Posts Tagged ‘People Search’

Reverse Phone Number Look Up

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

This has happened to all of us. You miss a call and the caller didn’t leave a message. Now you are left wondering who called and why they called. This happens most often on our cell phones. Before the caller ID feature was implemented on landlines, we were all satisfied with using the old-fashioned phonebook’s white and yellow pages. Remember those? We simply looked up the business or person we needed the telephone number or address for.

Even then, we were plagued with anonymous and prank callers. There was no viable solution. Times have changed. Now most of us have the caller ID feature on our landlines. Let’s face it we have become so used to caller ID that we usually know who the caller is before we ever pick up the phone. However, despite all of our advancements, we still have the nagging problem of missed calls on our cell phones and not knowing who called or why. It can be unsettling.

The Solution

Are you aware that you can use a reverse phone look up service to locate the caller’s identity? And, it doesn’t matter whether the incoming call came from a landline or a cell phone. We recommend Net Detective:

https://www.netdetective.net/

Not only is it very inexpensive, it is completely legal. Net Detective enters into legal agreements with the owners of the private and public record databases. This allows you, the consumer, to legally access data that is not typically available publicly. Of course, using the information you obtain for telemarketing or stalking purposes is not legal!

Why Identify Your Callers?

Doing a reverse phone look up can give you peace of mind. If you have been ignoring missed calls and hang ups, it may be time that you reconsider. Here are some reasons why you may want to know who belongs to that phone number you don’t recognize.

Telemarketers and spammers – Many telemarketers and scammers will simply hang up if they reach an answering machine or voice mail. Telemarketers can be annoying, but scammers are another issue. They can be dangerous. You definitely need to know who is calling and how often. Using a reverse phone look up like
Net Detective will help you find that information. After all, you cannot take action against an illegal business operation unless you know who they are.

Dropped calls – We’ve all experienced dropped calls on our cell phones. Ever been greeted by a dial tone when you answer your cell phone? Odds are the caller is using a cell phone and the call dropped. Perhaps your caller is driving through a dead spot, inclement weather or their battery is going dead. Whatever the reason, you could be missing an important call.

Missed opportunities - Are you waiting for a call back on a job interview, a loan application, an apartment rental or an offer on a home? There are any number of reasons you may be waiting for an important call. What if the caller has a list of people who are also interested in the job, apartment or home? When the caller cannot reach you, he or she may call the next person on their list. You miss out on that all important opportunity you were waiting for.

Protecting your children – Your children’s friends might hang up if an adult answers. This is probably innocent. But what if the person on the other end of the call is a bully, pedophile or stalker? Isn’t it better to be alerted to potential problems before they occur? A reverse phone look up will provide you with the information you need to protect your children.

Cheating spouse - Hang ups on your spouse’s phone could be another issue altogether. Put your mind at ease with a reverse phone look up.

Remember, there are many legitimate reasons for you to find out who is calling you and why. Searching with Net Detective is safe and private.

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How To Track Down A Long-Lost Ex

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

I wanted to put as much distance between my ex boyfriend and myself

When relationships end badly, people sometimes have a tendency to move on, forget about the other person, and try to eliminate all evidence of that person from their lives. Most people have a breakup like this in their past, if not more than one. Even I myself have had one or two relationships leave my head spinning. When it happened to me, I wanted to put as much distance between my ex boyfriend and myself.

Now years have passed, and I wonder what ever happened to him.  Time has healed the wounds of that breakup and I remember the good times, knowing I did have a good friend all those years ago. What’s he up to now? Does he have a wife and a family? Did he follow his dream to become an architect? How are his parents and siblings, people I grew to like during our relationship?

These questions are a little easier to answer with things like MySpace and Facebook, but they don’t always work. In fact, all a person needs to do to hide themselves on one of these social sites is either not sign up or hide their profile. And in my case the act of not finding my ex made me want to find them even more!

Now, granted, my search isn’t as dire as it could be. We don’t share belongings, children, property, or anything else. It’s been a very long time since our relationship ended and I’m really searching him out for my own curiosity. Some of my friends have had more serious situations where an ex skipped town leaving no information behind. Adult relationships like theirs tend to need more time to unravel. Sometimes you share responsibilities like rent payments, belongings or even kids. No matter the circumstances, finding an ex—be it a boyfriend/girlfriend, fiancé, spouse, or long-term partner—gets a lot easier thanks to background checking sites.

