{"id":24896,"date":"2021-05-13T14:04:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T22:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=24896"},"modified":"2022-04-13T12:23:11","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T20:23:11","slug":"how-to-track-someone-down-the-right-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/how-to-track-someone-down-the-right-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for Someone? How to Track Them Down the Right Way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mobility is something we take for granted.  Cars are cheap and readily available, and you can get a discounted flight halfway across the continent for less than the cost of a good meal.  That means we have a lot of freedom to pursue our dreams (or at least employment), but it also means we often have friends and loved ones scattered across the country.  It\u2019s no surprise, then, that knowing how to track someone down when we need to get in touch<\/a> has become a significant life skill.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how should you go about it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Your People-Search Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On television, private detectives always seem to \u201cknow a guy\u201d at the police department who can run a plate for them or otherwise tap into privileged information.  That\u2019s not an available option for most of us in real life, and it would be highly unethical or illegal (depending on the information) if it were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the real world, professional investigators often have paid access to privately held, for-profit databases, which is a business expense for them.  If you want to track someone down as a private citizen, your options are more limited, but they can still be surprisingly effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are essentially three avenues you can pursue: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Searching the internet and social media;<\/li>
  2. Searching publicly-available records; or<\/li>
  3. Using specialized people-search tools like Spokeo.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s take a look at how these three choices work, and how they can complement each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to Track Someone Down Online<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re looking for someone online, your first thought was likely to type their name into a regular search engine, like Google or Bing.  Sometimes that works, but unless you have some other information to put with it \u2014 not just \u201cJoe Blow,\u201d but \u201cJoe Blow structural engineer Milwaukee\u201d \u2014 you\u2019re likely to get thousands of inconclusive results<\/a>.  If you have that added information, great!  If not, social media might be a better option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Start by hitting the major platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) and searching for your person\u2019s name.  Try variations and alternative spellings as well, just in case.  If you know what the person looks like, and they have an identifiable profile photo, that will help a lot.  Otherwise, you\u2019ll need to look at the other information they make publicly available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some people list things like a hometown, an employer, or their former school on their profile.  Those can help you make a positive ID, if they\u2019re there.  If not, look at the list of each person\u2019s \u201cfriends\u201d or those they follow and those who follow them.  You\u2019ll often be able to identify someone through their known interests (Star Wars, birdwatching) or by someone who\u2019s a shared friend.  At that point, you may have enough information to reach out and make contact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Using Public Records to Find Someone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re looking not just to find someone, but to learn something specific about them \u2014 whether they\u2019re married<\/a>, whether they own a home, whether they\u2019re still alive \u2014 you may find that public records are more helpful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Records of birth and death, property ownership and the issuance of marriage licenses are kept at the county clerk\u2019s office in most jurisdictions.  The National Association of Counties maintains an interactive \u201ccounty explorer<\/a>\u201d on its database, where you can click on a map to find the county you\u2019re looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Clicking on a county shows quick facts for that county, including contact information.  From there, you can call, write, or (usually) click through to the county\u2019s website.  Many county sites allow for online searches or search requests, as well.  However you make your inquiry, be patient: County clerks\u2019 offices tend to be busy places and don\u2019t always have a lot of staff, so it may take them a while to respond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Use People Search Tools to Bring it All Together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Most of us have had the experience of setting out on a new project \u2014 bread-baking, photography, a modest home improvement \u2014 only to discover that we needed better tools to get the job done.  When it comes to searching for people, that means (logically enough) turning to powerful people-search tools like those offered by Spokeo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Spokeo\u2019s tools can turbocharge your efforts in two ways.  One is simply the time and effort that it saves: Instead of laboriously searching social media sites or public records offices, you can search a name, an address, a phone number or an email address and get those results neatly compiled on a single page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The other is that it fills in the blanks.  A Spokeo search  might turn up two or three additional emails associated with a given person, for example, which in turn could lead you to their profiles on additional social media platforms or dating sites<\/a>.  If you didn\u2019t know how to find where someone lives, other than \u201csomewhere in central Illinois,\u201d Spokeo results can help you nail down the correct town or county in just moments.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finishing the Job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Whether you use specialized people-search strategies to fill in the blanks or as your primary tool, you\u2019ll probably have to follow through with a few additional steps before you\u2019re done.  One might be to work your way back through the same searches, leveraging the additional information you\u2019ve already found, to nail down as many details as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You\u2019ll also have to decide what to do with the information you\u2019ve found, and that depends on your reasons for looking.  If your goal was to reconnect, you can choose whether to do so by mail, phone, email or social media, depending on your personal preference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you were checking to see if someone you\u2019re currently communicating with is really who (and what) they claim to be, your decision will hinge on what you learned.  If the person checks out, that\u2019s great news!  If not, you might opt to break off communication with them or even \u2014 if they\u2019ve turned out to be scammers \u2014 file a report with law enforcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Either way, Spokeo provides you with the tools you need to reliably find the people you\u2019re looking for, through public information that\u2019s ethically obtained and aggregated<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Source:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n