Skip tracing is the process of locating a person’s whereabouts for any number of purposes.

A skiptracer is someone who performs this task, which may be the person’s primary occupation.

The term “skip” refers to the person being searched for, and is derived from the idiomatic expression “to skip town”, meaning to depart (perhaps in a rush), leaving minimal clues behind to “trace” the “skip” to a new location.

Skip tracing tactics may be employed by debt collectors, bail bond enforcers (bounty hunters), repossession agents, private investigators, attorneys, police detectives, and journalists, or by any person attempting to locate a subject whose contact information is not immediately known.

Similar techniques have also been utilized by investigators to locate witnesses in criminal trials.

Skiptracing is done by collecting as much information as possible about the subject.

The information is then analyzed, reduced, and verified. Obtaining new and correct points of contact is key. Sometimes the subject’s current whereabouts are in the data, but are obfuscated by the sheer amount of information or disinformation. Often the data will be used to identify third parties that might be able to assist the process. This is where the job becomes more than mere research since one must often employ methods of social engineering, which involves calling or visiting former neighbors, employers or other known contacts to ask about the subject, sometimes under false or misleading pretenses.

Records that “skiptracers” use may include phone number databases, credit reports (including information provided on a loan application, credit card application, and in other debt collector databases), job application information, criminal 'background checks'; utility bills (electricity, gas, water, sewage, phone, Internet, and cable), social security, disability, and public tax information.

While some of these records may be publicly available, some cannot be accessed without an appropriate search warrant, which is generally only available to law enforcement or licensed private investigators.

Even when no specific information is returned, public and private databases exist that cross-reference skip tracing information with others the “skip” may have lived with in the recent past.

For instance, if previous records show a “skip” lived in the same house as a third party, the third party may also be “skiptraced” in an effort to locate the “skip”.

SERVICES AVAILABLE:

LOCATOR VIA DATABASE: These search provides the "best" possible address from a combination of several on-line sources. The address provided will be the most recent "reported" address in the systems available to us. However, since these are purely database searches, we do not guarantee that the address is the current physical address of the person you are seeking. In most cases it will give you more information than you had in the first place and may offer enough information to find the person. Several options are available.Price-QUOTE

NATIONAL LOCATOR & PERSONAL PROFILE REPORT: This search combines a sophisticated array of databases that generates a comprehensive report on a given individual. This search is available to authorized persons only. Output varies but will include some or all of the following: (1) Current Address (2) Phone Number (3) Previous Addresses (4) Social Security Number (5) Date of Birth (6) Physical Description (7) Driver's license information (8) Registered vehicles (9) Registered Aircraft (10) Registered Watercraft (11) Mail Route demographics (12) List of Neighbors or Relatives. Be aware that these searches may leave an audit trail that can disclose our inquiry. We comply with regulations that require us to disclose the identity of the originating inquiring party (you), under certain circumstances. This does not happen very often, but be aware that it could happen. Price-QUOTE

NAME SCAN: This search provides a list of all persons on record with a given name in any particular area.or nationwide Inputs can include choice of (1) Full Name (2) First Initial and last name (3) Last name only with birth yr range, (4) First name & exact date of birth, or partial DOB. This is one of the hottest professional investigative searches around, when limited information is available on your subject. If your subject is at all plugged into the system, this search will find them.Price-QUOTE

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ADDRESS HISTORY: Given a person's social security number, this search provides a list of names & addresses used with this number as reported to the credit bureaus.Price-QUOTE

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER FINDER: This search takes a full name and current or previous address and provides a social security number as such has been reported to the credit bureaus. If a SSN is required for a given search, we will obtain the SSN to complete the search but this number may not be released to the client (IRSG Individual Reference Service Group- guidelines).Price-QUOTE

REAL PROPERTY SEARCH: This search identifies any real estate owned by an individual in a given state and is done by name only, so it may identify others with the same name.Price-QUOTE

DEATH RECORD SEARCH: This search identifies a death record nationwide by searching the Social Security Administration's master death index. Input required is full name and either Date of Birth or Social Security Number.Price-QUOTE

UTILITY RECORDS SEARCH: When you know the city or town in which the person resides, this search identifies the address and phone number where utility services are in the name of that person, including water, electric, gas, cable television, etc. Price-QUOTE No hit Fee-$25

CHANGE OF ADDRESS: This search checks numerous databases for any address change filed by a given subject. Must provide full name and previous address.Price-QUOTE, no hit no charge

POST OFFICE BOX TRACE: This search provides the physical address reported by a subject when a given post office box was opened. Must provide the name, box number and city. Price-QUOTE