A lot of people have the perception that private investigators just seem to know information without putting on an effort. The opposite is true. As much as private investigators would want to wish that they have special powers to simply know needed information, the fact is that it takes a lot of work to find information about a person of interest. Below are the top 10 places that private investigators usually use to find information about a person.
Court Records
Court records come in both current and historical form and can give private investigators access to a wealth of information. Plenty of information are available on cases whether they may be criminal or civil cases. A non-convicted criminal charge versus an array of civil charges can say a lot about a person?s character.
Investigative Database
Private Investigators have insider access to professional databases wherein telephone information, public records, social network data, credit header information, and more are compiled about people and businesses. Most of these databases can only be accessed by licensed private eyes.
News Archives
News archives are available via some libraries and online through services like Proquest, Factiva, and LexisNexis for a fee. The information contained here are not available via regular search engines such as Yahoo and google.
Human Intelligence
A big chunk of information used by private Investigators come from people. Interviews with a person of interest’s relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and former friends come with a wealth of surprises that can lead to more information than needed.
Motor Vehicle Registrations
Motor vehicle registrations are often publicly available and can inform private Investigators about what vehicles a person might be driving as well as shed further detail to some needed information such as investigations of hidden assets.
The Internet
Comments, links, web pages, resumes, and more that are put up on the internet under a person’s name can often still be accessed even after the original content was erased. This is especially true for businesses.
Public Records
Property transactions, corporation records, business deals, and various government records are often available on public records. These records are usually indexed and made easier to navigate by services such as WestLaw and LexisNexis.
Government Repositories
Securities and Exchange Commission Records, state government records, military records, lobbyists’ records, military records, and government contract information are just a few examples of government repositories of information. Information here can be requested if not already available online.
Social Networks
There are billions of people who use social networks on a daily basis. Both niche and popular social media networks offer a treasure trove of information especially for businesses and people who are not too careful with what they post.
Garbage
In a lot of places in the world, garbage that has been taken out for disposal is considered public property and people who sort through them are not violating any laws. Consider this when throwing out paper containing private information particularly phone bills, medical records, letters, journals, and credit card bills. Shredding paper with private details is a good practice to implement.
Don?t have time to sort through a lot of work to get the information you want? Why not avail of private investigation services? At Haywood Hunt, our private Investigators can help find people for you as well as gather information on your behalf using legal and professional means. Contact us today!
