If it's a matter of public record, then you can find it using the Internet. Whether you're looking to see if there are any sex offenders located around your area, need to check the criminal records of your employees, need to find business information, corporate filings, property records, unclaimed property, professional licenses, inmates, criminal and civil court filings, or almost any thing else's that has become part of the public domain, it's all there just waiting for you to find online.
But, unless you are a seasoned search professional, it can take a long time surfing the net to find what you are looking for, especially when you are dealing with government records. There are literally 10's of thousands of different sites that contain some or all of the information you require.
We know the "detective sites" have take a bad rap at times. We have even taken our shots at them. But this is one time they can really come in handy if you have a few extra dollars, value your time and need access to public records. These sites have already organized all the public records info into logical categories so you could actually save hours by using them. However, if you have already spend hours surfing the net and cannot find what you are looking for, these sites probably won't help much -- it's time to hire a professional.
Technorati Tags: free people search, people search, background checks, online detective, public records
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
Are There Really FREE Background Checks?
Free background checks, just like ‘free people search’, is a phrase that is searched quite often. So, can you really get a free background check or free criminal record search? Yes and no. For any business background checks or any other situation where your business requires quality information, we suggest spending the money for a professional background investigation. Free background checks do exist but are not the proper choice when it comes to your business.
Many people misrepresent their background and credentials, that's why it is important to do at least a little checking to see if what the applicant says about his or her background is true. Many employers do not do any checking, and they often regret that decision. The applicant may be unqualified for the job, or may have some personality trait or experience that causes problems for you later. Educational credentials are frequently misrepresented on resumes and job applications, because many employers don't check educational references. It is important to do it, though, to make sure that the applicant has the qualifications and background you want.
Developing and maintaining the kind of information to run a pre-employment background check is time consuming and expensive. That’s why background check services must charge a fee. If your background check is not timely or related to your business, you can try some of the public records available in your county or state. However, if your background check is urgent and challenging, spend the money on a quality service. Websites that attempt to convince you that they have a totally free background checks service are not being totally honest. As you have seen by now, we have spent hours scanning online websites to locate quality Internet services, free background checks sites, and other types of investigation products. If we find them, including an honest to goodness free background checks site, we’ll be sure to post it here.
For the full text of this arcticle, visit Free Background Checks Article.
Technorati Tags: free people search, people search, background checks, online detective, internet detective
Many people misrepresent their background and credentials, that's why it is important to do at least a little checking to see if what the applicant says about his or her background is true. Many employers do not do any checking, and they often regret that decision. The applicant may be unqualified for the job, or may have some personality trait or experience that causes problems for you later. Educational credentials are frequently misrepresented on resumes and job applications, because many employers don't check educational references. It is important to do it, though, to make sure that the applicant has the qualifications and background you want.
Developing and maintaining the kind of information to run a pre-employment background check is time consuming and expensive. That’s why background check services must charge a fee. If your background check is not timely or related to your business, you can try some of the public records available in your county or state. However, if your background check is urgent and challenging, spend the money on a quality service. Websites that attempt to convince you that they have a totally free background checks service are not being totally honest. As you have seen by now, we have spent hours scanning online websites to locate quality Internet services, free background checks sites, and other types of investigation products. If we find them, including an honest to goodness free background checks site, we’ll be sure to post it here.
For the full text of this arcticle, visit Free Background Checks Article.
Technorati Tags: free people search, people search, background checks, online detective, internet detective
Friday, June 17, 2005
Conducting A Background Check
Whether you are seeking to hire a caregiver for your loved ones, or a person who will become an employee for your company, it is a good idea to run a background check. You should look for an experienced organization that uses multiple databases, including civil court and criminal records. We found and use E-Background Check as they offer one of the most thorough employee background checks available on the Internet.
