people internationally. By the use of an internet connection and of course a computer, the boundary and distance of searching other people is minimized.
Many websites organize several free people search engines. By using this, the user can easily find the location of a certain individual just by entering some information about the person.
Most of the people searching websites have all major international databases. This database has over three million information entries and others much more. Web searching for people internationally is now made easy. Most of the user from Canada to the United States and worldwide including United Kingdom can be accessed easily.
With just one entry of a phone number, address, name and other vital information there is definitely a result. There are some websites that offers a “reverse look up system”. This kind of system has a different searching strategy. For example, the user can search internationally by phone or by email address.
Aside from that, a user can also conduct online searches on different international people searching sites. Conducting online searches makes the results more reliable compared to any other form of searching internationally.
On the other hand, there are also some websites that are constructed to locate military people. For example, if the troops are deployed on Iraq, their relatives and loved ones back in the U.S. can easily know their status.
Another thing is, there are also some websites that are made for missing persons and some for background information. For instance, missing persons are published on the net for some background information. By doing this, the information will be disseminated to all of the linked sites. The information will be spread fast and eventually will help in locating the missing person.
Now, here are some tips using the web person searcher, internationally or locally, properly and effectively.
• Know the exact name of the person. As much as possible the name should be complete for best results.
• It is good to know in which country the person you are looking for lives. Aside from that, locate also the IP number of the country. By doing this, the information will easily flow right on the database.
• Have some supplementary information about the person like, educational attainment, user of AOL, and previous employment for example.
• And most of all, make some files about the data gathered. The information must be sorted out in only one file to avoid misconception.
Remember that international people search services were developed to provide a comprehensive searching method. Avoid the recurring rates in most cases. And as much as possible, use the program in good will.
Searching for you | Looking for me
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People Search Canada: Keeping In Touch
Do you have relatives or friends in Canada whom you want to get in touch with?
Do you want to visit them but don’t know where they live?
On the other hand, are you looking for a particular place in Canada to live in?
Then you might want to look in white pages or yellow pages. This is a great way to find your lost relatives, friends and colleagues. However, most people do not have an up to date phonebook at home when they need it. Especially not one from another state or country!
In addition white pages and yellow pages only offer so little information about the person you are looking for. It will only tell you their phone numbers and addresses. Your big phonebook can provide so little of the information you need. More often than not, it is bulky and inconvenient, too.
However, another type of white pages and yellow pages can offer you fast and convenient search. Today, the internet is one of the most widely used tools in people’s everyday life. You can send mails, call people, do your research and it can act as a people finder.
These people search engines are available on the internet. They act just like your regular phonebook and some can even provide you information that is impossible for white pages or yellow pages to provide.
There are many people search engine websites available on the internet today with different countries to search in. One country that offers people search is Canada.
Here, you can find addresses and phone numbers of your relative’s and friends living or working in Canada. You can also get access to people’s civil records, criminal records and other background checks of people. The background check is very useful if you are employing somebody.
Some people put false and erroneous facts in their resume in order to be employed. You can use background checks to compare their submitted resume to the information provided by your search.
Online people search results in Canada are usually accurate. It depends on the people search engine you use. This is because you need to find a people search website in Canada that is reputable and provides accurate information. You can determine this by going to online forums that discuss the quality of a people search website..
Searching for someone in Canada using a people search website is easy. All you need to do is type some information regarding the person you are looking for.
Here are examples on how to search for information about a person on people search websites:
• By Name
This is the most common search method used by most people. All you do is type in the full name of the person you are looking for. You can also include the person’s middle name to get more accurate results.
• By Address
Another way is to type in the address of the individual. This is very useful if you want to know about the person who owns a particular property in Canada. It is also a great method to know about your new neighbor.
If they seem suspicious, you can do a background check on them and report them to the police if you found something bad about them.
• By Phone Numbers
You can also search for people in Canada by typing in their phone numbers in the search box. Some people tend to forget the full name of the person but have a list of their phone number.
Searching on people search websites can offer you more convenience and ease of use rather than searching for a matching phone number in white pages.
These are the ways of how you can search for people in Canada. Most websites offer full background report on the individual with a service fee.
If you really want to find out about the person, it is worth it to pay the small service for the information.
