Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Why should you read this article?
You want to find someone who does not want to be found.
Introduction:
Finding a person using an online database can be very tricky and frustrating, especially if that person is internet savvy and does not want to be discovered. This article offers strategies for finding that hard to find person via their email address and social media websites. Did you know that almost 95% of people who use the internet have at least one email address? Do you also realize how popular social media has become? Let's start digging!
Strategies for finding an email address or social media profile:
Let's take email first. You should start with gmail and yahoo. These are two of the most popular free windows email clients. Probably 80% of the people you will try to find online have gmail or yahoo email addresses.
You should know that many people use free email addresses as "throwaways". In other words, they will use this email address for a specific purpose and then simply abandon it. There are hundreds of free email clients. It is very easy to set up a free web email service. Don't be surprised to find that one individual has fifty or more email addresses. So which is the most current one? Unfortunately, you will have to check them all. But once you know these techniques, checking each email address will be quick and easy.
You should also be aware that even the free email clients have spam/junk filters in place. Usually, the email address owner can set up trash screens. On some clients, the user can ask that everything from a certain domain or a certain person be sent immediately to the junk folder without seeing it. Junk folders can be set up so that any email sent there can be immediately deleted. So if someone thinks you may be looking for him, he can simply screen you out. Not all is lost...let's look at some other ways to dig him out.
Do you know if this person has a web page of any kind? Does he sell anything online as an affiliate? Maybe he sells his own products or services? Just type in his full name in any search engine to see if you can find his web page. If he has one, he will often have a picture of himself along with other identifying information such as his email addresse(s) and, if you are extremely lucky, his mailing address. No luck here? Let's keep going.
How about blogs? Blogs started out as people who wanted to write about their interests and passions and share them with others. Now, many use blogs as landing pages for products they are selling. Most blogs will show a picture of the blog writer along with other information such as their current email address. Go to any search engine and type in "free blog sites". You will get back about a dozen or more blog sites. Search through them all! Then look at the blogs that charge a fee, such as Wordpress. Sift through all those too. Still nothing? Then grab your pick, you may strike gold with this next one.
I'm sure you've heard the term "social networking". Do you know anything about Twitter, Facebook and MySpace? If not, you need to take a few days and learn about these social sites. Social networking has exploded in popularity in the last year or two. Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are the biggest and most popular so try these first.
First, you need to become a member of each social network. Don't worry, they're all free. Once you are accepted as a member, simply type the person's name in the site's search box. You will usually find the search box in the top right hand corner of each page. So if the person you are looking for is a member, you will find him. Most members put up a picture of themselves and give other identifying information, so look closely. You may get lucky.
Once you've tried Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, go to any search engine and put in "list social networking sites" or "top 20 social networking sites". You will find that there are about 25 or so large social networking sites. Become a member of each and search for your guy. Seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? You are spending a lot of time, but you haven't had to spend much money yet. So you've tried at least 20social network websites and you are still coming up empty?
The next thing you can do is a search for those "classmate" databases. Just search using "classmates database" or "classmates site". Do you know the name of the high school he went to and his graduation year? If so, run a search for that high school with location. For example: "El Molino High School Santa Rosa California". Many secondary schools now have their own websites. If you find his school site, look under the "alumni" tab and perform a search by full name and graduation year. Many high school and classmate sites will list the person's email address, along with other identifying information.
Still nothing? Try their place of employment. Do you know where they work? Or at least the type of industry the person would most likely be working in?
If the individual you are looking for works for any large organization, it will be easier for you to find them. For example, if you are looking for Bill Smith, and you are positive he still works for Sams Auto Parts, Inc(but you have no idea where), the email name(the part to the left of the "@" symbol) will be any one of these combinations: BSmith, BillSmith, WilliamSmith, WSmith, Bill.Smith or William.Smith. In this example, we are assuming that the domain name for Sam's Auto Parts, Inc is "SamsAutoParts" and that it has a ".com" after the last letter or "s" in this case.
Most large companies will not allow their employees to use anything but their first and last names along with the corporate email domain name. Take advantage of this if you know(or think you know) where the person works.
So maybe he doesn't work for a large organization? Maybe he gets paid cash under the table? Now what do you do?
Still can't find him?