I’ve often recommended NetDetective.com to my friends

I’ve often recommended NetDetective.com to my friends in these situations. For just $2.95, you get unlimited access to background checks, marital or divorce records, and contact information like phone numbers and addresses. I was able to find my old boyfriend with an address search and now we correspond regularly.

For some of my friends, NetDetective did even more to give them peace of mind. Not only could they find their ex quickly and anonymously, but also they were able to gain the restitution they needed to get past the breakup and heal their wounds. For them, and for me, seeking out an ex with NetDetective.com was a positive experience.

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How To Reconnect with Lost Friends & Family Through Online Search

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

Finding long-lost family members can be quite an undertaking

When my family immigrated to the United States two generations ago, they left behind a lot of their old lives. Among the things lost were family connections. Today, with so much time passed, finding long-lost family members can be quite an undertaking!

I recently traveled to Italy, where my great-grandfather left behind two brothers and many cousins. On a whim, I checked the local phonebook in the area where they lived and found a whopping four full pages of listings with his last name. I don’t speak any Italian and I had no way to know whether they were related or if his last name is just that common in that region. Frustrated, I gave up and just enjoyed other aspects of my vacation, knowing there were connections I was missing.

Back at home I started my online search of my long lost relatives. Google results overwhelmed me and a track-back at Ancestry.com could only take me so far. Without knowing a lot of information about this extended family, I was totally lost. I had a few names but not much to go on, so I gave up again.

Two years later, a conversation with my mother spurred my interest once again. She knew a little bit more about them (still not much) and we decided together to try to track them down. We each did a little research about people search services online and both of us stumbled upon NetDetective.com.

We signed up for a three-year membership to NetDetective.com for just $2.95, which got us unlimited access to public records like birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates. My mother and I searched anonymously, thanks to NetDetective’s identity protection, and we came up with some surprising results. We found many of these long-lost relatives living right here in the USA, spread out in states close by to where we live!

Going back through the records, it was easy to draw a straight line to my great-grandfather’s family members, each connected to the next through public records. And with NetDetective’s thorough locator services, we could find contact information for many of them. Once we connected with those in the US, we were also able to find relatives back in Italy!

After years and years of wondering what happened to our long-lost relatives

After years and years of wondering what happened to our long-lost relatives, all the answers were uncovered almost instantly by this fantastic records search service. NetDetective was money well spent, since we were able to search and search until we uncovered each and every relative. Now, I’m happy to report how many familial “pen-pals” I have throughout the US and Italy. It also doesn’t hurt to have a place to stay the next time I want to go back to the “old country” and spend time with relatives I spent my whole life not knowing.

With this branch of my family uncovered, I hope to next explore the other sides as well. Who knows who else I’m related to?

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Evolution of the People Search Industry

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

Over the last two decades, technological advancements have drastically changed the people search industry.  A mere decade ago, searching for an old friend probably meant hoisting the white pages of a phone book.  Not only did it require muscles, it necessitated a tremendous amount of patience.  Of course, if the person was unlisted, your search was over before it began.

The New White Pages

The traditional paper white pages were an advent of the late 1800’s and served us well into the 1990’s.  Until the arrival of the internet into nearly every home, traditional phone directories were for the most part the only way to find people.

Early methods of searching for people online were essentially the same as searching for them offline.  The same companies who produced paper white pages began to develop online white pages.  The advantage of searching online was no longer limited to the phone directory for your local area.  Searching online meant you were now able to access white pages anywhere in the country.

The Birth of People Search Engines

While online white page directories were a useful invention, consumers began to demand more.  What if you had a telephone number but no name to go with it?  What if you did not have the full name?  What if you wanted to check out the background of someone?  What if you wanted to find out if a prospective employee had a criminal record?  The white pages simply wouldn’t suffice.

In the 1990’s an entirely new way to search was born.  It was called the people search engine.  In 1996, Net Detective was born out of the growing need for new and better ways to search for people.  Consumers demanded the ability to perform background checks, reverse telephone searches, court record searches and financial data, and a whole slew of other search options.  Whether consumers were simply looking to get back in touch with an old friend or required more detailed investigations, Net Detective launched to serve the growing people search needs of the public.

Today there are many options when it comes to performing people searches.  Net Detective is still one of the most innovative and largest, with over one billion records available.

Concerns for Privacy

With the birth of social networking sites and people search engines, a growing concern for privacy was also born.  No one wants their personal details made available to potential stalkers and identity thieves.   But are you considering how much personal information you share on social networking sites?  If not, you certainly should.  Remember, every detail you share on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace could potentially be viewed by hackers and identity thieves.  We refer you to our article “Are You Internet Savvy?” 