Who’s looking for you | Find people
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Keep In Touch With People - Search Zaba
If you want to track down a person’s where about, you can do it easily with people search zaba. You can have a quick search of just about anyone you want and the good thing is that it is free of charge.
People search zaba is probably the best free people search engine on the web. It is the fastest way to search for people at no cost. You can get comprehensive information with some mouse clicks.
Right now you may not be interested in this kind of service, but there always comes a time when you are desperately looking for someone. And then you will be happy that there is a service helping you to find the person you are looking for.
To some people, this kind of search may be advantageous and some may not like it. A lot of people would like to have important information including their whereabouts to be kept private so that other people will not find them. But there are still no restrictions forbidding private information to be published on the internet. Indeed, it can be dangerous, and you may not feel safe once you find out that someone is tracking down your whereabouts for an unidentified purpose.
On the good side of it, your long lost friend may be able to trace you and you may not know it at all. Sometimes in our busy lives, we lose contact with important persons and the only way we can find them is through the web. Imagine, you could locate your old girlfriends and boyfriends or childhood friends with just some mouse clicks.
Others claim that it is an invasion of a person’s privacy and it is not right that you use money to get important information about a single person, not unless the person gives the permission to be tracked.
Most people use zaba, because it is the fastest way to search and get in contact to other people they know but have been long gone. This is not mainly a threat for a person’s privacy but it is a way to keep in touch with other people and make connections.
People who don’t want to be tracked down can remove their information from the company’s database simply by e-mailing some information including the name, address, birth date and phone number to zaba’s e-mail address which can be found on their website.
At this time, people search zaba is continuously growing and is used by a lot of people. No matter if some people think that it is not a good idea to search for a person’s whereabouts, they will be needing it soon either for reference or business matters.
Therefore, if you want to make a smart quick search, people search zaba is just a click away and you will discover that it is more than just searching but keeping in touch with friends.
Who’s looking for me | Search for people
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Free Online People Search: A Priceless Convenience
Have you experienced looking for someone but do not know where to find it? The only thing you know where you can find people is using white pages.
In white pages, you are able to find out the present address, exact location and the phone numbers of the people you are looking for.
However, you may need to scan the pages of these white pages manually and your white page must be updated to find the person you are looking for.
What if the one you are looking for is not subscribed to a telephone company, how are you going to find him or her?
By using white pages, you will be in touch with all your friends, relatives and acquaintances that have not been around for many years. It is has been the source of information that has been used for years.
However, it does not accurately give the correct information about the person you are searching for. You may need to use online people search to identify the correct person you are looking for.
What is online people search?
Online people search is like a white page that uses the internet protocol to search for the person you are looking for. It has its own database of information and names, addresses, and personal data about the people you are looking.
Preferably, online people search is better than the white page. Because of its convenience, people are using the service instead of the manual search they do in using the white page.
You do not have to search for the people you are looking for by scanning the pages of white page one by one.
All you need to do is to log on to the particular site where you can find the person you are searching. Usually most of the search engines have a particular service for people search.
You can do this by simply typing the first name, middle initial and the family name correctly. Then click on the search and you will be loaded with lots of information about the person you are looking for.
You will also appreciate the different features that a particular online people search website can offer. You will gain lots of information including family components and backgrounds, old classmates, friends, acquaintances, and everything about the people you want to know.
You can also check the educational background, achievements and many other related information about the people you are searching.
By this service, you do not need to hire personal investigators to look for the person you are looking for.
The best part of this service is that, you can avail the unbelievable convenience without paying a price. This particular web service is available for you free.
However, you need to search for the one that will give you proper service, as some websites are outdated and will not provide you with the exact information you need
Although some people search websites will require payments, but you will be sure of the accuracy of the information.
People search websites is the most convenient way to keep in touch with people that you missed.
As long as there is an active internet connection in your computer, you will be in touched with the people you want to keep your connection.
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Free Vs Paid People Search Sites
When you type ‘people search’ in Google you get 315,000,000 competing sites. Trying to figure out which one to use for your search could get overwhelming. That is why I have compiled a list of people search sites - Free and Paid.
Free People Search Sites are great if you just want basic information on someone or just need an address or phone number to look up a lost friend. Complete addresses, phone numbers, email, age, relatives, even photos can all be found for free. It’s always a good idea to start your people search
with a free search site. Many sites claim to be free, the catch is the search is free but the information will cost you. Never pay for basic information on someone!
