Consumer-Warning.org Public Records Expert Tips and Advice
Review: Top 2 PUBLIC RECORDS Sites
Posted by Admin on Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Sites reviewed: 3
Looking for a Public Records Site? Do Not Pay For One Until You Have Read This!
Avoid the Scams whether it’s Birth Records, Criminal Records, Court Records, Divorce Records, Arrest Records, Marriage Records, Convictions, or Sex Offenders you’re looking for!
My Methods
In this article I have reviewed my Top 2 Public Records search sites so that you don’t have to waste your time exploring all the dead ends. After signing up for dozens of services, I ranked them in terms of accuracy, size, ease of use, and customer awareness. My findings apply to all of the popular Public Record sites listed in the major search engines! (Google, MSN, Yahoo)
How Accurate are Public Records Sites?
- No public record finder site is 100% accurate. Here is why:
- For instance, if James Jones just moved to a new state, it’ll take time for public records databases to update his records from government agencies, banks, and other private sources.
- While some sources update in days, others take weeks, and some only update annually. That’s why it’s best to pick the largest database like I did!
- After a bunch of digging, talking to private investigators and industry people, and using all the major services, I’ve come up with the findings below.
Results May Shock You!
What was amazing was how inconsistent results were! After joining dozens of “public records search” sites and searching for people I knew (friends, family, celebrities), about 7 out of 10 sites could not locate records of any people I knew… anywhere!
The good news: The 2 sites below all have solid reputations and positive customer feedback. They will save you time and money and get you the most accurate public records, hands down. Here they are, in order of rank:
#1 Net Detective
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Click Here to Visit |
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Net Detective has always outperformed the rest for me. Give it a test drive and you’ll probably agree Net Detective has all you need to become your own Internet Detective. Look up anyone–old friends, potential babysitters, bosses, employees, etc. And don’t miss out on the extra features like How-to Articles, Free Identity Theft Kit, and more. This is a great people search service overall. |
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#2 Background Searcher
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Click Here To Visit |
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The name says it all: Background Searcher is a solid tool for locating anyone anywhere in the U.S. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles nor size of database compared to Net Detective, but with a money back guarantee and unlimited searches you cannot go wrong with this online service. |
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Final Word
Please… do your own testing and comparison of public records, background records, and people search sites. There are so many out there–just Google “Public Records”. While my preferred tool meets my needs, your needs may be different from mine! Best of luck and happy digging!
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About This Site
My name is Kim and I am a freelance writer. I have over 30 years of experience in office management and administrative expertise. I specialize in handling customer service, training and writing for online businesses.
Writing has always been my passion. I am an avid animal lover who is combining my love of writing and animals together in the children’s books I am writing.
The Internet has opened up a whole new world for people of all ages. While most of us agree it’s changed our lives for the better, there are still precautions that you need to take. I want to help you navigate the Internet safely. However, being security conscious doesn’t stop with the Internet. This blog will be your source of information and education to keep you and your family safe online and offline.
While I wish the cost of maintaining a blog was free, it is not. The providers of some—though not all—of the sites mentioned are generous enough to provide compensation for my honest opinions about their products or services. I do not write about any product that I have not personally tried. Feel free to check out my full compensation disclosure.
Kim
I used Net Detective today and found 2 old friends plus I even looked up the criminal record of someone I saw on t.v. It took me 5 minutes to do all that! Thank you Belle!
See, it works!! Thanks for sharing with us!
~ Belle
Belle, you are a positive asset to the internet community. I appreciate what you do. Please keep it up! Regards, Dr. P
Thanks very much, Dr. P!
My mother needs a copy of her marriage license in order to get her enhanced license. She was married in Yarmouth,MA in 1935 or 36…wondered if there is a form that we need to fill out, or if we could get a copy of this certificate on line.
any help would be appreciated.
Have you searched “Marriage Licenses in Massachusetts” in Google? There are a few sites. You’ll have to pay a small fee, but it’s probably worth it! Good luck to you.