When using any people search engine, we advise you to view their privacy policy.  Rest assured that Net Detective does not display any details that could potentially compromise anyone’s privacy.  They do not display driver’s license numbers, social security numbers or any credit score data.   Their data is compiled from publically accessible data.

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Evaluating Customer Service

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

istock_000004261265xsmall21When deciding whether to purchase a product or service from a company, what criteria do you take into consideration?  Do you factor in customer service when making your decision?  Most consumers are caught up in pricing and features, and do not consider whether the business offers good customer service.   

What is Good Customer Service?

What does good customer service mean for you?  For many consumers, it’s service over and above the norm.  From the viewpoint of the business, it is all about customers being so happy with their purchase that they pass along positive feedback to others.  

Good customer service cannot be underestimated.  In these tough economic times, business is extremely competitive.  Thus many businesses focus more on reducing prices or ramping up promotions to attract buyers.  Unfortunately, they fall short in customer satisfaction by providing a level of service that is subpar.  While the customer saved money on the purchase, they did not have a positive experience.

It all boils down to forming a relationship between the customer and the business – a relationship the customer would like to continue.

How to Evaluate Customer Service

Let’s face it, businesses are run by humans, and humans are not perfect.  Mistakes will be made and snags will occur even in the most efficiently run businesses.  What is important then is how the business handles the occasional imperfection or slip up.

When dealing with a business, consider these questions:

1.      Does the company understand your feelings and perceptions?

2.      Is the company able to identify areas for improvement and then make any necessary changes?

3.      Does the company send a message that they value you as a customer?

What Good Customer Service Looks Like

Not only does Net Detective provide one of the best values for the money, they offer exceptional customer service.  When the need arises for you to perform a people search or the ability to run a background check, consider how Net Detective measures up.

1.      They have been in business for 15 years.

2.      Customer support is available via telephone or email six days a week.

3.      Toll-free customer support phone number

4.      90-day satisfaction guarantee

5.      Easy refund procedure

Net Detective’s parent company, HD Publishing, is privately owned with a management team comprised of experienced entrepreneurs with a proven track record.  HD Publishing owns a world-class data center that has successfully served close to two million customers.  More importantly, they recognize the importance of providing good customer service. 

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How to Perform a People Search

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

istock_000011061423small2Do you remember that girl or guy that was in your class in high school?  Or perhaps there was a co-worker from a previous job that you really got along with.  In either case, you wish you had kept in touch with them.  What are they doing now?

Stop Wondering

There is no better time to stop wondering what your old friends, acquaintances or long-lost family members are up to.  Once you locate them, you can find out for yourself how they are doing.  Imagine their reaction when they realize you cared enough to find them!  There are stories every day of someone rekindling the flame with a high school sweetheart or a mother finding a child she gave up for adoption many years ago.

What is a People Search?

A people search is a method by which you can easily locate family members, friends, acquaintances or other people with whom you lost contact with for whatever reason.  A people search is not a difficult task to accomplish.  It only takes a little time and access to the Internet.  However, very few people know how to effectively execute people searches.  We will show you how to conduct a search that will produce results.

How to Perform a People Search

·        Google – Google is where you can start your people search online.  You can perform a search using the person’s first and last names surrounded by quotation marks.  Unfortunately, it may produce a long list of people with the same name.  To narrow your search down, add a single term to the search that indicates a specific detail such as the last known location, possible location, an interest, occupation or accomplishment.

 

·        Social Networking Sites – There are a myriad of social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIn that allow you to search for people by name, email address or location.

 

·        White Pages – Another way to locate someone is through the online “White Pages.”  You may find the person you are looking for, but you will not be able to access any information without paying a fee to website they are linked to.

 

·        Vital Records – If you require more detailed information such as birth certificates, death records, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, adoption records, criminal records or land records, you need an advanced search option.  Otherwise, you will spend hours and hours searching the web looking for the applicable county or state websites that house the records.

The Best People Search Method

If you want to really increase your odds of finding the person you are looking for, use a combination of all of these methods.  Does this sound like a time-consuming hassle?  It is! 

The solution is to conduct your people search through a reliable People Search Engine.  You want one with a low fee that provides you with unlimited searches and access to all of the resources you need in one single application.   So, if you want to renew an old friendship, find a family member or get back in touch with anyone you miss, make it easy on yourself.  You will save time and money by using a one-stop People Search Engine.

