Skip tracing is the process of locating a person’s whereabouts, often for the purpose of collecting a debt, serving legal documents, or finding someone who is missing or avoiding contact. It is commonly used by private investigators, debt collectors, attorneys, and other professionals who need to track down individuals.
Here are some common techniques used in skip tracing:
- Public Records Search:
- Searching through government databases like property records, voter registrations, court records, and motor vehicle databases can provide clues about a person’s current location.
- Credit Reports:
- Credit bureaus may have up-to-date information about an individual’s address, though access to this data is highly regulated and typically only available to entities with a legitimate need, such as debt collectors or creditors.
- Social Media:
- Searching social media profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram) can offer insights into where a person might be living or working, or what their current activities and connections are.
- Phone Number Tracing:
- Reverse phone lookups, or using specialized databases, can reveal the identity and location associated with a phone number.
- Contacting Friends and Family:
- Sometimes skip tracers will reach out to known associates of the person to gather additional information about their whereabouts.
- Online Databases:
- Subscription-based services like TLOxp, LexisNexis, or Spokeo provide access to a wealth of personal data, including addresses, family members, criminal history, and more.
- Surveillance:
- In more complex cases, investigators may resort to physical surveillance to track someone’s movements and behavior.
- Employment Records:
- Some skip tracers search for information about a person’s place of employment to help track them down.
- Utility Bills:
- Sometimes tracing utility account information (electricity, gas, water) can lead to an individual’s current address.
- Skip tracing can be a delicate process, and thus legal guidelines and regulations are carried out while conducting searches.