Professional search specialists should employ all available techniques by accessing the very best public records and proprietary databases to assemble the background information you need. You should require the company you engage to verify the latest previous employment and highest academic achievements. Have them include several levels of criminal and civil records searches, bankruptcy, liens, and judgment searches, and confirm professional licenses. Before you hire your background check company, ask to see a sample background check report to ensure you will receive the information you need. Prices should range between $75-$150 per check, depending on your requirements.
We also found a great resource to help coach you through the background investigation process. Be sure to check out The Virtual Chase. Or try your conduction your own background check through a 3-day trial at Detective Choice for only $9.95.
Professional search specialists should employ all available techniques by accessing the very best public records and proprietary databases to assemble the background information you need. You should require the company you engage to verify the latest previous employment and highest academic achievements. Have them include several levels of criminal and civil records searches, bankruptcy, liens, and judgment searches, and confirm professional licenses. Before you hire your background check company, ask to see a sample background check report to ensure you will receive the information you need. Prices should range between $75-$150 per check, depending on your requirements.
We also found a great resource to help coach you through the background investigation process. Be sure to check out The Virtual Chase. Or try your conduction your own background check through a 3-day trial at Detective Choice for only $9.95.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Are There Really FREE People Searches?
According to Google and Yahoo search stats, free people search is a phrase that is searched quite often. It seems that people are very interested in finding out more about people using a free search service. So this is our attempt to clarify just what a free people search is all about.
The truth is, there are almost no truly free, people search sites. Sites such as whitepages.com are free, but offer limited search capabilities. They are basically a phone book online. Because you found this blog, and have read this far, we must assume you are not looking for your best friend's phone number. Most people who relocate generally have nothing to hide and should be fairly easy to find. Conversely, people who move to avoid debt, legal action, criminal charges, and child support responsibilities, are more difficult to search for and locate.
Developing and maintaining the kind of information to help you find someone who doesn't want to be found is time consuming and expensive. That's why these people search organizations must charge a fee. In fact, it can get so confusing and so overwhelming, their is whole category of internet detective sites built just to organize the data you can find online yourself for free. But if you value your time at all, they might just be worth the small investment.
Websites that attempt to convince you that they have an absolutely free people search service are not being totally honest. We have spent many hours scanning online websites to locate free people search sites, quality search services, and other types of investigation products. If we find them, including an honest to goodness free people search site, we'll be sure to post it here. Until then, you might want to check out Best People Search. They are not free, but are one of the best values we have found any where.
For the full text of this article, vist Free People Search Article.
Technorati Tags: free people search, people search, background checks, online detective, internet detective
The truth is, there are almost no truly free, people search sites. Sites such as whitepages.com are free, but offer limited search capabilities. They are basically a phone book online. Because you found this blog, and have read this far, we must assume you are not looking for your best friend's phone number. Most people who relocate generally have nothing to hide and should be fairly easy to find. Conversely, people who move to avoid debt, legal action, criminal charges, and child support responsibilities, are more difficult to search for and locate.
Developing and maintaining the kind of information to help you find someone who doesn't want to be found is time consuming and expensive. That's why these people search organizations must charge a fee. In fact, it can get so confusing and so overwhelming, their is whole category of internet detective sites built just to organize the data you can find online yourself for free. But if you value your time at all, they might just be worth the small investment.
Websites that attempt to convince you that they have an absolutely free people search service are not being totally honest. We have spent many hours scanning online websites to locate free people search sites, quality search services, and other types of investigation products. If we find them, including an honest to goodness free people search site, we'll be sure to post it here. Until then, you might want to check out Best People Search. They are not free, but are one of the best values we have found any where.
For the full text of this article, vist Free People Search Article.
Technorati Tags: free people search, people search, background checks, online detective, internet detective
Monday, June 13, 2005
Genealogy - Your Family Tree
Starting Genealogy and Family History Research
Suggested Ways To Start
Compile as much information as possible about your family. Start with yourself, parents, and grandparents. Ask your relatives about your family history. Often, family members remember stories or information, or possess documents, that can help start you on your way.
Look in family records (letters, family Bibles, scrapbooks, diaries, photographs, baptisms, and new clippings, etc). Consult non-Federal local sources for records such as births, deaths, marriages, deeds, and wills.