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Finding Old Friends at the Holidays

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

istock_000013982089xsmall22The holidays are finally here. People everywhere are busy shopping, decorating and making holiday plans. It’s one of the most exciting times of the year. A great deal of the excitement comes from the anticipation of celebrating with family and friends.

Feeling Connected

More than any other time of the year, the holidays evoke the need to feel connected and to be around people who know where you come from. Shared experiences you have with another person or the hope of creating new experiences with them can be a joy and possibly a comfort during the holidays.

Perhaps you remember an old friend who you lost touch with a few years back. Even though you’re not in contact, you still think about them quite often. Maybe you even feel a little guilty about not staying in touch. The spirit of the holiday season creates a warm atmosphere perfect for catching up with old friends.

Losing Contact with Friends

Losing contact with friends happens to almost everyone. Circumstances in life such as moving away, growing up, changing jobs, getting married or having a family get in the way. Before you know it, you’ve lost contact with many of your friends. And, sometimes we feel the urge to resurrect an old friendship, particularly if the friend was a close one.

Why then haven’t you contacted your old friend? Whether it’s a co-worker from a previous job or a close friend from high school or college, wouldn’t it be wonderful to reach out to them at this time of year? After all, this is the season of hope, good cheer and giving. The holiday season is also about memories – making new ones and reliving old ones.

How to Find Old Friends

Perhaps you simply do not know where to begin to find your friend. So then, how do you go about finding an old friend? The best place to start is with a reliable people search service. We recommend using one with unlimited searches for one low cost.

Find your lost friends

You don’t need a lot of information to find your lost friends. You can start your search with just their name. If you know the state, you can add that to your search parameters.

New Holiday Memories

Holiday memories are the warmest of moments and make lasting impressions. You keep those memories with you throughout your life. Often these fond memories are what carry you through the tough times. There is no better time of the year to reconnect with lost friends, reminisce about the good times you had and more importantly, make new memories that will last a lifetime.

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Tip- How to conduct a background check

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

I can’t believe it took me more than 10 years of owning a business to finally appreciate the value of a background check!

Over the years I’ve been involved in the hiring of more than 250 people. During that time, I’ve learned to expect just about anything. The one thing that has remained constant throughout these interviews and reviews is that most people do not tell the whole truth about who they are and what they’ve done.

I guess it is just human nature and so I try not to judge. I have certainly made my share of mistakes over the years, and I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. People can change, and life is about second chances. Still, after 10 years of making mistakes, I decided it was time to change my policy. I simply decided I had to run a check on everyone I was involved in.

Here is the service I personally use to screen every business partner and employee. I was able to get a $20 discount for anyone else who want’s to use this service.

The issue for me is this: As a business owner, I have a responsibility to verify what people tell me for myself. Hiring the wrong person is the most common, and costly mistake a business can make. Here are a few of the mistakes that COULD have been avoided over the years if I had just conducted a background check on a prospective employee:

1999 - Brought on a business partner who claimed he had made millions, only to find out that his previous company was all but bankrupt. This could have been easily verifiable.

2000 – Hired a sales person who appeared to be a hard working single mom, only to discover that she was addicted to crack cocaine and had a warrant for her arrest. Incidentially, when we fired her for non-performance, she went to the state employment board and triggered a 6 month human resources investigation that cost me 10x the revenue she had produced.

2002 - Hired a VP of Sales that was hiding past sexual harassment charges. He subsequently harassed one of his team members and nearly cost us our business. He had raving reviews and an MBA.

2004 – Hired a handyman who turned out to have 34 arrest records and ended up robbing my home while I was away on business.

2006 – Hired another VP of Sales that again harrassed one of my teenage employees. (You would think I would have learned my lesson!)

2009 – Hired an Account Manager who, within the period of 3 months had both the DEA and Sheriffs office visit our company, with the last visit resulting in her leaving in handcuffs!

2010 – I finally learned my lesson. I no longer hire anyone, partner with anyone or do business with anyone without first running a background check!

So, what is the best way to run a background check?

Criminal history is for the most part public information. Depending on the crime, most arrests and convictions remain on someone’s background for a while. While you can pay a lawyer to get your information “Expunged” from state and federal records, most of the information is kept on file.

There are a number of companies that specialize in aggregating this information by state and county. Because people can easily move from state to state, it can be difficult to find out a person’s entire ‘rap sheet’. These private organizations build software that keeps information updated and then makes it easily available. Like anything, it may not always be entirely accurate, but I’ve found that in most cases if there is a problem, or something someone is hiding, it will show up in these databases.