Paid People Search Sites are for in depth information. If you need to do a background check, find lost loved ones, personal, court, marriage, public records, etc. If you’re an employer needing to a background check, or you got a shady neighbor, or want to check out your new boy/girlfriend or babysitter, then paying for the detailed information might be the way to go for you.
Here are the best People Search Sites below. Both free and paying. These are the best and most popular.
1. Free & Instant People Search
If you’re looking for basic information on someone. This site is totally free and gives current information. You do have to register (submit your name and email address) before getting your search results, but that is a small price to pay for complete and current people search results. There are also alot of links on the site to other people search sites in case you don’t find what you’re looking for.
2. Reunion.com
This site is free but also has a paid option if you get serious about it. Reunion.com is more for grown-up social network users to reconnect or keep in touch with family, friends, lost loves, and colleagues. Basically, MySpace for grown folks. They got over 32 million registered users and get over 1 million new members per month. The coolest thing about this site is you can actually find out if or Who Is Searching For You!
3. PeopleFinders.com
You have to pay for this service but it is well worth it. PeopleFinders.com is the premier online service for people search. They are one of the largest owners of public records data in the U.S., with billions of records that span the last 40 years. You can search for people free but the search results will cost you. The cost ranges from $2.95 - $40. Rest assured, if you pay this site, you will get your money’s worth.
4. ZabaSearch.com
Nick Matzorkis launched this site in 2005 and has literally reunited millions of long lost friends and family members. This honestly is a free people search site. All U.S. postal addresses & telephone numbers revealed free. Three-times more listings than white pages phone directory. Search by Name. Results include: public records, white pages, all U.S. addresses, phone numbers, yellow pages and more.
5. Pipl.com
Pipl claims to be the “most comprehensive people search on the web”. Pipl finds high-quality results in pages that cannot be found on regular search engines. Basically, if anyone has ever set up a myspace or facebook account or has an online presence of any kind, this is a good search site. If you’re searching for your long lost grandmother, then I would check out another people search site.
6. Intelius.com
Intelius.com labels themselves as an information commerce company that provides consumers and businesses with predictive intelligence for important everyday decisions. Use Intelius to make choices about people, businesses and assets. Intelius and InfoRegistry are about the same. You can’t go wrong with either one.
7. ReversePhoneDirectory.com
If you’re trying to find someone’s address or phone number, sometimes the easiest way to go about it is to use a reverse phonebook lookup. Usually, all you have to do is type in someone’s phone number, and you’ll discover who belongs to that phone number and what their address is (if they’re listed).
Free People Searches
‘PEOPLE SEARCH’ IS HUGE! FACT: 30% of all searches on Google and Yahoo are people search related - and Growing! This is a quick guide to finding people and information about people for free. These free and instant people search methods sometimes require a little work and patience. However, they do work, and usually work well. When searching for information on someone, you want to have as much information as possible on hand. Even if you only have a name, you can sometimes find out quite a bit about a person.
To get started with the most basic name search, go to the people search page. If you have other data to search by, select the appropriate type of search on the navigation menu on the left or use the links across the top and bottom of each page. From email search, to address search, phone number search, and even personals searches, we have all the people search bases covered. Many of these services are free. The quickest and easiest way to perform a people search is by using Free and Instant People Search. You may be amazed at the amount of info you can find out about a person. Simply enter the name and state of the person you are searching on. You will be required to register by entering your name and email, but it’s a small price to pay for free people search results.
When searching for information on someone with a generic last name like Smith or Jones, enter as much of the full name that you have, and use quotations. Also, enter additional terms for city, job, or any other information that may be related to that person.
Find lost family and friends with a people finder. A free people search finds people based on first and last name, and state of residence. Some of the results on this search are not free. You may need to use the paid service in order to deep search on the person you are looking for. If you do not want to use a paid service, try the free people search.
Don’t pay to find people online! Get Free &
Instant People Search at: http://www.FreeAndInstantSearch.com
Who’s looking for you | Find people
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Free People Searches
‘PEOPLE SEARCH’ IS HUGE! FACT: 30% of all searches on Google and Yahoo are people search related - and Growing! This is a quick guide to finding people and information about people for free. These free and instant people search methods sometimes require a little work and patience. However, they do work, and usually work well. When searching for information on someone, you want to have as much information as possible on hand. Even if you only have a name, you can sometimes find out quite a bit about a person.
