Advanced Skip Tracing Techniques - Mike Dores, Mike Dores Investigations

CA Licensed PI# 15087 * MT Licensed PI# 9630 * www.MDILocate.com * 855-321-4960

Mike Dores InvestigationsWholesale Skiptracing Specialists

Skiptracing for Attorney Services

presented by

Mike DoresLicensed California PI #15087 and Montana PI #9630

Owner and Chief Investigator - Mike Dores InvestigationsKalispell, Montana

PACES Conference - April 26, 2014



The big secret of skiptracing

Skiptracing is a lot like solving a crime. Often, the best way is to find someone who knows the subject’s current location and then persuade them to tell you. Those most likely to know your subject:• Neighbors or current tenants at any of the subject’s old

addresses• Relatives• Former landlords – usually overlooked!• Co-workers• Business associates



Before you start the job - First steps

• Make sure you know as much as possible about the subject.• Full names and middle initials• DOB and SSN• Spouse and children’s names and DOBs• All known old addresses and phone numbers• Places of employment or occupation• Does the subject normally use a nickname?• How is the subject’s name pronounced?



First steps continued…

• Most importantly: Why are you looking for the subject? Knowing the purpose for the search helps determine how to approach the investigation.



Types of skiptracing databases

• Publicly Available Data• Directory Assistance, phone books & cross-directories

• Government Data - True Public Record• Corporations and UCC filings• Fictitious and Assumed Name filings• Professional licenses• Court indexes – civil, criminal, bankruptcy• Business licenses - sales tax permits• Real property ownership

• Skiptracing Databases - Credit Header Based



Government Data - True public record

• Remember, the index is not the public record. There is often more information on the actual document than in the index.

• There are many website with free links to government databases.• www.BRBPublications.com• www.publicrecords.onlinesearches.com• www.rootsweb.ancestry.com



What is a credit header?

• The top portion (header) of a credit report• Information included in a credit header

• Names and AKAs• The most recently reported address and historical

addresses.• SSN and age or date of birth• Phone numbers

• Often without area codes• Not necessarily reliable• Sometimes an unlisted number is provided



Where credit header data comes from

• Much of the information in a credit header is supplied by consumers through applications for credit.

• If a consumer puts an unlisted cell phone number on a credit application, it could show up in the credit header.

• Note: Inquiries from skiptracers at subscribing financial institutions often introduce incorrect “reported dates”.



Site-loaded credit headers

• A credit header file that is housed and managed by a data provider such as TLO, IRB, TracersInfo, Lexis (Accurint)

• Data is usually updated weekly or monthly• Includes historical information going back

25-30 years or more• Can be searched by name, address or SSN



Direct access to credit bureau computers

• Data is updated in real time• Searchable by SSN or name plus address• Not as many historical addresses as site loaded

headers.



Illegal uses of credit headers

• To develop a news story• To locate lost loves, friends, family members or for personal

reasons• For purposes that may cause physical or emotional harm to the

subject of the report (e.g. stalking, harassing, etc.)• To search for individuals involved in an adoption (children,

parents, siblings, etc.)• To locate personal information on well known / high profile

celebrities, government officials, etc.



More illegal uses of credit headers

• In connection with credit repair services, to locate previous debtors, or to assist in the determination of whether or not to file a personal lawsuit or judgment against the subject of the report

• To access individual reference data on one’s self or out of personal curiosity

• By professional and commercial users for purposes that are not within their normal course of business (e.g., a collection agency may NOT use a credit header to locate a witness to a crime)

• For marketing purposes



Searching by name in any database

• The goal of a name search into any database is to run as wide a search as possible and still end up with a manageable results list.

• If the subject has a common name• Include City or Zip along with the State and Name.• For very common names, add the middle initial to the

search. Otherwise, never use a middle initial in your search.



More tips for searching by name

• If the subject does not have a common name• Run the search by Name and State only or, if possible,

leave the State field blank to search the whole nation. • For very unusual names, try running a state or national

search by Last Name only or First Name only (Jordonna).