Here is the link I use to run a background check. It normally costs $29, but I was able to get you a $9.95 version.

About 5 years ago, I got involved with a company called HD Publishing. They were a small, innovative company that made their profit by purchasing large chunks of public data, organizing it, and then making it available to the average person in an easy-to-search format. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is to do. With more than 3.1 Billion records, many of which update and change all the time, maintaining and delivering this kind of a database is very costly. They now offer a service called NetDetective, that allows you to log in at any time and search quickly on just about anyone in real time. This is the service I use and have grown to trust. The main thing I like about it is that I know the people behind the scenes, I see how much work goes into it, and I know that if any of their customers EVER have an issue, that they are just a phone call or email away.

In an effort to keep the criminal histories mentioned in this article, the author needs to remain anonymous. The author is an entrepreneur and currently helps maintain this site. While he does receive compensation for the sale of NetDetective, the story above is 100% based on real events that happened while running and growing 3 internet startups.

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Tip- How to conduct a background check

The articles below range from Reviews of different 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.)

I can’t believe it took me more than 10 years of owning a business to finally appreciate the value of a background check!

Over the years I’ve been involved in the hiring of more than 250 people. During that time, I’ve learned to expect just about anything. The one thing that has remained constant throughout these interviews and reviews is that most people do not tell the whole truth about who they are and what they’ve done.

I guess it is just human nature and so I try not to judge. I have certainly made my share of mistakes over the years, and I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. People can change, and life is about second chances. Still, after 10 years of making mistakes, I decided it was time to change my policy. I simply decided I had to run a check on everyone I was involved in.

Here is the service I personally use to screen every business partner and employee. I was able to get a $20 discount for anyone else who want’s to use this service.

The issue for me is this: As a business owner, I have a responsibility to verify what people tell me for myself. Hiring the wrong person is the most common, and costly mistake a business can make. Here are a few of the mistakes that COULD have been avoided over the years if I had just conducted a background check on a prospective employee:

1999 - Brought on a business partner who claimed he had made millions, only to find out that his previous company was all but bankrupt. This could have been easily verifiable.

2000 – Hired a sales person who appeared to be a hard working single mom, only to discover that she was addicted to crack cocaine and had a warrant for her arrest. Incidentially, when we fired her for non-performance, she went to the state employment board and triggered a 6 month human resources investigation that cost me 10x the revenue she had produced.

2002 - Hired a VP of Sales that was hiding past sexual harassment charges. He subsequently harassed one of his team members and nearly cost us our business. He had raving reviews and an MBA.

2004 – Hired a handyman who turned out to have 34 arrest records and ended up robbing my home while I was away on business.

2006 – Hired another VP of Sales that again harrassed one of my teenage employees. (You would think I would have learned my lesson!)

2009 – Hired an Account Manager who, within the period of 3 months had both the DEA and Sheriffs office visit our company, with the last visit resulting in her leaving in handcuffs!

2010 – I finally learned my lesson. I no longer hire anyone, partner with anyone or do business with anyone without first running a background check!

So, what is the best way to run a background check?

Criminal history is for the most part public information. Depending on the crime, most arrests and convictions remain on someone’s background for a while. While you can pay a lawyer to get your information “Expunged” from state and federal records, most of the information is kept on file.

There are a number of companies that specialize in aggregating this information by state and county. Because people can easily move from state to state, it can be difficult to find out a person’s entire ‘rap sheet’. These private organizations build software that keeps information updated and then makes it easily available. Like anything, it may not always be entirely accurate, but I’ve found that in most cases if there is a problem, or something someone is hiding, it will show up in these databases.


Here is the link I use to run a background check. It normally costs $29, but I was able to get you a $9.95 version.

About 5 years ago, I got involved with a company called HD Publishing. They were a small, innovative company that made their profit by purchasing large chunks of public data, organizing it, and then making it available to the average person in an easy-to-search format. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is to do. With more than 3.1 Billion records, many of which update and change all the time, maintaining and delivering this kind of a database is very costly. They now offer a service called NetDetective, that allows you to log in at any time and search quickly on just about anyone in real time. This is the service I use and have grown to trust. The main thing I like about it is that I know the people behind the scenes, I see how much work goes into it, and I know that if any of their customers EVER have an issue, that they are just a phone call or email away.

In an effort to keep the criminal histories mentioned in this article, the author needs to remain anonymous. The author is an entrepreneur and currently helps maintain this site. While he does receive compensation for the sale of NetDetective, the story above is 100% based on real events that happened while running and growing 3 internet startups.

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