The internet is a wonderful tool. On the internet, we can learn how to fix almost anything, find people and discover just about anything about anyone. People who want to find out something about another person will typically contact a private investigator, a person who is trained to find out the truth by any means necessary. The PI uses tools that help them track down people, find out what a person is up to and what they have done in their past. The PI is capable of finding just about anyone using the tools they are trained with. But with the internet, now anyone can use social media tools to conduct their own investigation.
The most widely used social media platform is Facebook. With millions of users worldwide, most people have at least one Facebook account, sometimes more. There are many ways that you can find a person on Facebook and find out if they have more than one account. Searching by name, location, education and workplace are just a few of the ways that you can find someone. You can also find people by viewing profiles of those who have “checked-in” at certain places; for instance, if your car was involved in an accident at a local restaurant and the other party left the scene, you can look at the Facebook page of the restaurant and other establishments in that area. Then you can view on the pages who was around the area at the time of the accident. If you were able to get a description of the person or the vehicle, you can go through photos and profiles until you find a match. This is time consuming but is well worth the time when you can locate the responsible party.
If you know the person you are looking for and they have you blocked, all you need to do is create a new account with another email. You do not need to use a new name unless you want to. This way, you can find out the information you want, without using friends and family to hack into a different account.
LinkedIn is another popular social media outlet that allows mainly prospective employers to conduct a professional background check. Through LinkedIn, you can verify skills, references and past employers directly through the user’s profile. Unlike other social media sites, with LinkedIn, you do not need to be “friends” or added to a list to view the profiles. This is an excellent asset for employers who are looking for quality experienced candidates.
Intellus
Intellus.com is not social media but it allows you to find out just about anything you want to know about a person, although you do need to have at least a last name for an effective search. Through Intellus, you can find out the basics, including current and past addresses, and current phone number. You can also find past criminal convictions, past and current employers, and public records like marriage and death certificates. The difference is that you will find more information but the information is not free. When you start your first search, you are charged for the first month, which is usually discounted dramatically. Once you begin the membership, you can conduct multiple searches without paying extra.
Advantages of technology
Always use what technology has given us to your advantage. What once took days, weeks or even months to complete, can now be done in just minutes. While Facebook and LinkedIn have mobile apps so you can easily complete the social media background check, you can still use the browser on your phone to go through intellus. Every kind of check you need to do can be done on your phone or mobile device.
Technology is a wonderful thing. Not only can we find and locate people that we know, and people that we have lost contact with, we can now find people who we don’t know. Employers can conduct pre-employment background checks and potential lovers can find out if their new interest has a past they should be aware of. Even if you don’t have a name, you can still find someone you are looking for through the use of a social media check or background check. Anything you want to know about just about anybody can be found through the tools that are available to you online.
