How to Dig Up Info on People Online
How to Dig Up Info on People Online
The Internet is a remarkable place full of possibility — an ever changing landscape of innovation and potential. Unfortunately, it is also a repository of personal information that anyone can access with a little know how. Depending on your behavior on the web, people may be able to look up all sorts of personal details about you. Sometimes it is necessary to dig up a little dirt on someone — if you’re looking to do some research on a potential employee or find out about the background of a potential love interest, there are any number of free Internet tools that can turn the dowdiest grandmother into an expert private investigator.
There are six basic categories of Internet dirt. Depending on how much info you need on a person, you may only need to run a basic web search, or you could be looking at a lengthy digging process using all six categories to find the goods you need.
Basic Contact Information and People Searches
Zaba Search — This is the first site I turn to when looking up past addresses, phone numbers, and other details. Zaba is a basic people search and public info search engine that lets you search by name, phone number or even social security number.
Peek You — Peek You describes itself as “the smartest way to find people online.” Peek You searches dozens of different categories all at once, and is usually used to find risque pictures from social networking or any other online profile.
Free Public Records Directory — You won’t have to drop a dime at FPRD to find death records, marriage and divorce records, and even criminal case information. You will have to pay to get further details, but basic info is totally free for searching.
Yahoo! People Search — My last ditch when digging up dirt is this rather weak service from Yahoo. You can find American phone numbers and addresses or e-mails.
Public Records Searches
Abika — Abika allows potential employers to verify licensure, check criminal records, dig up contact info and divorce records, as well as license plate searches and email tracing. Abika is a must-have for people who need to dig up dirt on hiring prospects with haste.
Dates and Love — This site is full of free searches including background checks, reverse cell phone lookups, and even a detailed people search all in one place.
Net-Investigation.com — Rather than digging through the whole country, use Net-Investigation.com to search for a person by state. This site is full of court records and background checks.
Public Record Finder — According to their website, Public Record Finder uses “the largest public records search database on the Internet” and delivers public record details from America, Canada, and Mexico.
Criminal Background Checks
RecordCheck.com — This service offers an incentive for tough searches — if you don’t dig up the dirt you want, there’s no charge.
Detective Unlimited — The Intelius service is the one used by professional detectives to dig up dirt. This site gives you limited free access to Intelius, so you can find addresses, sex offender information, and details on criminal background and divorce history.
eFindOuttheTruth.com — Another criminal background check with a twist — on your birthday, you are allowed to perform one free background check on anyone.
Instant Background Report — Another service that allows you to search by state. Simply enter the state of residence of the person you need dirt on, and you can find all the areas where people with that name live.
Marital History and Genealogy
GeneaLinks — Some people use this site’s free marriage record database to find ancestors’ marriage records — still others use it to find out if a potential date has been married before.
I Dream of Genealogy — More than a cute name, this site provides extensive marriage records categorized by state.
A – Z Marriage Records — If you need a more global marriage records search, A – Z Marriage Records can find those details in America, the UK, Canada, and Ireland.
FamilySearch.org — If you know the names of family members, FamilySearch allows you to do a free basic info search on family members within a range of years and by country of origin. You can even search by “life events”, such as death, birth, marriage, and even baptism records.
Census Diggins — If you need marriage and divorce records categorized by state and county (and going back to the 18th century), this is your dirt digging site.
Employment Screenings
DatabaseRecords.com — You’ll have to register with your name and email address, but this site lets you access a free basic employee screening database.
Free Employment Screening — Advertising a “comprehensive employee screener search engine”, Free Employment Screening gives you the chance to search a person’s name or that name in combination with details like city, employer, and birth year.
BackgroundSearch.com — Simply type in a name and birthday and get a pre-employment background search. If you want a more detailed report, enter the potential employee’s social security number.
Switchboard — Ever wondered if a job applicant is lying about their previous work experience? Switchboard allows you to check past employment details using a massive database of business information.
Driver’s License Search — The easiest way to get detailed court records and driving history on potential employees is by entering a person’s driver’s license number at Driver’s License Search.
You may be alarmed at the sheer volume of personal details you can access on the Internet. Digging up dirt on another person can be a real eye opener about your own online behavior and statistics. Even the most fastidious web user loses some privacy because of the websites and search tools listed above. The next time you need the goods on a person, for whatever reason, turn to one of a million free sources of dirt that can be found online.