Posts Tagged ‘Public Records’
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.)
Kim on August 30th, 2011
Have you ever thought about delving into your family history? Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned expert, genealogy can be a fascinating adventure. You may just want to know a bit more about your family tree or the origin of your last name. Or perhaps you want to jump in full force and research your family history as far as you can. Regardless of your interest, we have some pointers to help you get started.
The Basics
The best place to begin your ancestry search is with you. Start there and work your way backward one step at a time. Gather together all of the details you have including important papers, family heirlooms, photos and documents. Check with other family members to see if they have any family documents, a family bible, old photographs, obituaries or other clues to your family history. You would be surprised where clues can be found. Even an old postcard, newspaper clipping or letter could lend information for your ancestry search.
Getting Organized
After you’ve begun gathering data, the next step is to narrow your focus. Choose a specific ancestor or family line to concentrate on. This will reduce the odds that you miss important details due to overloading yourself. Let’s face it, as excited as you will be on this journey of discovery, you cannot do it all at once.
Now it’s time to organize all of the information you have collected. Compile a chart showing the names of your immediate ancestors. You will want to list their dates of birth, marriage and death along with the locations of each event. You can do this by writing the information down or you can purchase a specialty software program to record and organize the data. This will not only help you keep track of the information, it will help to clarify relationships and show you where you are missing information. As we mentioned, start with yourself and work backward one generation at a time.
Filling in the Gaps
Now that you have accumulated all of the information you can from family members, attics, family bibles and photo albums, you need to fill in the gaps. In the past, genealogy fanatics were forced to do most of their research by traveling to courthouses, libraries and cemeteries. Today’s researchers have a distinct advantage with the ability of doing all or most of their research online.
Birth, death, marriage and divorce records are crucial tidbits of information that can help you fill in the gaps. Other interesting sources of research are criminal and property records. If you want to save time and money, use a site that can help you access all of the records you need. We recommend Net Detective.
Remember always record the source of any information you find. Once you spend a few hours researching your ancestry, you will be enthralled. Genealogy can be a very rewarding hobby.
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.)
Kim on August 30th, 2011
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.
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.)
Admin on August 30th, 2011
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.
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.)
Kim on August 30th, 2011
We do our best to protect our privacy. We have an unlisted phone number, use a post office box to receive our mail and perhaps we are listed on the Do Not Call Registry. What about our digital privacy?
The Digital Age – Offline
We live in a world of digital data that generates an information trail as we e-mail, shop with loyalty cards, surf the Web and even as we make wireless calls. As technology becomes more powerful and sophisticated, the issue of digital privacy is rapidly becoming a concern. No longer is a locked front door an impenetrable barrier to outsiders.
We surrender vast amounts of personal data through our every day ordinary transactions such as buying groceries and filling a prescription, to buying gas or applying for a credit card. There are private data brokers who amass this information and merge it with public data obtained from public records, including courthouse and criminal records. These companies are now heavily relied upon for law enforcement and homeland security. Their growth has been staggering. Thousands of agencies at all levels of government spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contracts with private data brokers.
Ever used a grocery store bonus or member card? You provide some basic details such as your name, address and telephone number and you are issued a card. Did you realize this card has all that information encoded into its magnetic strip? Over time that card will help the store accumulate a detailed chronicle of your shopping habits. The store owns the data and they can use it or sell it as they choose. And, you thought it was a simple discount card!
The Digital Age – Online
On the Internet, we have little control over much of the information we might prefer the public not have access to, such as what our home looks like (see Google Street View) to our age (see Spock.com). Mergers and acquisitions have amassed digital data and put it into the greedy hands of the Internet conglomerates. To further their knowledge of their customers, Internet service providers partner with digital technology companies like Phorm in order to record and analyze customer activity.
We sacrifice our privacy the moment we purchase goods or services on the net, allowing cookies to be implanted on our computers. E-commerce also enables marketers of all kinds to capture our Internet buying and surfing habits. This means that e-stores know more about our desires than we may know ourselves. This is unconscious activity that compromises our privacy. Unfortunately, the conscious activity is far more prevalent and possibly more dangerous. We are referring to the phenomenon of social networking sites where we are encouraged share our personal details, thoughts, photos and videos with an ever expanding community of “friends.”
Social networking sites are inherently set up to encourage users to share as much as possible, as often as possible, as publicly as possible. Their motivation is intentional because these sites succeed by increasing the activity within the network. Of course there are privacy settings to limit access to some data, but these settings are typically never the default. Only a minority of users make the effort to change their privacy settings. The rest of the users share all of their details with the world.
Boundary Setting
Setting the boundaries of what you share with the world is up to you. In our next article, we will give you tips for protecting your privacy in the digital age.
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.)
Admin on August 30th, 2011
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
- > The largest database I’ve seen (over 1.1 billion people records!)
- > Consistently correct results
- > Private eyes use it!
- > Excellent customer service
- > 90 day money back guarantee
- > Unlimited Searches
|
Click Here to Visit
|
|
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.
|
#2 Background Searcher
- > Accurate Database, not the Largest
- > Quality Results
- > Good service
- > 60 Day Guarantee
- > Unlimited Searches
|
|
|
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.
|
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!
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.)
Admin on August 30th, 2011
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
- > The largest database I’ve seen (over 1.1 billion people records!)
- > Consistently correct results
- > Private eyes use it!
- > Excellent customer service
- > 90 day money back guarantee
- > Unlimited Searches
|
Click Here to Visit
|
|
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.
|
#2 Background Searcher
- > Accurate Database, not the Largest
- > Quality Results
- > Good service
- > 60 Day Guarantee
- > Unlimited Searches
|
|
|
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.
|
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!
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.)
Admin on August 30th, 2011
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.
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.)
Admin on August 30th, 2011
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.
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.)
Admin on August 30th, 2011
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
