Databases - Finding your way around Databanks

Basic Search Tips for online Databases Productive Searches


You will almost Always obtain better results because with databases, less is more. The less information entered in a query (search), the more information returned.


The more data that is returned gives you more to weed down on such as past address(es). *Less really IS more with any databank.


If you have an address, begin your search by address only.


This is a VERY important tip! If you have the subjects Social Security number, begin your search using ONLY the SSN . Leave all other field blank when searching with a SSN.


Some searches allow wildcard (*) searching; some do not. Be aware of and watch for that.


Search fields are not case sensitive--you may use upper or lowercase letters.

Too many hits on your subject?

This is a very common happening as there are so many people with the same name; *Common Names*. If all your client has given you to go on is John Brown somewhere in NY (or not even the STATE); it is, obviously in no manner possible to locate John Brown.


Any one *pretending* to be a real searcher of people is lieing to you if they tell you otherwise and I am sure YOU know that too - sometimes we just become Sometimes people become so desperate; we just are not thinking clearly and that is what the hiding rats are counting on. It is also a Great reason to hire a professional who is not emotionally involved.


Tips to Avoiding this Problem:

Because we access several very large databases; as well as a credit bureau, searching a common name or the address in a large apt. complex sometimes will return thousands of results.This is of no use to you either.

To avoid this situation, the first method we use is what is known as the the Residential Cross-Directory. If this search still hits an unmanageable number of results, I simply call it a day - send the client the “Too Many Hits” message, refund their money and discontinue the search.

Yes, I said I refund their money - most data brokers(Information Brokers) Do Not give refunds. I do and in the event it was a costly search on my end, I refund all but what I paid out.

I outline this to my clients in my *terms and conditions*. I have had some tell me they didn't believe it until it happened to them after using me several times and finally getting a one time *no hit* - getting their money back was the total proof - they were like "Hay! You are the most honest person I have ever dealt with online." It also gets me recommended and not much is better than a glowing testimonial.

Using additional fields as necessary to narrow your search. (Remember, it is better to use fewer fields in the query to avoid missing valid information, so it is best to add fields to the query one at a time.)

Examples of ways to narrow your searches:


When you search “All States” for a subject with a common name such as “Jones”, we would find too many records to be useful. Include the State in your query, and if necessary, narrow your search further by providing city or ZIP.


When searching by address, include a last name to narrow the search.


Unchecking the Nickname box will also cut down on the number of hits returned.

No hits or too few hits?


Check for misspelled words.


Leave out the date of birth (DOB) or use only the year (yyyy) or birth or the month and year of birth (mm/yyyy).


Uncheck the Nickname box if one is there.


Always Broaden your search by using fewer search fields in your query.


Broaden your search by searching the county or the entire state (leave out city and ZIP code).

Searching by Address

Rather than searching by name, when possible search by the subject's last known address. Searching by address can uncover useful information such as alternate spellings, aliases (AKA's), and misspellings of your subjects name.


When searching by street address, the address # must be included with the street name.


When searching by address, you must enter the city and state or ZIP code and state.


To narrow your search, include a last name with your address query.


To search by post office box, simply enter the PO Box number in the street field in the following format: PO Box 150321. You must also enter a city (or ZIP) and state.

Searching by Name:


Searches can never be run by first name only, that should be obvious I hope. Enter first name and last name, or last name only.


Except in a case of a very common name, it is not advisable to include a middle initial or middle name in your search. Not every record in every database will include a middle initial. So, including a middle initial in your search will miss all of the records in the database that do not include a middle initial; and those missed hits are very often your subject.


To avoid a large number of results when searching by name, it is best to supply a last known city, state or address as well.

Nicknames:

If the Nickname box is checked, generally the five most common nicknames will be returned from Credit Header files. For example, if Robert is entered as a first name, searching say the Residential Phone files and Credit Headers for Robert, Bob, Bobby, Robby and Rob.

If the Nickname box is checked and a search returns a "Too Many Hits" message, uncheck the Nickname box and try the search again. (Note: Not all Public Record databases are searched by nicknames.)