Learn about resources available for research and methods for researching
Review Online tutorials and guides Links to web sites with good sections on how to begin your research.
Consult books and articles We have included a list of books and articles about what records are available, where they can be found, and steps in the genealogical research process.
Attend Workshops and Conferences See our list of workshops to help people learn how to use historical documents in genealogical research, and links to other workshops around the country.
Join Genealogical Societies In addition to sponsoring workshops, other help is also available through genealogical societies.
Research With Historical Documents
The National Archives (NARA) is the nation's recordkeeper. It preserves and makes available the valuable records of the Federal Government.
Since the founding of the nation, most Americans at some time in their lives have come into contact with or have had some involvement with the Federal Government. It is records created through this contact where you may find reference to your ancestors in our holdings. As you begin your family research at NARA ask yourself about the person’s relationship to the Federal Government. Records in the National Archives are arranged by how the agencies created them, and there is no master subject or name index.
Your use of historical documents at the National Archives likely will yield better results if you first obtain the following information: Names of ancestors, their spouses, their siblings, their children, and other relatives, if known. Approximate dates of their birth and death, and, if applicable, dates of military service, of marriage, and of divorce. The places (such as the town, county, state or province, and country) of birth and death, and residence. Any record that gives a name, place, and/or date may be of interest to you as you conduct your family research. There could be a wealth of information about your family in our holdings, just awaiting your discovery!
Records in our holdings that are most often used by genealogists and family historians include:
Federal Population Censuses (1790-1930)
Military service and pension records (ca. 1776-1990)
Immigration records (1820-1957)
Naturalization records
Land records
Begin with Census Records
Once you have the name of an ancestor and an idea of which state he or she resided in, you may want to begin by exploring census records. Census records can provide the building blocks of your research, allowing you to both confirm information, and to learn a lot more. From 1790-1840 only the head of household is listed, but beginning with 1850, details are provided for all individuals in households. The Federal Population Census has been taken every 10 years, beginning in 1790. The National Archives has the census schedules on microfilm available from 1790 to 1930. (Note: Most of the 1890 Census was destroyed in a Department of Commerce fire, though partial records are available for some states.) There is a 72-year restriction on access to population census schedules, which is why 1930 is the latest year currently available.
Military Records
The National Archives holds Federal military service records in two repositories:
The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., for Revolutionary War – 1912 (see details of holdings)
National Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri, for WWI – present (see details of holdings).
Your research path will depend on aspects such as: what branch of service your ancestor was in, which conflict, what dates, whether Regular Army or a volunteer unit, whether your ancestor was an officer or enlisted personnel, and whether there was a pension application.
Immigration Records
Immigration records, also known as "ship passenger arrival records," may provide genealogists with interesting personal information about their ancestors. In addition to their ship and date of entry, you may learn of other details, such as their nationality, place of birth, age, height, eye and hair color, profession, place of last residence, names and addresses of relatives in the U.S., and amount of money they were carrying with them. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival. Indexes are available for most of the ports, with the exception of New York between 1847-1896.
Naturalization Records
Naturalization is the process by which an alien becomes an American citizen. These records can provide a researcher with information such as a person's birth date and location, occupation, immigration year, marital status and spouse information, witnesses' names and addresses, and more. The National Archives in Washington, D.C. holds naturalization records for Federal Courts. Prior to 1906, any municipal, county, state, or Federal court could grant U.S. citizenship, so you may need to contact the relevant State Archives to search in these records as well.
Land Records
The land records that are generally of most interest to genealogists are the land entry case files. These are records that document the transfer of public lands from the U.S. Government to private ownership. There are over ten million such individual land transactions in the custody of the National Archives. These case files cover land entries in all 30 public land states. For land records in the remaining 20 states that were never part of the original public domain, check the State Archives for that particular state. This includes the original 13 colonies, plus Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia. Read more about research in Land Records
Additional information on getting started on using all of these records can also be found in the various online tutorials and guides.
