THE NAME (your subject's gotta have a name)

The very first thing I do is determine the subject's full and complete name and any nicknames. If it is a female then you may need the variations of maiden or previous married names. If they have a very common name then using all their names will narrow down the search. Basically what you are looking for is a specific address on a specific date. This will give you a starting point from which to conduct your search.

If you have searched the nation/region for the Target's name and have no luck, and you know what part of the country your Target was from, you can work the people in that area with the same name. Just the other day, I knew the region where my target lived and knew he had a non-pub phone number and I needed the new number and address. I just called the local police and asked if they knew him and they gave me a relative's name and when I called and asked for him, they gave me the correct phone number. Bingo! If I have a phone number I got you. Often times the people with the same last name in a region are related. And they are not all hiding. Call the relatives and plan a reunion, High School, old Army buddies, offer a job…whatever.

Skip tracing is like running down rabbit trails. As I am working a case I create another trail to go down and that trail leads me to others. Occasionally you will work a case until you have no more leads and get stuck. When this happens I will put the case away and check it again in a month or so. You never know what might pop up new on the SSN or you may find something you overlooked the first time around.

I always want to start with as much information as possible. If they have an application, then I want a copy of that application. Sometimes they don't see the things I can see when I look at an application. If they had a maiden name, then maybe they have gone back to using that name. If they were living with someone else perhaps they are still together, or they put the two names together to make a variation of a new name. Common Law. Maybe your Target just borrowed a name and operates under that name.

If you have a name and DOB (date-of-birth) you can usually get an old address. You can check the local criminal records in the County courthouse—it is public record. By checking public records you may find they were bonded out by a company that has their application on file. With an old address and name (prefer 2 old addresses) you can get an SSN. Then if you run a SSN Header you can get lots of past addresses and possibly a current address. In addition to that you get the people who entered the information and you can work with them in your skiptracing. I like to run all the old addresses and see how they related to my Target, and when. They may be old girlfriends, in-laws, out-laws, ex-spouses/girlfriends, parents, or best buddies. He may have left people on bad terms, and these people might like to get even with your Target, (dime him out) (Drop a dime) (Rat) (Snitch). Remember, as long as there is a rabbit trail to run down, you are not beaten yet. I believe anyone can be found given enough time and money. You have to set your own limits.

One time I was after a man, my Target, and all the information was wrong. It was information about the Target's girlfriend's brother. I contacted the brother but he refused to help, but accidentally he did give me the first name of my Target. With that information and phone numbers and address I was able to piece together who my Target really was. In every lie, there is a little truth.

Using the name of your Target, check with public utilities. Normally the Electric companies are not too cooperative. If you are serving civil process you can get that information, even if you have to use a subpoena. But usually the local water departments will help you with an address, name, or forwarding. I always try this source if my Target does not have a phone number or it is a non-pub. I call as a "Special Investigator from xx County" . Or I might be an "Officer of the Court" if I am indeed with Civil Process. I might have to use some "Law Enforcement" help if it is a criminal and I need information. Not too long ago we were looking for a skip and were checking where the school-aged children and their records transferred.

Find the neighbors of the Target at the given address. You can use your PRO CD-ROM of the U.S to locate neighbors of your Target. I like to do as much of my investigation as I can using the phone. Eventually you may have to do some legwork, but at the beginning you can cover a lot of ground using the phone. By calling the neighbors you can find out if they know where your target moved, remembering, there is always a "Busy Body" in every neighborhood. I like to use pretexts when talking to neighbors. I may be trying to find them to deliver a package, or calling about a job, or serving legal papers. The National Emergency Message Center is a good way to get information from a neighbor. There are times when my target has a non-pub number, or a phone number that I don't know, so one could call the neighbor and have them deliver a message from the National Emergency Message Center, for the Target to call our 800 Trap line, Works every time.

You can get an address forward from the Post Office for 20 cents. We have our "Capitol Couriers" delivery service. We deliver legal papers, criminal warrants, messages, and packages. We mail to all the Target's known addresses past and present and see if we can get a forwarding. You must request that the Post Card not be forwarded and an Address Correction Requested. I cannot tell you how many appointments we have made to arrest someone, serve them papers, or just make a $100 location fee for a 20-cent post card. This is one of the strongest tools in our arsenal. If you don't have a delivery service, I don't know how you can find anyone. We have an 800 Trapline service, which works like caller ID that cannot be blocked. We issue extension numbers that ID the target that is calling in. A Trapline service is a must for any "real" investigator. So we mail out our post cards by the hundred and sit back and wait for the phone to ring. We do repeated mailings if the card doesn't come back return to sender. That means someone is getting the card. If you keep mailing, finally they will call to see what is going on. If you trap a number from a post card, you can call as the "Dispatcher" and get delivery instructions. Remember that if you are using a courier the Target must be available to sign for the package. That way you know if the Target really resides at that location or at least when they will be there for delivery, in case you want their car. I once had a Target that I mailed a Capitol Couriers to, and he called back expecting delivery. I went to the location with a package in hand, but the Target had gone to the river to swim. I left my card and when the Target arrived home he called for delivery. The police arrived and made the arrest. Amazing that someone would call and make an appointment to be arrested!

If your Target is in a small town, you can use your CD-ROM with great success. You can pull up all the bars, groceries stores, video stores, and pizza places and let your fingers dial for dollars. I once had a minor skip in a small town some 100 miles away. Too far to go and do foot work because there was not enough money in the recovery. I had to let my fingers do the walking. I pulled up all the bars, because I know that they usually drink, smoke and chase women. From the bars I learned little, but then I went to the small corner grocery. There I found that my skip had left town and where he probably went and how long ago he left. Sure saved myself a long drive for nothing.

Remember that the Pizza Hut keeps all phone numbers of their customers on computer as well as Radio Shack. Sometimes you can get an address off a phone number. I have called the local video store to see if my "wife" has a card there, and from there I can usually get an address or phone number. Also 911 has all numbers and addresses recorded, if there has ever been a 911 call from that number, so if you have Law Enforcement connections you are in.