To get started with the most basic name search, go to the people search page. If you have other data to search by, select the appropriate type of search on the navigation menu on the left or use the links across the top and bottom of each page. From email search, to address search, phone number search, and even personals searches, we have all the people search bases covered. Many of these services are free. The quickest and easiest way to perform a people search is by using Free and Instant People Search. You may be amazed at the amount of info you can find out about a person. Simply enter the name and state of the person you are searching on. You will be required to register by entering your name and email, but it’s a small price to pay for free people search results.
When searching for information on someone with a generic last name like Smith or Jones, enter as much of the full name that you have, and use quotations. Also, enter additional terms for city, job, or any other information that may be related to that person.
Find lost family and friends with a people finder. A free people search finds people based on first and last name, and state of residence. Some of the results on this search are not free. You may need to use the paid service in order to deep search on the person you are looking for. If you do not want to use a paid service, try the free people search.
Don’t pay to find people online! Get Free &
Instant People Search at: http://www.FreeAndInstantSearch.com
Who’s looking for you | Find people
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People Search Pros
Search and Expose, the people search pros, will teach you all you need to know… about doing a People Search anyway. Whether you’re searching for a first love, deadbeat dad or mom, person who owes you money or somebody you’d just like to find, the best way to go about it is by doing a people search. Or is it?
We will share with you different people searches available and what makes them effective or not. Also, what is it that makes a people search a good deal; is it price, quality of the search, information retrieved? You probably guessed it, they’re all correct. There are many factors that make a People Search work for you, regardless of what or who you’re looking for! I’m sure we’d agree, anytime you search for something, you want to find it fast, effectively, and accurately. Take search engines like Google or Yahoo for example, if they made it difficult or took a long time to find the information your looking for, no one would use them. That might change how we obtain information, wouldn’t it?
The first type of people search we’d like to tell you about, are those of the Free Search variety. These are typically search engine based people search programs. Some of the more popular ones include Yahoo! People Search, Zaba Search, White Pages and Google People Search. I know free sounds great but there’s the old saying, you get what you pay for. Which in the case of free search engine based people searches, isn’t much. We’ve conducted numerous people searches on these websites mentioned and came up with the same results every time, inaccurate, outdated, and often times just plain wrong information! The price is right on this type of people search but if you’d like to find the exact location and other important information of the person you’re looking for, this one isn’t even close to your best bet.
The next kind of people search is a Public Records Search. The companies doing this type of people search usually offer a free search giving you a tidbit of advice to get you tantalized and wanting more information. Once your interested they then “up sell” you on a more in depth report of what you’re looking for. Some of the more popular public records search companies are U.S. Search and Intelius. These and many other public records search companies are fairly inexpensive, yet are just a cut above a free people search. You’re probably wondering how can this be? This sort of people search comes from public records available to anyone. The tests we conducted provided more in depth information than the free reports, but not any more up-to date or accurate than a free search. You’d expect to get more accurate up-to-date information if you’re paying for it, right? Well it just isn’t the case when it comes to public records people search.
The final category of people search is called a Private Investigator Search which is by far the best kind of people search available today. The reason we’re able to say this is the best method is because with this type of people search you’ll receive:
-The most comprehensive information available anywhere
-accurate information that is current and up-to-date
-personal service insuring your satisfaction
-verified reports guaranteeing the information you receive is 100% correct
Private Investigator Searches are head and shoulders above any other type of people search report. They are conducted by companies such as Search and Expose with licensed and bonded private investigators. Your personal private investigator goes to work on your behalf conducting diligent research using public records and more importantly private records, accessed through a special program only available to private investigators. These private records expose many of the hidden facts not provided by free search engine or public search records and it’s 100% legal. The cost of a private investigator search are typically two or three times the cost of a public record search, however the information is hundreds, if not thousands of times more valuable! One other important fact to consider is, when you utilize a private investigator search, you get a live person who is going to verify that the information searched and exposed is accurate and the person you’re searching for is found. It is peace of mind knowing you’ll have this precise information gotten for you, saving you hundreds of hours of time, research, and money. So if you’re looking to search and expose quickly, effectively and properly the first time, every time, people search using a Private Investigator Search today!