Research Records Available On Microfilm
Many of the records which are often used in genealogical research are available on microfilm. To learn more about these records and how to obtain them on microfilm, see our published guides, listed below, and search our Microfilm Catalog database, available online.
Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2001. Available for purchase, or search online.
American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995. Available online or for purchase.
Black Studies: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996. Available online.
Diplomatic Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1986. Available online or for purchase.
Genealogical & Biographical Research: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1983). Available online.
Federal Court Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987. Available online.
Immigrant & Passenger Arrivals: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1991. Available online or for purchase.
Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985. Available online or for purchase.
Research in Other Federal Records (Not Online Or On Microfilm) For information on other Federal records, both microfilmed and unfilmed, in the custody of NARA that are useful for genealogical research, consult the Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 3d edition, 2001. Available for purchase.
Research Tips and Solving Difficult Research Problems
If your research seems to hit a dead-end or poses a tough problem, you can often find other paths by learning how others solved their research problems. We provide a list of articles and links to online resources that may help you get beyond your research obstacles.
Source: The National Archives
Suggested Ways To Start
Compile as much information as possible about your family. Start with yourself, parents, and grandparents. Ask your relatives about your family history. Often, family members remember stories or information, or possess documents, that can help start you on your way.
Look in family records (letters, family Bibles, scrapbooks, diaries, photographs, baptisms, and new clippings, etc). Consult non-Federal local sources for records such as births, deaths, marriages, deeds, and wills.
Learn about resources available for research and methods for researching
Review Online tutorials and guides Links to web sites with good sections on how to begin your research.
Consult books and articles We have included a list of books and articles about what records are available, where they can be found, and steps in the genealogical research process.
Attend Workshops and Conferences See our list of workshops to help people learn how to use historical documents in genealogical research, and links to other workshops around the country.
Join Genealogical Societies In addition to sponsoring workshops, other help is also available through genealogical societies.
Research With Historical Documents
The National Archives (NARA) is the nation's recordkeeper. It preserves and makes available the valuable records of the Federal Government.
Since the founding of the nation, most Americans at some time in their lives have come into contact with or have had some involvement with the Federal Government. It is records created through this contact where you may find reference to your ancestors in our holdings. As you begin your family research at NARA ask yourself about the person’s relationship to the Federal Government. Records in the National Archives are arranged by how the agencies created them, and there is no master subject or name index.
Your use of historical documents at the National Archives likely will yield better results if you first obtain the following information: Names of ancestors, their spouses, their siblings, their children, and other relatives, if known. Approximate dates of their birth and death, and, if applicable, dates of military service, of marriage, and of divorce. The places (such as the town, county, state or province, and country) of birth and death, and residence. Any record that gives a name, place, and/or date may be of interest to you as you conduct your family research. There could be a wealth of information about your family in our holdings, just awaiting your discovery!
Records in our holdings that are most often used by genealogists and family historians include:
Federal Population Censuses (1790-1930)
Military service and pension records (ca. 1776-1990)
Immigration records (1820-1957)
Naturalization records
Land records
Begin with Census Records
Once you have the name of an ancestor and an idea of which state he or she resided in, you may want to begin by exploring census records. Census records can provide the building blocks of your research, allowing you to both confirm information, and to learn a lot more. From 1790-1840 only the head of household is listed, but beginning with 1850, details are provided for all individuals in households. The Federal Population Census has been taken every 10 years, beginning in 1790. The National Archives has the census schedules on microfilm available from 1790 to 1930. (Note: Most of the 1890 Census was destroyed in a Department of Commerce fire, though partial records are available for some states.) There is a 72-year restriction on access to population census schedules, which is why 1930 is the latest year currently available.
Military Records
The National Archives holds Federal military service records in two repositories:
The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., for Revolutionary War – 1912 (see details of holdings)
National Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri, for WWI – present (see details of holdings).
