Archive for the ‘Public Records’ Category
The articles below range from Reviews of different Criminal Records services to Online Scam Alerts to handy helpful hints, all in the name of safe-keeping. I hope you enjoy them! (Got an idea for a great new article? Drop me a note.)
Belle on October 8th, 2009
Everywhere you turn people are requesting your Social Security Number, and this mainstream way of doing things may have most people convinced that this is a mandatory part of the process for you to sign up for some internet service or other organization. This is not the case, you are not even required to give it to your doctor, unless you have Medicare or Medicaid. People will badger you about getting it, and it may be a fight not to give it to them, you may even have to talk to 8 or 10 different people to resolve the issue in your favor. This is nothing compared to the time and money you will spend trying to undo the damage identity theft will cause for you. It is becoming an epidemic. In 2005 8.3 million Americans were victims of this crime, and with more online shopping and signups this is booming more than ever.
Credible companies do not have the intention of stealing your social security number, but they cannot possible know what each and every employee’s true intentions are. This is just life that applies in a lot of different aspects, but it just means they we as individuals need to take extra care to protect ourselves.
Other ways of identity theft is through a stolen computer. Where do they store everything? In a computer or laptop. Within the last few years all of the following companies have had sensitive information stolen from their systems:
- Home Depot
- Citigroup
- Gap
- Hartford Financial Services
- AT&T
- Pfizer
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,
- the government of Great Britain
-
Time Warner
and many other organizations. Also in March of 2006 two of Verizon’s company laptops were stolen, putting many employees at risk for identity theft. Unfortunately, that is where you need to give your Social Security Number is to your employer. You can always refuse, but because employers usually like to conduct background checks and other in depth checks, they will probably refuse to hire you as well. Your bank is also another mandatory place to give your Social to so they are able to comply with federal law, and very VERY few others. These are already two different places that have the most important information that you have, so anywhere else use discretion.
Let’s say your stolen identity is resolved right away and your bank refunds everything returns to normal. Your information can still be out there and other accounts may be opened in your name, which you may not find about for years. So lets say 5 years later you try and apply for a loan to buy a house, but you have $1 million dollars in debt? The best thing to do is to keep your personal information as personal as possible. Nobody ever needs your SS# when ordering something online or for signing up. There is no reason.
Gaurd yourself, because you are the only person you can 100% trust.
Be smart. Be safe. Be in control.
~ Belle
The articles below range from Reviews of different Criminal Records services to Online Scam Alerts to handy helpful hints, all in the name of safe-keeping. I hope you enjoy them! (Got an idea for a great new article? Drop me a note.)
Belle on October 8th, 2009
If there is one thing I’ve learned it’s that you can’t always believe what companies claim on their sites. It’s ridiculous and I’m frustrated to be honest with you! That’s one of the reasons why I created this site.
For The Job…
Public records are incredibly beneficial for a company. For instance, I work from home and have to hire people occasionally. When you work from home it’s harder to make sure people are doing their job reliably because you can’t see them. So, by checking people’s public records–county records, criminal, financial, and vital records–we can see patterns in their pasts that will give us a better chance of finding more reliable new hires. If you are bringing people into your office then you definitely want to know what type of person you are bringing into your environment.
So, I’m A Cheapskate… 
I tried to do the Cheap/Free approach at first. It’s kind of funny actually to think of how much time I wasted. Well, not really!?! So picture this…here I am doing a public records search on Google for this guy that I interviewed. Then, I think I found him. I click on the link and it’s another search box wanting me to search for him again. So, I do and they want me to purchase before I see anything. So, I keep looking and finally figured out that I’m not going to find zilch until I purchase one of these things. I went through about 10 of them before I finally found the data. Then, I start going through my list to get a refund. Do these companies even know what in the world customer service is????
* Includes Free Sex Offender Map! (effective. Jan 1, 2010)
And The Winner Is…(Drumroll please)
Anyway, that was a debacle and I learned the hard way. But, the site I found the data on was “Net Detective”. I was actually surprised because it was a fair price according to the other sites out there. I got Unlimited public records searches. Which, by the way, helps a lot because some of those guys charge you up front then want to charge you every time you search. Sheesh! One of the other things I thought was really cool with Net Detective was that they gave me a phone number to call if I had trouble. So, I couldn’t find this one person I was looking for info on and wanted to see if there was a better way. Rather than telling me the better way they actually looked up the record for me. Is that cool or what?