Christopher Bartella is a professional website developer. He has extensive knowledge and experience in internet businesses and marketing. His awareness and expertise in the field marketing research and education is second to none.
http://www.searchandexpose.com/
Who’s looking for me | Search for people
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Online People Search
If you need to locate an old friend, relative, associate or lover who you haven’t seen in months or years, read on.
People search is one of those search areas where the Internet really shines. If you know the person’s name and some other identifying info about him/her, you can probably locate him via the Internet pretty quickly.
If the person is deceased, you can find that out, too.
But be careful, it’s not as easy as just a question of Googling the person’s name. You have to have a bit of knowhow in online people-search. Here are a few of the possible problems you can run into –
-Your subject has a common name — Smith, Jones, Wilson, Mitchell, etc.
-Your (female) subject has gotten married and has a new name.
-He/she doesn’t want to be found. Maybe the person is hiding from creditors, for example. It’s not uncommon, which is why there’s a huge skip tracing industry out there.
-The person is in the military.
-Your subject is deceased.
I’ll suggest ways to deal with these complications later in this article. However, be aware there’s never an absolute guarantee you’ll find your man or woman. It’s a fact that some people just can’t be found. Most can, though, with a little informed searching.
By the way, did you know the phrase people search is one of the most commonly searched keyword phrases entered on Google? Every day thousands of people try to find someone, usually an old acquaintance, school friend, military buddy, or girl/boyfriend using an Internet search engine. Yet most never locate their subject this way. You’ll only find him/her using a search engine if the person is noteworthy in some way — has written a book, has their name on a web site, has been in the news, etc. Probably 19 out of 20 people can’t be found just using a search engine. You usually need other types of online tools.
Free Online People-Search Tools
OK, notwithstanding what I just said, go ahead and run a quick Google search, maybe you’ll get lucky. But even if you find someone with your subject’s name listed on Google, are you sure it’s the person you’re looking for? If the name is at all common, you probably aren’t. Identification can be a problem. Stop and think. What do you know about your subject other than his/her name? Do you know the city the person lives in or probably lives in (or used to live in)? That narrows your search down a good deal right there. What about date of birth or age? Either of those identifiers can be important if your subject has a common name. What about a former street address? That can be helpful should you need to go to more advanced methods of search later (as I’ll discuss below).
If you subject has a very uncommon name, or if you know his/her likely city or even state of residence, you can try using one of the online directories.
Two good ones are Addresses.com., and WhoWhere.com. Just enter whatever information you have — name, city, state, etc. and give it a try. If you get a likely-looking hit, give him/her a call or send a letter explaining your purpose and that you’re not sure you’ve got the right person. See what reaction you get.
But the online directories often don’t work. For various reasons, your subject isn’t listed. So what do you do then? Here are some other free online people-search tools to try:
- If you think he/she may be in the military, visit gisearch.com.
- If you know the person’s high school, try classmates.com.
- Is your subject into fishing or hunting (as one-third of adult males are)? Check to find out if he/she has a fishing or hunting license.
- Try a news search. For this you’ll have to guess your subject’s likely city-of-residence, then search archives of a local newspaper in that city or region. Just go to Newspapers.com.
- Check voters registration records. Again, you have to guess at your subject’s most likely area of residence. Many people don’t realize that voters registration records are public information, so even if they’re trying to keep a low profile they can often be found in this way.
- Do you know your subject’s occupation. Possibly you can locate him/her through his professional association or licensing board..
- Might your subject be deceased? Check the Master Death Index.
Telephone Techniques
If your online searches didn’t pan out, you’ve got a hard case but don’t give up. Try these telephone techniques.
+ Call the Department of Motor Vehicles in his/her likely state of residence and ask to have a name search run while you wait. This one’s a favorite of private investigators and nearly always works, provided his/her state-of-residence permits this type of search. (California, among a few others, doesn’t.)
+ Call his former employer and ask to be connected to the Human Resources Department. Explain that you need to locate the person and ask if they can tell you his/her present employer. Most employers won’t provide this information but some will. It’s worth a try.
+Call the utility company (e.g., the electric company) and ask the customer service rep if your subject is listed as one of their customers; if so, request his address. Be open about your reasons for the request. Addresses are public information, so the rep should comply with your request.