Your research path will depend on aspects such as: what branch of service your ancestor was in, which conflict, what dates, whether Regular Army or a volunteer unit, whether your ancestor was an officer or enlisted personnel, and whether there was a pension application.
Immigration Records
Immigration records, also known as "ship passenger arrival records," may provide genealogists with interesting personal information about their ancestors. In addition to their ship and date of entry, you may learn of other details, such as their nationality, place of birth, age, height, eye and hair color, profession, place of last residence, names and addresses of relatives in the U.S., and amount of money they were carrying with them. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival. Indexes are available for most of the ports, with the exception of New York between 1847-1896.
Naturalization Records
Naturalization is the process by which an alien becomes an American citizen. These records can provide a researcher with information such as a person's birth date and location, occupation, immigration year, marital status and spouse information, witnesses' names and addresses, and more. The National Archives in Washington, D.C. holds naturalization records for Federal Courts. Prior to 1906, any municipal, county, state, or Federal court could grant U.S. citizenship, so you may need to contact the relevant State Archives to search in these records as well.
Land Records
The land records that are generally of most interest to genealogists are the land entry case files. These are records that document the transfer of public lands from the U.S. Government to private ownership. There are over ten million such individual land transactions in the custody of the National Archives. These case files cover land entries in all 30 public land states. For land records in the remaining 20 states that were never part of the original public domain, check the State Archives for that particular state. This includes the original 13 colonies, plus Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia. Read more about research in Land Records
Additional information on getting started on using all of these records can also be found in the various online tutorials and guides.
Research Records Available On Microfilm
Many of the records which are often used in genealogical research are available on microfilm. To learn more about these records and how to obtain them on microfilm, see our published guides, listed below, and search our Microfilm Catalog database, available online.
Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2001. Available for purchase, or search online.
American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995. Available online or for purchase.
Black Studies: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996. Available online.
Diplomatic Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1986. Available online or for purchase.
Genealogical & Biographical Research: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1983). Available online.
Federal Court Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987. Available online.
Immigrant & Passenger Arrivals: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1991. Available online or for purchase.
Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985. Available online or for purchase.
Research in Other Federal Records (Not Online Or On Microfilm) For information on other Federal records, both microfilmed and unfilmed, in the custody of NARA that are useful for genealogical research, consult the Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 3d edition, 2001. Available for purchase.
Research Tips and Solving Difficult Research Problems
If your research seems to hit a dead-end or poses a tough problem, you can often find other paths by learning how others solved their research problems. We provide a list of articles and links to online resources that may help you get beyond your research obstacles.
Source: The National Archives
Conducting A People Search
Are you looking for someone? A former classmate? Birth parent? Lost relative? An old friend? Military buddy? If so, then you're not alone. Thousands of people hit the Internet every day in search of someone. And more and more of these people are finding success with their search, using the Internet to find names, addresses, phone numbers, occupations, and other current data to locate people. However, if a person has disappeared on purpose, such as a runaway or to avoid the law, it will be nearly impossible for an amateur to find them.
Rather than type a bunch of text today, I am going to take the lazy route and point you to a free guide available through a website called Detective Choice. Just click here: People Search Guide. When you get to their home page, just enter your email address in the box on the lower left. The free guide will be sent to you automatically. It is a PDF file and offers a great summary on how to go about finding someone.
Technorati Tags: free people search, people search, background checks, online detective, internet detective
Rather than type a bunch of text today, I am going to take the lazy route and point you to a free guide available through a website called Detective Choice. Just click here: People Search Guide. When you get to their home page, just enter your email address in the box on the lower left. The free guide will be sent to you automatically. It is a PDF file and offers a great summary on how to go about finding someone.
Technorati Tags: free people search, people search, background checks, online detective, internet detective
Saturday, June 11, 2005
What You Can & Cannot Accomplish With The Detective Sites
Before we dive into specific search requirements, I thought I would cover what you can and cannot do with the online detective services. We checked out 5 or 6 of these Internet detective sites and they all offer pretty much the same thing. So we are going to lump them together for today's post.
