Do you really know someone? These days you can never be too careful when it comes to properly screening others and discovering their true identity.
Many companies and/or individuals are guilty of fraud, cybercrime, bribery, corruption, and more. No wonder more and more people are developing trust issues.
Thanks to the internet it’s possible to pull someone's criminal history, police arrests, financial documents, court appearances, traffic violations, and other public records – all for free! This can be done for clients, customers, colleagues, potential hires, or even a new partner.
Here’s how…
What is a Background Check?
First, what even is a background check?A background check provides a mix of public records and private data, including employment and criminal history, credit score, education, financial records, past activities, and further methods to help validate one’s identity. All items can be found online. The results are then used to make an informed decision and verify that the person is who they claim to be.
There are many types of backgrounds checks that are used for different purposes. Here are the common ones:
• Employment Background Check
• Criminal History Background Check
• Universal Background Check
• Tenant Screening Background Check
• Fingerprint Background Check
• International Background Check
• Personal Background Check
• Professional Licenses Background Check
Online free background checks sites are used for varying reasons, but most have the common goal to get more information on the person in question.
Why is a Background Check Important?
Background checks provide critical information and should be used as a valuable screening tool to gain insight into someone’s past and present life. It could reveal a clean record, or it could return some incriminating information. Either way, an online background check can be used to your advantage, helping to avoid risk and dodge future problems.The fact of the matter is a comprehensive background check will thoroughly measure an individual’s past for criminal behavior, like financial malfeasance of fraud, theft, and/or embezzlement, through public records and some private records as well.
This can even help to reduce the chance of interacting with someone who has a history of violence or behaving in an alarming behavior. When properly screening someone, you are protecting yourself from a dangerous and/or costly situation.
In fact, some individuals find it beneficial to perform a background check on themselves. This can help when interviewing for a new job, requesting a loan from a financial institution, applying for a new apartment, etc. This will allow you to see exactly what the individual or company pulling the information will see and can help to prepare you for any follow-up questions they may have.
Services for Criminal Records Online, Court, and Background Checks
While it’s definitely possible to compile some of the information included in a background check yourself since most of it is pulling from varying public records online. Though, access to certain documents and data can be limited and the process can be very time-consuming. Because of these constraints, it can be much harder to make an informed and accurate decision.Luckily, there’s an easy solution – online services that are designed specifically to perform background checks.
Resources like Truthfinder, InstantCheckMate, and Intelius will find criminal records, court documents, financial information, and all the information necessary to properly vet another person.
Truthfinder: How to Get an Online Background Check
What is Truthfinder?
Truthfinder is an online background search website that gives their customers an easy, safe, and quick way to search for family, friends, colleagues, employers, employees and more.The service scans millions of public records, social media data, public information, and more to provide a complete report about the searched person. It can even shed light on previous arrests, which is an absolute must-have when evaluating someone’s character. Additionally, the service can give contact information, address of residency and employment, and online social media profiles, depending on whether it's available public information.
The only information required to look someone up is their first and last name, city (optional), and state (optional).
You can also do a reverse phone or email lookup, which will help if you’re receiving phone calls or emails from an unknown person. In that case, all you have to enter is the phone number and/or email address in question.
Try TruthFinder now >
What Information Does the Background Check Include?
Truthfinder utilizes the deep web to uncover information that a normal search engine wouldn’t catch. This is then used to provide the user with a detailed report.Results may include:
• Birth and death records
• Potential relatives
• Possible friends, roommates, exes, associates, etc.
• An address history report
• Contact information, like a phone number and email address
• Criminal history, including arrests and traffic violation records
• Education and past/current places of employment
• Social media accounts
• Dating profiles
• Assets, like owned property and automobiles
• Photos and/or videos
• Bankruptcies, liens, etc.
Is a Truthfinder Online Background Check Free?
You can see basic information, like a person’s name and the last 4 digits of their phone number, for free.But it's not all free. You will have to pay to see most of the information provided in the background check. The exact cost depends on the membership purchased, though the most standard package will give you unlimited searches and reports.
