People-Search Services: An Overview

People-search services provide a quick, convenient way to pull data from NC public records that might otherwise take a great deal of time to aggregate. The efficiency and ease of use these services offer to make them popular with employers looking for a simple way to evaluate prospective job candidates as well as with private individuals hoping to reconnect with important people from their past.

People-search services typically offer four types of reports:

• Basic people-search reports

• Enhanced people-search reports

• Background reports

• Reverse phone lookups

Basic People-Search Reports

A basic people-search report on sites such asIntelius will search public records for the past and present addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of the individual whose background is being investigated. This report will list other people known to be close to the individual such as relatives and cohabitants. It will list the individual’s name, age, date of birth and any aliases that he or she may be known by.

Enhanced People-Search Reports

Enhanced people-search reports contain all the information in the basic report as well as any publicly accessible information gleaned from the individual’s social media accounts.

Background Reports

Background reports focus on a more extensive search of available records. In addition to the information provided in basic and enhanced people-search reports, a background report will also contain information obtained from criminal and civil court records. Typically, court records from a single state will be examined; however, searchers have the option to expand this search to other states or the federal court system if they so desire.

Additionally, background reports contain information about the individual’s post-secondary educational history, past and present employment and marital status.

Reverse Phone Lookup

A number of different digital directories exist that make it relatively easy to track down information about landline holders. If the holder has requested an unlisted number, however, your people-search service may not be able to uncover it.

It’s harder to verify data pertaining to cell phone numbers, though. No online cell phone directory exists as such, and these investigations are often viewed as invasions of privacy by the holders of cell phone numbers. People-search services often employ trained specialists for these types of investigations. A successful reverse phone lookup report will contain the owner’s name, address, phone type and service carrier.

Are People-Search Reports Accurate?

In the U.S. today, many people may share the same first and last name. To help ensure that a background report contains accurate information, it’s very important to make sure that the records search is focusing on the right person. Your search will be most accurate if you are able to supply your people-search service with a middle name for the person you are investigating. Providing birth date and birthplace data may help make the search more specific still.

Published by Kidal Delonix (1200 Posts)

Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.