What you can do:
These services are typically organized into easy to navigate sections covering the most popular types of searches. Links are organized into topics and geography to help you find as many pertinent resources as possible for the task you might have at hand. The vast majority of the free information is listed by state with thousands of links to public records. You name it and you can probably find it somewhere on these sites. Most all of this information is available through a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, but it could take you many hours to sift through all the possible searches and sites. If you value your time, these sites are probably worth their small investment. However, although these sites provide thousands of free resources, do not be misled. Most real investigative tasks cannot be accomplished for free.
What you cannot do:
Do not be fooled by services promising you free private information about other peoples current FBI, credit, banking, or other private files. This just is not available and would grossly violate privacy laws. There is just some information about you that not just anyone can obtain legally without your express permission, or without being in a legal position to have a right to know. For example, these detective sites cannot find out if there is a warrant out for your arrest, get you someone else's credit report, access someone's bank account information, get you a copy of someone's phone bill, tell you what someone does on their computer, get copies of someone else's cancelled checks, locate someone who left home yesterday, or tell you how much money someone made last year.
But there are services that can legally obtain much of this information for you. In future articles, we will cover how you can go about getting this information - if you are willing to spend a few bucks.
What you can do:
These services are typically organized into easy to navigate sections covering the most popular types of searches. Links are organized into topics and geography to help you find as many pertinent resources as possible for the task you might have at hand. The vast majority of the free information is listed by state with thousands of links to public records. You name it and you can probably find it somewhere on these sites. Most all of this information is available through a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, but it could take you many hours to sift through all the possible searches and sites. If you value your time, these sites are probably worth their small investment. However, although these sites provide thousands of free resources, do not be misled. Most real investigative tasks cannot be accomplished for free.
What you cannot do:
Do not be fooled by services promising you free private information about other peoples current FBI, credit, banking, or other private files. This just is not available and would grossly violate privacy laws. There is just some information about you that not just anyone can obtain legally without your express permission, or without being in a legal position to have a right to know. For example, these detective sites cannot find out if there is a warrant out for your arrest, get you someone else's credit report, access someone's bank account information, get you a copy of someone's phone bill, tell you what someone does on their computer, get copies of someone else's cancelled checks, locate someone who left home yesterday, or tell you how much money someone made last year.
But there are services that can legally obtain much of this information for you. In future articles, we will cover how you can go about getting this information - if you are willing to spend a few bucks.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Not All Online Detective Sites Are Created Equal
If you read my original post below, you know that I am writing about a personal experience I had with trying to track down a cell phone number for my brother. After searching on Google (my brother's favorite) and Yahoo (my favorite) for reverse cell phone look-up services, we discovered their were many, many service claiming they could help us. So we tried to find a site that provided reviews of these phone tracing services. Previously, I listed three of the sites we found that offered reviews of these "online investigation services" -- this got us started on our journey.
After reading the reviews, we signed up for a service called Cyber Detective. This service was not very good (I see it has since been removed from these review sites). So we tried others like Net Detective, Web Detective and Detective Choice. Even though these services have thousands of links, serve a purpose, and are inexpensive ($10-$35), they were not what we were hoping to find. But ultimately they did save us some valuable time - which was probably worth the money we spent.
The best of these services was Detective Choice. They seemed to care about making the search easy for us. Still, it seemed every time we found a resource that could help us with our cell phone trace, there was an additional fee. We understand that not everyone is searching for the same thing, and lots of free data was available on their site, but it was still frustrating.
My next post will address what you CAN accomplish at these detective sites. In future posts, I will try to help my readers find what they are looking for in the fastest, lowest cost manner -- based on their investigation requirements.
After reading the reviews, we signed up for a service called Cyber Detective. This service was not very good (I see it has since been removed from these review sites). So we tried others like Net Detective, Web Detective and Detective Choice. Even though these services have thousands of links, serve a purpose, and are inexpensive ($10-$35), they were not what we were hoping to find. But ultimately they did save us some valuable time - which was probably worth the money we spent.