Searching for a Subject with a Common Name:

When the subject has a common name, query using the subject’s last known address only, (do not enter a name!). The results will most likely include your subject. Search results will determine information such as your subject’s full name with middle initial, age, date of birth or SSN. Once you have located your subject in the results list, click on the subject’s SSN to run a SSN search. (This usually works even if the last 4 digits of the SSN are blocked off by xxxx's. Your subject’s address history will be returned.

Date of Birth or (DOB) Year od Birth (YOB)

The only time it is advisable to search by date of birth is when searching for a common name and no last known address is known. Also criminal databases as a general rule require it.

Once again, not every record in the database includes a date of birth. When you find that you must limit your search by date of birth, begin by entering only the year of birth since many dates of birth are reported with a month and year or with only a year.

Searching by Social Security Number:


If the subject’s SSN is known, your initial search should ALWAYS be by SSN.
When searching by SSN, do not fill in any other fields, they will be ignored.


However, remember that there are many sources of information that do not contain Social Security numbers. This means that a search by SSN will miss those records.

Searching by Phone Number:

Enter the area code and phone number into the appropriate fields. It is not advisable to enter any other information when searching by phone number. Be aware that not all records include an area code and phone number. If a phone number search of the database results in no hits, you should consider using a real professional specializing in phone breaks.

Authorized Purpose

By federal law, you must select an Authorized Purpose for each search from ANY legit databank. The information that provided is governed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) and the Individual Reference Services Group.

Last Notes:

You see, online as opposed to face to face affords a veil of *secrecy* (something to hide behind) which most scammers use well. One indication of this is look around the site; do they provide you with honest contact information? Eventually word gets out (YES! even in the big ol' internet) and they won't BE in business any more...but it takes such a long long time and by then, they have made tens of thousands of YOUR dollars and just start up shop again under a different name. If you run across one of these rip off, con companies. PLEASE report them EVERYWHERE you can think of.

http://ripoffreport.com is a good place to tell as well as do your due diligence and check out a co. before you use them.



Printing pages in landscape.

Click on “File / Print Preview” at the top of the browser page. Once the Print Preview screen appears, click on “Print / Layout” at the top of the screen, or press Alt-U. Select “Landscape” orientation. This works on most computers.


Make your text size smaller to fit. This can be done two ways:
If you have a wheel on your mouse: Hold the Ctrl key down and roll the wheel. The text size will change as you roll the wheel forward and back.

It is also common for credit bureaus to incorrectly attach a single phone number to several different addresses. While credit bureau phone numbers are sometimes (many times) unreliable and attached incorrectly, they should not be ignored as they are also one of the few legal sources for unlisted phone numbers, except for places like these professionals.

Verifying Addresses:

No address should be assumed current based on the dates reported in Search Results or based on any information supplied by a public record. The addresses and dates reported should be considered as clues only.

Credit Headers:

Each credit header record includes a name, SSN, date of birth (or month and year), address, phone number (sometimes without an area code) and the date the information was first reported by a subscribing financial institution (some credit header records, especially older records, do not have a date reported).

Credit bureaus do not send an update each month verifying that a particular address is current. If more than one credit bureau reports the same address on different dates, the display is usually the first date the address was reported under “First Date Reptd” and the last date the address was reported under “Last Date Reptd”.

Notes on credit header reported dates:

If an address was reported only once, and the credit header does not indicate that the address is believed to be a current address, the same date is displayed under both “First Date Reptd” and “Last Date Reptd” columns.


If the credit header indicates that an address is believed to be current, the “Last Date Reptd” automatically displays the month immediately proceeding the current month. For instance, in September 2006, the “Last Date Reptd” will display as “9/2004”. This does not mean that the subject was at the address in 9/2004. It simply means the credit bureau is still reporting the address as current; even if it isn't - it is all it has to report.


For many reasons, it is possible for a credit bureau to indicate more than one current address for an individual. This will result in more than one address with a “Last Date Reptd” in the previous month. Of these addresses, the one with the most recent “First Date Reptd” is the most likely current address. Also, many people have more than one current address.

OK - enough is enough - my fingers have had it! I hope those of you who read this find some measure of worth in it - I kknow that learning a lot of this the rougher way wasted me a lot of time.

So - for those of you PI's out there detective want-to-bes, and the GP.

Hope you found this a useful read!!

Best regards, Melanie