+ Call relatives and neighbors. You can locate former neighbors using a reverse-directory website like Anywho.com. However, read the following section for a few pointers on how to handle the call.
Finer Points of the Trade
Skip-tracing is in fact a finely-honed art which has been around for many decades. Traditionally, it’s been done almost entirely via the telephone by people who’ve made a profession out of it. Almost always, the purpose of the skip trace has been financial - locating a skip who has disappeared owing debts.
Although readers of this Guide will probably be searching for friends or relatives, not financial deadbeats, it’s worth going over a few of the tried-and-true principles of skip tracing (e.g., people search), especially if you will need to use the telephone in your searching. Here’s what veterans of skip tracing advise –
- When speaking to a possible source of information, always remember to start by saying, “I wonder if you could help me.” This puts the person in a cooperative, nondefensive frame of mind.
- When placing a call to the skip’s last known address, ask in a casual tone of voice to speak to him/her — for example, “Hi, I’d like to speak to Bill.” If the person who answers the phone says he’s not there or doesn’t live there, then ask if the person knows where he lives.
- Always strive to enlist allies in your search, say the pros. Be personable and courteous to a fault to whomever you speak. Never take an adversarial approach. Always aim at establishing good will and cooperation.
Points to Keep in Mind about People-Searching
-People searching used to be nearly impossible for the average person. Nowadays, thanks to the Internet, you can usually find your subject in minutes.
-That said, not everybody can be found, even if you work long and hard at it.
-Always start your search in the most obvious, simple way. For example, if you know your subject lives in Minneapolis, just call Minneapolis long-distance telephone information and ask for an area-wide search. Or try a free online search service like, Whowhere.com.
-If that doesn’t work, try to remember what you know about the person and then use specialized searches. Did he have a hunting license? What college did he/she go to? Etc. etc.
-Still looking? Try using the telephone techniques suggested above if finding the person is important to you.
-If you can’t find your subject despite your best efforts or if you’re in a hurry, consider using a paid people-search service. Even these are not 100% effective but they do have access to many proprietary databases you can’t use and may be able to find him/her for you right away.
by Joseph Ryan
Joseph Ryan is Director of Washington Research Associates, Inc., Washington DC.
The firm’s website, Web Search Guides (http://www.websearchguides.com) provides helpful 10-minute tutorials on topics of current interest, such as home refinancing, asset-searching, people searching, student financing, identity theft, and many others.
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Online People Search
If you need to locate an old friend, relative, associate or lover who you haven’t seen in months or years, read on.
People search is one of those search areas where the Internet really shines. If you know the person’s name and some other identifying info about him/her, you can probably locate him via the Internet pretty quickly.
If the person is deceased, you can find that out, too.
But be careful, it’s not as easy as just a question of Googling the person’s name. You have to have a bit of knowhow in online people-search. Here are a few of the possible problems you can run into –
-Your subject has a common name — Smith, Jones, Wilson, Mitchell, etc.
-Your (female) subject has gotten married and has a new name.
-He/she doesn’t want to be found. Maybe the person is hiding from creditors, for example. It’s not uncommon, which is why there’s a huge skip tracing industry out there.
-The person is in the military.
-Your subject is deceased.
I’ll suggest ways to deal with these complications later in this article. However, be aware there’s never an absolute guarantee you’ll find your man or woman. It’s a fact that some people just can’t be found. Most can, though, with a little informed searching.
By the way, did you know the phrase people search is one of the most commonly searched keyword phrases entered on Google? Every day thousands of people try to find someone, usually an old acquaintance, school friend, military buddy, or girl/boyfriend using an Internet search engine. Yet most never locate their subject this way. You’ll only find him/her using a search engine if the person is noteworthy in some way — has written a book, has their name on a web site, has been in the news, etc. Probably 19 out of 20 people can’t be found just using a search engine. You usually need other types of online tools.
Free Online People-Search Tools
OK, notwithstanding what I just said, go ahead and run a quick Google search, maybe you’ll get lucky. But even if you find someone with your subject’s name listed on Google, are you sure it’s the person you’re looking for? If the name is at all common, you probably aren’t. Identification can be a problem. Stop and think. What do you know about your subject other than his/her name? Do you know the city the person lives in or probably lives in (or used to live in)? That narrows your search down a good deal right there. What about date of birth or age? Either of those identifiers can be important if your subject has a common name. What about a former street address? That can be helpful should you need to go to more advanced methods of search later (as I’ll discuss below).