* Includes Free Sex Offender Map! (effective. Jan 1, 2010)
Second Place Goes To…
In the runner-up spot, with very good customer care, great U.S. converage, and a big database is Complete Detective. I prefer the interface of Net Detective–seems a little easier to get around for a novice computer user. But between these two services, you really cannot go wrong.
There are lots of third place winners, too many to name here. You are welcome to search google for public records or public county records and go through the top 10 links you see. You can also look at the sponsored links on the side. But hey, don’t waste your time. 
I’ve already done that so you don’t have to!
So, thanks for listening to me ramble on… Anyways, I hope you’ll find this helpful when it comes time to do some effective public records searches online.
The articles below range from Reviews of different Criminal Records services to Online Scam Alerts to handy helpful hints, all in the name of safe-keeping. I hope you enjoy them! (Got an idea for a great new article? Drop me a note.)
Belle on October 8th, 2009
BEWARE of Those Around You!
We’re your typical American small family: one child, one car, and very little savings. So when the opportunity came around to buy a new home we were floored with excitement!
Having just moved from Arizona, we knew we wanted to rent for a while and check out the neighborhoods one by one. We followed Orlando’s guidebooks and strolled through up-and-coming neighborhoods and talked to locals to get the vibe.
Search Public Records Securely
When it came to picking a neighborhood, my concerns naturally had to do with access to schools, life and culture, and the kind of people surrounding us. I also wanted to know if there were any sex offenders living nearby. While you can’t just go *ask* your neighbors about these things, I was able to find all kinds of good, useful in public records web sites.
I’ve tried a bunch of sites, and the one I recommend far and away is to me the most comprehensive. To find out which one it is, read my SCAM Alert! If staying safe is important, this recommendation is worth every penny, and it lets you go much deeper than I had expected!
How Deep?
For instance, I found out I could research home-owners by typing in an address. So here I am, a potential home-buyer, and there I went, searching neighborhoods near and far. I took a bunch of screen shots (see below) of public records data such as:
- Home purchase date
- Home purchase price
- Estimated home value
- Neighbors, including all of the above data for each one
So, when my husband and I found a potential house, I gathered as much info as possible. I didn’t want to be dreaming about a place whose neighbors were convicted sex offenders or had criminal records longer than a laundry list!
As it turns out, the house we liked had neighbor with several charges for “illegal drug possession”–we even wondered if he’d been growing stuff right there in his house which looked looked perfectly nice from the outside! In any case, there were a few other things besides this that ultimately convinced us to hold off and wait for the perfect home. Thank goodness for public records!
Hey, I’m sorry if you wanted to hear all about our dream home! But this story does have a happy ending. We’re safe and sound and we know our future house is… worth the wait, and the research. So Be Safe, Be Smart, Be in Control!
~ Belle
About This Site
Hi! My name is Kimberly Sepulveda, my friends call me Belle. I am an independent product tester, blogger, Navy-mom, and wife living in north Florida. I buy all of the products I recommend, and I do not accept free test products from manufacturers. While I wish the cost of maintaining a blog was free, it is not. And since I am a Navy Mom, instead of using my husband's and my family's income to support this site, 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. Feel free to check out my full compensation disclosure.
My goal with this site is to help you steer clear of the many scams out there so you can run effective people searches, learn a few tools that are right for the job, and turn safe-keeping into habit with your person-to-person interactions on the web. Consider this site a blueprint to every day, modern networking. Let me show you how easy it is to be safe, be educated, and be in control!
~ Belle
More About Me
Who I am: My name is Kimberly Sepulveda, but all my friends call me Belle. I’m a Navy-mom, wife, blogger, and product reviewer living in sunny Florida.
My mission: To educate others, through effective products and tips, to be more careful about the very people they befriend, date, hire, buy from, and even marry.
My motto: “Be safe. Be educated. Be in control.”
Most people I know use the Internet for almost everything, and as a result we end up “meeting” many more more strangers on a weekly if not daily basis than ever before. In my case, I love to buy and sell things on Craigslist. Most times the person on the other end is a good-hearted being like I am. But *really* how safe is it to allow some stranger into your home or, worse, to go into their home as if you’ve known them for years?
And what about all those social networking sites? How safe are they? Don’t get me wrong–they have their place. In fact, I met the man of my dreams on <blush> MySpace! We’re now married with a 1 yr old baby boy. But before we met, I was smart and arranged for a friend to be there when he picked me up. I also checked him out online.
You’ll find there are many reasons to check people out online. But what I also recommend checking out is the companies that let you check people out. Beware of those that make promises you cannot keep. Remember, be Smart, be Safe, and be in Control!