~ Belle
is there a site that is really free i have beeen to alot but when you get there, you always have a fee
Donna,
I get asked this all the time and my answer doesn’t change: Net Detective and others have been collecting data on U.S. residents since the 1990s; they have followed people’s public info, creating address histories; they can tell where someone lived, whether they rent or own, how much their house cost, their estimated income, their credit rating, their relatives, etc. And they tie this together with map information, which then ties into other databases like the sex offender registry. Basically, they are data professionals. Want to find it fast? No problem. Need to cross-reference, repeat an investigation, and search unlimited names, addresses, and phones? No problem. Now you tell me… how in the world are you going to do all of that without a huge web-based database? Believe me, it’s the best 29 bucks I’ve spent on the web. Hands down. But then again, I do love to snoop… on friends, neighbors, celebrities, politicians. It gets addictive!!!!!
~ Belle
My interest lies with the genalogocial aspect. What website is recommended for this type of research?
Too many for a layman to decide on.
Connie,
Thanks for posting. Yes are many to choose from. I wish I could steer you in a particular direction, but unfortunately I haven’t tried this aspect of people search. Maybe there’s someone reading this who can make a recommendation. Anyone?
~ Belle
i’ve seen in people finder sites that if you pay a fee, you can view someones ss#. I thought that was private info. Is it true? SCARY!!!!!
John,
I get asked this question a lot. Here’s the scoop: you cannot see someone’s SS#, even with a paid service like Net Detective or something similar. SS#s are considered private information still, thankfully. However, you CAN perform a reverse SS search which will tell you if an SS# is “valid” and where it was issued, but it won’t give you a name. Thanks for posting!
~ Belle
what are the sites that are really free to see the records and u dont have to complete any offers to view them
Brittany,
Great question. To my knowledge, there are no free services that provide public records. While public records are themselves free, meaning you can go down to the courthouse and look up whatever you want at no charge, a service that culminates these records, adds them to historical data, and allows instant searches, should not be free (in my humble opinion). When you really look at it, the cost of these services is pennies when considering how much time it would take to track down all that info on your own.
Now, having said all that, if and when a free service comes along, I will be the first to blog about it!!!!! Stay tuned, and keep on searchin’!
~ Belle
I won a rather large judgement on a rather sneaky person that has kept his properties and incomes very hidden, behind contracts, company names, family, etc. Is there a professional person or group that is adapt in IT tech that can do the checks re ownership etc to a much higher degree of success? Collection agencies “do” nothing, lawyers want huge amts up front…ideas?
Willy, personally I cannot do anything like that–don’t have the time or resources–nor can any of the paid services which are largely related to people search and background checks.
Best of luck!
~ Belle
I am trying to find out where my ex-husband is presently employed. He owes me thousands in back child support, I have his ss# where do i go?
Candi, please see above question and my answer. You cannot do reverse SS# searches. This is set up for identity protection, thankfully. It’s hard to find someone’s employer since people are always changing jobs. But I will do some digging to see if there are some services that do this. Thanks for posting and keep on searching!
~ Belle
If you have the social you can go to your local child support office at the Dept of Human Resources and they will verify it and collect.
I won my small claims case and now need to proceed with a garnishment I need to find out where he banks is that possible.
Hmmm, that would be interesting! But I don’t think Net Detective or any other paid service will reveal banking info, other than mortgage rate, estimated income, and home ownership (yes/no). The basic reason why not is, that is not public information to begin with! Make sense? Let me know if not and I’ll try to explain further what is public and what is not.
~ Belle
That information is protected in the Privacy Act. The Banks are not allowed to even remotely hint that someone banks with them without getting in big trouble with the OCC. You would have to stumble upon that by sheer luck. See if he has written a check to anyone you know and get them to get an image of it from their financial institution. That’d be the first thing I’d try. Good Luck!
~LaDonna
Makes sense! Thanks LaDonna!
~ Belle