The most likely current address

• The “most likely current address” is• Not necessarily the address with most current reported

dates • The best place to start your verification process• Not necessarily the address where the subject lives • Often, but not always, the address with most recent

“First Date Reported”







The “First Date Reported”

• The date the address was reported to the data source (such as a credit bureau)

• Not necessarily the date the subject moved to this address

• If the address is obtained by the data provider from more than one source, the earliest date is displayed in the “First Date Reported” field.



The “Last Date Reported”

• If an address is only reported by a single data source, the dates in “First Date Reported” and “Last Date Reported” will generally be the same.

• If the same address is provided by multiple sources, the most recent date is displayed in “Last Date Reported”.

• Dates in the “Last Date Reported” column are sometimes extrapolated (educated guesses by data provider if the provider’s analytics indicate the address is current).

• The “Last Date Reported” is not as accurate as the “First Date Reported”.



Reported dates from credit headers

• Credit bureaus generally do not provide a range of reported dates, only the date that the address was first reported.

• If a credit bureau indicates that an address is a current address, some data providers extrapolate (make up) a Last Date Reported by displaying it as one month before the current month.

• Note that very old credit header records do not always show a reported date.



Reported dates from credit headers (continued)

• For many reasons, it is possible for a credit bureau to indicate that more than one address is a current address. • In this case, more than one address could be

displayed with a Last Date Reported in the previous month.

• Of these addresses, the one with the most recent First Date Reported is the most likely current address.



Verifying an address as current

• Remember that no database really knows the current location of your subject!

• The “most likely current address” is the place to start your verification process.

• Verification techniques:• Call the phone number(s) listed at the address• Call a neighbor or the apartment manager• Send a forwarding request to the Post Office



Obtaining phone numbers

• Phone numbers updated in real time• Directory Assistance (555-1212)

• Cost is $1.00 to $1.50• Search limited to a small geographic area• Usually can only search by name• Only 2-3 queries per call• Results are limited to one or two listings• Human error is common



Free phone numbers

• Numerous free online sources for white page listings – great for low-volume skiptracers.• Yahoo.com• InfoSpace.com• 411.com

• Information is updated once a year.• Usually not searchable by address or phone number• Free because they are trying to sell you something,

especially if you do not find the subject with the free phone search.



Online cross-directories

• An electronic cross-directory is a database of names, addresses and phone numbers.

• The database can be searched by name, address or phone number.

• The information usually comes from white page listings.

• Whitepages.com• BellesCamp.com



Why use a cross-directory?

• An extremely important skip-tracing tool, especially if credit headers become illegal

• Will provide a listing for someone who may know your subject: • A neighbor or relative• 50% of all skiptraces are solved with the use of a

cross-directory• Helps verify an address found through a previous database

search by identifying phone numbers at the target address as well as neighbors.





Searching by address in a cross-directory

If you have a last known address, or a possible current address from a credit header or public record search, run the address to determine who the cross-directory thinks is there.

Or, let’s say the subject’s name is Fred Smith. You have his last know address and no other identifying information. He doesn’t come up in a credit header search. A search into a cross-directory, by address, could tell you the subject is Frederic P. Smith and his wife is Gloria Guerrero Smith.



Searching by phone # in a cross-directory

• If you have a last known phone number, search the phone number.• Example: The subject is Cheri Sanchez• The only information supplied is a last known phone

number and a PO Box.• A search by phone number shows a Cheryl and John

Harrison and 475 Woodglen. Could this be Cheri Sanchez? If you call the number and a woman answers, who do you ask for?



The phone call

• Call at different times of the day – be persistent!• Establish the reason for the call. Always start with “Would

you be kind enough to help me?”• “Do you know if he can receive calls at work?”• “Do you know his new address?”• “How long ago did he move?”• “Do you have a new phone number?”• “Do any of the other neighbors know him better than you

know him?” “Do you have that neighbor’s phone number?”



Conclusions

• No database knows where your subject is. You must learn to verify addresses found in databases.

• Let MDI help you to offer skiptracing services to your clients. You can do the easy ones and hire us to find the people you don’t find.

• My e-mail address: [email protected]• My cell: 406-250-3358

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Advanced Skip Tracing Techniques - Mike Dores, Mike Dores Investigations