If you subject has a very uncommon name, or if you know his/her likely city or even state of residence, you can try using one of the online directories.
Two good ones are Addresses.com., and WhoWhere.com. Just enter whatever information you have — name, city, state, etc. and give it a try. If you get a likely-looking hit, give him/her a call or send a letter explaining your purpose and that you’re not sure you’ve got the right person. See what reaction you get.
But the online directories often don’t work. For various reasons, your subject isn’t listed. So what do you do then? Here are some other free online people-search tools to try:
- If you think he/she may be in the military, visit gisearch.com.
- If you know the person’s high school, try classmates.com.
- Is your subject into fishing or hunting (as one-third of adult males are)? Check to find out if he/she has a fishing or hunting license.
- Try a news search. For this you’ll have to guess your subject’s likely city-of-residence, then search archives of a local newspaper in that city or region. Just go to Newspapers.com.
- Check voters registration records. Again, you have to guess at your subject’s most likely area of residence. Many people don’t realize that voters registration records are public information, so even if they’re trying to keep a low profile they can often be found in this way.
- Do you know your subject’s occupation. Possibly you can locate him/her through his professional association or licensing board..
- Might your subject be deceased? Check the Master Death Index.
Telephone Techniques
If your online searches didn’t pan out, you’ve got a hard case but don’t give up. Try these telephone techniques.
+ Call the Department of Motor Vehicles in his/her likely state of residence and ask to have a name search run while you wait. This one’s a favorite of private investigators and nearly always works, provided his/her state-of-residence permits this type of search. (California, among a few others, doesn’t.)
+ Call his former employer and ask to be connected to the Human Resources Department. Explain that you need to locate the person and ask if they can tell you his/her present employer. Most employers won’t provide this information but some will. It’s worth a try.
+Call the utility company (e.g., the electric company) and ask the customer service rep if your subject is listed as one of their customers; if so, request his address. Be open about your reasons for the request. Addresses are public information, so the rep should comply with your request.
+ Call relatives and neighbors. You can locate former neighbors using a reverse-directory website like Anywho.com. However, read the following section for a few pointers on how to handle the call.
Finer Points of the Trade
Skip-tracing is in fact a finely-honed art which has been around for many decades. Traditionally, it’s been done almost entirely via the telephone by people who’ve made a profession out of it. Almost always, the purpose of the skip trace has been financial - locating a skip who has disappeared owing debts.
Although readers of this Guide will probably be searching for friends or relatives, not financial deadbeats, it’s worth going over a few of the tried-and-true principles of skip tracing (e.g., people search), especially if you will need to use the telephone in your searching. Here’s what veterans of skip tracing advise –
- When speaking to a possible source of information, always remember to start by saying, “I wonder if you could help me.” This puts the person in a cooperative, nondefensive frame of mind.
- When placing a call to the skip’s last known address, ask in a casual tone of voice to speak to him/her — for example, “Hi, I’d like to speak to Bill.” If the person who answers the phone says he’s not there or doesn’t live there, then ask if the person knows where he lives.
- Always strive to enlist allies in your search, say the pros. Be personable and courteous to a fault to whomever you speak. Never take an adversarial approach. Always aim at establishing good will and cooperation.
Points to Keep in Mind about People-Searching
-People searching used to be nearly impossible for the average person. Nowadays, thanks to the Internet, you can usually find your subject in minutes.
-That said, not everybody can be found, even if you work long and hard at it.
-Always start your search in the most obvious, simple way. For example, if you know your subject lives in Minneapolis, just call Minneapolis long-distance telephone information and ask for an area-wide search. Or try a free online search service like, Whowhere.com.
-If that doesn’t work, try to remember what you know about the person and then use specialized searches. Did he have a hunting license? What college did he/she go to? Etc. etc.
-Still looking? Try using the telephone techniques suggested above if finding the person is important to you.
-If you can’t find your subject despite your best efforts or if you’re in a hurry, consider using a paid people-search service. Even these are not 100% effective but they do have access to many proprietary databases you can’t use and may be able to find him/her for you right away.
by Joseph Ryan
Joseph Ryan is Director of Washington Research Associates, Inc., Washington DC.