Then you need to stop and do some thinking. Does the person have a very common name? Like James Smith or Mary Jones? If so, then read my blog on finding people by name(see "Finding People Online By Name" link below) before you proceed any further.
Again, be aware that an internet savvy person who does not wish to be uncovered may have hundreds of email addresses and many old web sites. You might discover outdated and even inaccurate information. Don't get discouraged, keep digging. You need to be able to tell yourself that you've left no stone unturned.
How badly do you need to find this person? If you have spent a lot of time going through these email discovery strategies, then you must have a very good reason. Perhaps one of these four?
1. Non-payment of child support and/or alimony
2. Person is a former business partner who absconded with business funds
3. Ex-spouse who may have cleaned out your joint account and disappeared, leaving you with children to raise and no money. I've heard of both men and women abandoning their family like this.
4. A con artist that conned you out of a lot of money, online or offline.
If you have gotten to this point and at least one of the four reasons above is true, then stop and read my "Running Your Own Criminal Background Check" blog(see below link) before you do anything else. For all you know, he may now have a criminal record and/or be incarcerated. In this case, you may have to hire an attorney and/or an offline detective agency to get hold of any court/prison records.
Conclusions:
Finding someone online who does not want to be found is very tricky. Again, we are talking about an internet savvy person who knows how to hide his identity.
But what if you know that this person is that rare bird who doesn't know email from a hole in the ground and wouldn't know the term "social media" if it hit him in the face? Then you will have to rely on an online search engine or even an offline detective agency.
But assuming the person you want to find is among the 95% that use the internet, know that even a very slick operator makes dumb mistakes. Be prepared to spend a lot of time and some money investigating all of the above strategies, especially the social networking sites. Even without a photograph, the person might let slip some information that you know to be true. Knowing the person's hobbies and interests also helps. Say he is an avid golfer. Look on golf blogs, golf forums, golf websites. You may find his most current email address at one of these places.
Are you willing to dig and dig and dig until you find the person? What is it worth to you? Can you afford to spend some money? How much? Only you can answer these questions.
Best of luck.
John J. Soares
Find People Online By Name
How To Do A Criminal Background Check
You want to find someone who does not want to be found.
Introduction:
Finding a person using an online database can be very tricky and frustrating, especially if that person is internet savvy and does not want to be discovered. This article offers strategies for finding that hard to find person via their email address and social media websites. Did you know that almost 95% of people who use the internet have at least one email address? Do you also realize how popular social media has become? Let's start digging!
Strategies for finding an email address or social media profile:
Let's take email first. You should start with gmail and yahoo. These are two of the most popular free windows email clients. Probably 80% of the people you will try to find online have gmail or yahoo email addresses.
You should know that many people use free email addresses as "throwaways". In other words, they will use this email address for a specific purpose and then simply abandon it. There are hundreds of free email clients. It is very easy to set up a free web email service. Don't be surprised to find that one individual has fifty or more email addresses. So which is the most current one? Unfortunately, you will have to check them all. But once you know these techniques, checking each email address will be quick and easy.
You should also be aware that even the free email clients have spam/junk filters in place. Usually, the email address owner can set up trash screens. On some clients, the user can ask that everything from a certain domain or a certain person be sent immediately to the junk folder without seeing it. Junk folders can be set up so that any email sent there can be immediately deleted. So if someone thinks you may be looking for him, he can simply screen you out. Not all is lost...let's look at some other ways to dig him out.
Do you know if this person has a web page of any kind? Does he sell anything online as an affiliate? Maybe he sells his own products or services? Just type in his full name in any search engine to see if you can find his web page. If he has one, he will often have a picture of himself along with other identifying information such as his email addresse(s) and, if you are extremely lucky, his mailing address. No luck here? Let's keep going.
How about blogs? Blogs started out as people who wanted to write about their interests and passions and share them with others. Now, many use blogs as landing pages for products they are selling. Most blogs will show a picture of the blog writer along with other information such as their current email address. Go to any search engine and type in "free blog sites". You will get back about a dozen or more blog sites. Search through them all! Then look at the blogs that charge a fee, such as Wordpress. Sift through all those too. Still nothing? Then grab your pick, you may strike gold with this next one.