InstantCheckMate: How to Get an Online Background Check
What is Instant CheckMate?
Instant CheckMate is a website that uses their data and technology to deliver useful, detailed, and important information on just about anyone. You can easily search for people and quickly receive a thorough, comprehensive background report in about 10 minutes.Try InstantCheckMakte now ?
What Information Does the Background Check Include?
InstantCheckMate pulls information from hundreds of millions of state or federal, as well as local public records when performing a background check.Results may include:
• Criminal records• Arrest records
• Phone numbers
• Address
• Demographic Data
• Census Data
• Charitable contributions
• Registered sex offender status
• Bankruptcy information
• Marriage history
Is an Instant CheckMate Online Background Check Free?
There is no free subscription service offered with InstantCheckMate. However, there is a trial offer that typically lasts around 5 days for $1. Unfortunately, it's not a free trial period.To fully utilize the vast number of features on the site, however, a paid subscription is needed. Subscriptions are fairly pricey, but you can search for reports as many times as you want. Essentially, if you need to pull multiple background checks, this paid service is probably worth it.
Intelius: How to Get an Online Background Check
What is Intelius?
Intelius is a trusted and reliable website to get an online background report on someone. Each search is private and done so 100% confidentially. This allows you to get the information you want, without having to worry about the person being notified.Intelius analyzes over 20 billion public records online and other sources to provide quality, accurate results with every background check.
Try Intelius now
What Information Does the Background Check Include?
For situations where you want to learn more about someone, Intelius suggests their background check feature.Results may include:
• Criminal records
• Marriage and divorce history
• Pending lawsuits
• Bankruptcies
• Liens against the person
• Full name
• Birthday
• Address history
Is an Intelius Online Background Check Free?
The Intelius website is not a free service. It requires a paid subscription to pull a background check. This package also includes the ability to do a reverse phone lookup. All you need is the scammer phone number to search and see who is calling you.How to Get Criminal Records, Public Records, Court, and Background Checks for Free
It is entirely possible to get a full background report for free. But, as mentioned earlier, it takes a lot of time and effort to do so properly.Step 1: Search for their Location
The first step is to identify the state and county the person is residing in. This can be done with a Google search, looking at their social media pages, or some other form of public record data.Finding the appropriate state and corresponding county can prove to be quite difficult, especially if the person has moved a lot. You should search for each location separately and add that to your research.
Step 2: Search for the County Clerk Court Records
Once you have verified their location, you can make your way to the county clerk’s website. You can search for the right website by entering “[name of state] county clerk of court records” into Google's search bar.For example, “New York county clerk of court records”. From there, the site should be one of the first few results. Be wary of fake county websites, advertising false information. Trust us, they exist. That’s why we prefer using Truthfinder, InstantCheckMate, or Intelius.
Step 3: Search the Name
Finally, you can sort through records to find the person you have been looking for. This may take a while, so buckle in. You may find past court filings in there, property and land records, and hopefully some additional documentation.Key Takeaways
Background Checks
A background check provides the information necessary to properly vet someone and judge whether they are who they claim to be. Each piece of information given in the report holds a level of value, including criminal and court records, financial information, an education and employment background, credit check, as well as some notable personal tidbits, like contact information, marital status, past bankruptcies, location history report, etc.Free Background Checks Versus a Paid Site
Performing an accurate and detailed background check is a whole other story. Doing so manually can not only be extremely time-consuming but may end up giving you incorrect information and data on the person, even though a lot of the report is of public record. This can then leave you susceptible to possible fraud, cybercrime, and more, exactly what you were hoping to avoid by doing a background check in the first place.An online background check service can help to bypass the inaccuracies and provide you with an extensive report, containing highly valuable information. Some of the best services to do so are Truthfinder, InstantCheckMate, and Intelius. For a small subscription fee, you can end up saving in more ways than one down the road.
Good luck and happy searching!