The firm’s website, Web Search Guides (http://www.websearchguides.com) provides helpful 10-minute tutorials on topics of current interest, such as home refinancing, asset-searching, people searching, student financing, identity theft, and many others.
Links
Free People Search Tips And Resources To Help You Find Past Friends And Family Members
Here are 10 people search tips and online resources for locating past friends and family members without paying someone to do it for you. With a little time, effort and creativity, you can locate a person without a professional investigator. If you decide that you do need the help of an investigator to locate a person, make sure you research the professional qualifications and reputation of the individual before you pay any fees or give any personal information to them.
1. WRITE IT DOWN –
Write down everything you know about the person you are looking for, including: past addresses; high school(s) and universities attended; names of family members; hobbies; last name(s); nicknames; job profession(s); organizations involved with, as well as any other personal identifiers that you can remember about the person.
These personal identifiers will help you focus your people search and will often help lead your search efforts. This information can be changed as you move forward with your search. You may also want to keep a list of searches that you have already used so you don’t repeat your efforts.
2. WHITE PAGES –
One of your first searches should be free online white pages, like whitepages.com or 411.com. Free white pages allow you to search using various methods like “city and state” searches; “state only” searches or “all states” searches. In addition, you can try last name only searches in situations where the person has an uncommon last name. A last name only search can also help you identify possible relatives of that person to contact. If you don’t find what you are looking for online, spend a little money on paid directory assistance.
3. FREE PEOPLE SEARCHES –
There are some excellent free people searches on the web that typically contain more listings than free white pages. These searches include daplus.us , zabasearch.com , zoominfo.com and a few others. If you can’t find a person listed on free white pages, you will definitely want to try these alternatives.
4. REVERSE LOOKUP –
If you have a phone number ( but no address ) for a person or you have an address ( but no phone number ), you will want to do a reverse search to find the missing information. Most free online directory assistance sites have a reverse phone number and reverse address option. Two of the better reverse searches are located on daplus.us and whitepages.com.
You can also try reversing a phone number or address by entering it into a search engine like Google or Yahoo.
5. MUTUAL CONTACTS –
Contact any mutual friends, colleagues or relations that you share with the person you are looking for. One or more of these shared contacts may be able to put you in touch with the person.
6. SEARCH ENGINES –
Search Engines like Google and Yahoo make great people searches; but don’t expect to just enter a name and get your magic answer. This is where the information you wrote down in Tip #1 will come in handy. Use these personal identifiers in your search engine queries to weed out unwanted search results and zero in on the person you are trying to find.
7. SOCIAL NETWORKS –
Online communities and social networks are big and people are publishing more and more information about themselves on these sites, including pictures, location information, educational background, professional background, nicknames and other personal identifiers. You can use these sites to find people with online profiles, but you will need to refine your search tactics, since most people do not post first and last names in online profiles. You may want to search using first names or nicknames along with other identifiers like schools, geographic areas, hobbies and profession(s) to locate a person on these sites. Below is a list of some popular social network sites.
linkedin.com
myspace.com
friendster.com
facebook.com
8. BLOGS –
Blogs are the fastest growing, most up-to-date area of the internet and they provide a lot of information. You can use blog search engines like technorati.com to search for people by name, nickname, address or phone number to see if there are any references to them on any blogs.
9. NEIGHBORS –
If you know of current or past addresses for a person, you can do a nearby search to find potential neighbors in the area, who may know the whereabouts of the person you are looking for. Neighbors will often know whether the person you are looking for still lives at the address or when they moved out and where they moved to. In addition, neighbors are sometimes willing to write down and deliver a personal message to the person’s address for you.
You can do a nearby / neighbor search by doing a reverse address ( leaving out the specific address number ) to get results for the entire street. The returned addresses that are closest to the person you are looking for are most likely to be neighbors for that individual.
Two excellent free reverse address searches are available at whitepages.com and daplus.us
10. PUBLIC RECORDS –
If the other tips fail, you can always try your luck using the numerous federal, state and local public record searches that are available online. Some of the more popular public record searches, including sex offender registry; tax assessor; unclaimed property; professional license and business-related searches, can be found at skipease.com under the “Public Records” link or try searchsystems.net
http://www.skipease.com is one of the internet’s top free people search directories that has been helping people find people since 1999.
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