I'm sure you've heard the term "social networking". Do you know anything about Twitter, Facebook and MySpace? If not, you need to take a few days and learn about these social sites. Social networking has exploded in popularity in the last year or two. Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are the biggest and most popular so try these first.
First, you need to become a member of each social network. Don't worry, they're all free. Once you are accepted as a member, simply type the person's name in the site's search box. You will usually find the search box in the top right hand corner of each page. So if the person you are looking for is a member, you will find him. Most members put up a picture of themselves and give other identifying information, so look closely. You may get lucky.
Once you've tried Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, go to any search engine and put in "list social networking sites" or "top 20 social networking sites". You will find that there are about 25 or so large social networking sites. Become a member of each and search for your guy. Seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? You are spending a lot of time, but you haven't had to spend much money yet. So you've tried at least 20social network websites and you are still coming up empty?
The next thing you can do is a search for those "classmate" databases. Just search using "classmates database" or "classmates site". Do you know the name of the high school he went to and his graduation year? If so, run a search for that high school with location. For example: "El Molino High School Santa Rosa California". Many secondary schools now have their own websites. If you find his school site, look under the "alumni" tab and perform a search by full name and graduation year. Many high school and classmate sites will list the person's email address, along with other identifying information.
Still nothing? Try their place of employment. Do you know where they work? Or at least the type of industry the person would most likely be working in?
If the individual you are looking for works for any large organization, it will be easier for you to find them. For example, if you are looking for Bill Smith, and you are positive he still works for Sams Auto Parts, Inc(but you have no idea where), the email name(the part to the left of the "@" symbol) will be any one of these combinations: BSmith, BillSmith, WilliamSmith, WSmith, Bill.Smith or William.Smith. In this example, we are assuming that the domain name for Sam's Auto Parts, Inc is "SamsAutoParts" and that it has a ".com" after the last letter or "s" in this case.
Most large companies will not allow their employees to use anything but their first and last names along with the corporate email domain name. Take advantage of this if you know(or think you know) where the person works.
So maybe he doesn't work for a large organization? Maybe he gets paid cash under the table? Now what do you do?
Still can't find him?
Then you need to stop and do some thinking. Does the person have a very common name? Like James Smith or Mary Jones? If so, then read my blog on finding people by name(see "Finding People Online By Name" link below) before you proceed any further.
Again, be aware that an internet savvy person who does not wish to be uncovered may have hundreds of email addresses and many old web sites. You might discover outdated and even inaccurate information. Don't get discouraged, keep digging. You need to be able to tell yourself that you've left no stone unturned.
How badly do you need to find this person? If you have spent a lot of time going through these email discovery strategies, then you must have a very good reason. Perhaps one of these four?
1. Non-payment of child support and/or alimony
2. Person is a former business partner who absconded with business funds
3. Ex-spouse who may have cleaned out your joint account and disappeared, leaving you with children to raise and no money. I've heard of both men and women abandoning their family like this.
4. A con artist that conned you out of a lot of money, online or offline.
If you have gotten to this point and at least one of the four reasons above is true, then stop and read my "Running Your Own Criminal Background Check" blog(see below link) before you do anything else. For all you know, he may now have a criminal record and/or be incarcerated. In this case, you may have to hire an attorney and/or an offline detective agency to get hold of any court/prison records.
Conclusions:
Finding someone online who does not want to be found is very tricky. Again, we are talking about an internet savvy person who knows how to hide his identity.
But what if you know that this person is that rare bird who doesn't know email from a hole in the ground and wouldn't know the term "social media" if it hit him in the face? Then you will have to rely on an online search engine or even an offline detective agency.
But assuming the person you want to find is among the 95% that use the internet, know that even a very slick operator makes dumb mistakes. Be prepared to spend a lot of time and some money investigating all of the above strategies, especially the social networking sites. Even without a photograph, the person might let slip some information that you know to be true. Knowing the person's hobbies and interests also helps. Say he is an avid golfer. Look on golf blogs, golf forums, golf websites. You may find his most current email address at one of these places.
Are you willing to dig and dig and dig until you find the person? What is it worth to you? Can you afford to spend some money? How much? Only you can answer these questions.
Best of luck.
John J. Soares
Find People Online By Name
How To Do A Criminal Background Check
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