The best of these services was Detective Choice. They seemed to care about making the search easy for us. Still, it seemed every time we found a resource that could help us with our cell phone trace, there was an additional fee. We understand that not everyone is searching for the same thing, and lots of free data was available on their site, but it was still frustrating.
My next post will address what you CAN accomplish at these detective sites. In future posts, I will try to help my readers find what they are looking for in the fastest, lowest cost manner -- based on their investigation requirements.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Why Did I Start This Blog?
Like millions of you out there, I have always wondered about blogging. What's it all about? Why do people blog? What type of person would blog at all? I can only assume that many of you starting blogging due to a specific incident or circumstance that happened to you. A situation you felt compelled to let others know about - maybe save someone else the time and aggravation you experienced. As you can guess by now, that's what happened to me.
My brother was recently ripped-off through an eBay transaction and there seemed to be little he could do about it. He worked with the eBay fraud department but it was going no where. So we decided to take matters into our own hands. You see my brother had the cell phone number for the person who committed the fraud, but he couldn't get the police or FBI to search for the owner of the phone. So we thought we would try to hunt this person down using the Interent - our favorite tool.
The first thing we had to do was find a service that could track down cell phone numbers. This is where it got interesting -- the whole reason for this blog. I'll tell you right now that we managed to find the crook, prosecute him and he served jail time. We did it in a matter of days and even impressed the FBI. However, we discovered there are hundreds of sites out there claiming to help you with your detective work. Some great and some aweful.
We tried all the search terms we could think of: 'cell phone lookup', 'cell phone owner', 'reverse cell phone address', 'cell phone owner's address', and so on. We must of tried 20 or 30 terms. This led us to a plethora of sites claiming they could provide a service. We saw fees ranging anywhere from free to $250 to get us the information.
Over the next couple of weeks, I hope to save you readers some time, effort and money by explaining what we learned. Today, I will end by telling you that not all online detective sites are equal, some seem to be down right scams, while others provide excellent services at reasonable prices.
We did find a few review sites that got us started. (I am big on finding reviews online whether it is for an HDTV, car, movie, etc. - maybe I'll create a blog for that too) These sites led us to all sorts of other information. Three of them are:
http://www.detective-zone.com
http://www.top-peoplesearch-sites.com
http://www.onlinedetectivereview.com
In a couple of days, I will walk you through the process we went through and point out what we found to be the good and the bad.
My brother was recently ripped-off through an eBay transaction and there seemed to be little he could do about it. He worked with the eBay fraud department but it was going no where. So we decided to take matters into our own hands. You see my brother had the cell phone number for the person who committed the fraud, but he couldn't get the police or FBI to search for the owner of the phone. So we thought we would try to hunt this person down using the Interent - our favorite tool.
The first thing we had to do was find a service that could track down cell phone numbers. This is where it got interesting -- the whole reason for this blog. I'll tell you right now that we managed to find the crook, prosecute him and he served jail time. We did it in a matter of days and even impressed the FBI. However, we discovered there are hundreds of sites out there claiming to help you with your detective work. Some great and some aweful.
We tried all the search terms we could think of: 'cell phone lookup', 'cell phone owner', 'reverse cell phone address', 'cell phone owner's address', and so on. We must of tried 20 or 30 terms. This led us to a plethora of sites claiming they could provide a service. We saw fees ranging anywhere from free to $250 to get us the information.
Over the next couple of weeks, I hope to save you readers some time, effort and money by explaining what we learned. Today, I will end by telling you that not all online detective sites are equal, some seem to be down right scams, while others provide excellent services at reasonable prices.
We did find a few review sites that got us started. (I am big on finding reviews online whether it is for an HDTV, car, movie, etc. - maybe I'll create a blog for that too) These sites led us to all sorts of other information. Three of them are:
http://www.detective-zone.com
http://www.top-peoplesearch-sites.com
http://www.onlinedetectivereview.com
In a couple of days, I will walk you through the process we went through and point out what we found to be the good and the bad.
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