Skip tracing is the process of finding someone who does not want to be found. It is often used to collect overdue payments. In this article, we explain different skip tracing methods that can help you locate people who are trying to hide so they can avoid paying what they owe.
Skip Tracing Techniques
Skip tracers use many sources of information. Below are some of the more common methods:
Acquaintances
Friends, relatives, coworkers, or neighbors might know where the person is. It can be hard to get details from them, but sometimes they can lead you straight to the person without needing further research.
Caller ID
You can mail letters to all known addresses for the person, asking them to call a number. If they do, your caller ID will capture their phone number. You can then use a reverse phone search, such as on www.411.com, to try to find their current address.
Corporate Filings
State offices may have business records showing the locations of company officers. These records can help you find someone who owns or manages a business.
Criminal Search
Checking criminal records may show if the person is in jail or on parole.
Directory Assistance
Even if the person’s phone is no longer active, you can ask directory assistance if there are other listings in the area with the same last name.
Fraternal Organizations
If the person belongs to a long-standing group like a fraternity, they may have given that group their new contact details.
Postal Change of Address
Send an empty envelope to the last known address with the label: Do Not Forward – Address Correction Requested. The postal service may return it with a sticker showing the new forwarding address, but this only works if the person updated their address with the postal service.
Professional Licenses
If the person holds a license from a state board or agency, the board may have their current contact information. This is more likely if the person wants to keep using their license. If they’ve left the state, they might let their license expire.
Reverse Telephone Directories
Type a phone number into a reverse directory, like www.411.com, and it may show you the address tied to that number. These don’t work for unlisted numbers.
Search Engines
Typing the person’s name in quotes into a search engine might bring up useful results. However, this often gives old information and may not help if the person just left town. It’s also less helpful for people with very common names, because the results can be overwhelming.
Telephone Listings
Online and printed phone books might show phone numbers and addresses, but this usually only works for landline numbers.
Third-Party Tracing
If the person lived with someone else recently, try searching for that other person. It’s possible the person you’re looking for moved back in with them, especially if they are related.
Vehicle Registrations
Vehicle or boat registration records might show the person’s address. But these addresses can be outdated, depending on when the records were last updated.
Voter Registrations
Local government offices keep voter records with names, addresses, and birth dates. You may have to look up this information in person.
Summary
As you can see, there are many ways to search for someone who doesn’t want to be found. The main challenge is that much of the data may be outdated. Records like property ownership may only show the address at the time of purchase, not the current location. Also, many people share the same name, which can lead to confusion. For example, a search for “John Smith” might bring up results for many different people. On top of that, some data may have been typed into systems incorrectly, making the information less reliable. All of this makes it harder to sift through the data and find what you really need.
