Locating People Using Advanced Person Search

Sometimes it is necessary to search on a deeper level to find your subjects. We have made that search easier with Advanced Person Search. Our proprietary database combines data from hundreds of sources to create the most comprehensive collection of information about people in the United States. Advanced Person Search's searching capabilities allow you to combine information you have to make searching for your subject faster and easier, saving you time and money.

Topics in this help are listed below:


Quick Start on Advanced Person Search

First, try to locate the subject using one or more of the following search techniques:

1.     If you know the subject's Social Security Number (SSN) use it alone in your first search. Even though SSNs are the most reliable identifier for an individual, they are not 100 percent dependable because some records may not contain a subject's SSN. Therefore, a record for an individual may not appear when searching using SSN only. Conducting a second search using Name and State provides additional coverage.

2.     Search using Last Name, First Name, and State. If too many records are returned, try adding a City or State. You can also use a partial first name. Adding criteria not already used, such as first name, middle name or initial, DOB, city, state, ZIP code, or age range, refines a search. The more criteria you provide the more precise (narrow) the results will be.

Keep in mind that some records may not contain a middle name or initial, so providing one could eliminate records you may want included.

If you are unsure of the subject's proper first name, try using a variation of the name. Our intuitive automatic nickname feature will return results matching the subject's proper first name.

If you are unsure of the spelling of a person's name, try checking the Phonetic Search box which will search for phonetic variations of the subject's name if no exact match is found.

     3.    Search using a Telephone Number. You may use seven digits, with or without a State.

4.    Search using a Last Name, First Name, State, and full or partial Date of Birth (DOB). A DOB may be entered in several formats: mm/yyyy, mm/dd/yyyy, or yyyy alone.

For Example:

1). Month and Year: (04/1963)
2). Month, Day and Year: (04/23/1963)
3). Year Only: (1963)

In the event that a Subject's complete DOB is unknown, searching by mm/yyyy or yyyy format may prove helpful.

     5.    Search using a DOB and First Name. If more records are returned than are practical to review, refine your search by adding a City and State or Zip Code.

Search Deeper

Advanced Person Search allows you to include additional information about your subject, such as a relative name or previous state of residence, or even use partial information you may have, to more accurately pinpoint where they may be currently located.

1.     Search using your subject’s unique LexID number. Your initial Advanced Person Search will return your subject’s unique LexID number. You can then initiate a new search on the LexID number for the most comprehensive, relevant results possible.

2.     Search using your subject's name and the first name of a relative. For example, if you are looking for John Doe and you know he has a relative with the first name of Jane.

3.     Search using your subject's name and include a name they may have previously used or may be currently using. For example, Jane Doe may have previously been known as Jane Smith.

4.     Search using your subject's name and state of residence as well as any previous state or states (maximum of two) in which they may have resided. For example, Jane Doe in Florida and previously resided in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

5.     Search using your subject's name, city and state and include the name of another city and state in which they may have lived. For example, Jane Doe in Sunrise, Florida, and Tallahassee, Florida.

6.     Search using your subject's name and the last four digits of their Social Security Number. For example, Jane Doe and 1234. You may even use a partial first name.

7.     Search using your subject's last name and first and middle initials. For example, J.D. Doe.

8.     Search using your subject's name and partial street address. For example, Jane Doe on Main Street, Anywhere, FL.        

 

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Helpful Search Tips

Too Many Records Found

If your search returns the following message: Search completed. Too many records found. There was No Charge for this search, it means the search resulted in more than 1,000 records. Try narrowing the list of results by adding search criteria.

If a list of results is displayed but more records were returned than are practical to review, try narrowing the list of results by adding search criteria.

EXPAND LIST OF RESULTS

If too few or no results are returned, loosen the criteria by removing the most precise or uncertain criteria (e.g., middle name or initial, date of birth, city).

Non-SSN Searches

Non-SSN searches do not always return all records associated with the Subject. In order to ensure all records for the Subject are returned, you must identify at least one record that has a high level of confidence to be the Subject's record (see "Find a Subject in the Displayed List"). CLICK on that record's SSN to return the optimal results; that is, all records associated with the Subject including the current address and telephone number.

Find a Subject in the Displayed List

Identify the number of unique persons by examining the SSNs. For each individual, examine their records to determine if the displayed age, geographic regions, middle name or initial, or first name fit what is known about the Subject. CLICK on the SSN of an individual you believe to be the Subject to get the optimal set of results including their current most probable address and phone number. Initiate a Report for the Subject by clicking on the Run a Report icon on the left-hand side and following the prompts.

Indicators

If your search returns icons to the right of the subject's address, that is an indication that we have found additional information about your subject using our advanced linking capabilities. The icons that may be present are: Run Property Search indicating property assessment records, indicating motor vehicle records or a Run People at Work Search indicating People at Work records. Clicking on the icon will launch the search automatically.

Active Telephone Number

When the word "Active" appears to the right of a telephone number that indicates the telephone number is currently active at that address. This is particularly helpful if multiple telephone numbers are returned for one address.

Blue Check Mark Fount

The blue check mark to the left of a subject's address indicates a probable current address. On records with a blue check mark you will also see the word "Current" under the "Locate Index" column found to the right of any telephone information or additional search indicators. Records without a blue check mark will have either the word "Probable" or "Historic." If a subject is found but has no blue check mark to indicate the most likely current address, you can try to find a subject through associates, landlords, relatives, or neighbors. Initiate a Report for the Subject by clicking on the Run a Report icon on the left-hand side and following the prompts. When a report is generated, scroll down to find the relevant individuals.

Deceased Subjects

If your results are returned with a red "D" to the left of the subject's name, that subject has been reported deceased.  Move your mouse over the "D" to view the date of death.  For deaths reported since 2001, there may also be a "P" which would mean that proof, such as a death certificate, has been filed with the Social Security Administration or a "V" which would mean the death has been verified, usually by a family member.

 

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Source Documents for Individuals

Government/Law Enforcement customers frequently question the credibility of data they are analyzing. They have expressed that the more frequent a data item shows up in a resulting search, the more credibility is assigned to it. Source Documents feature is designed to address this interest by generating a list of sources, number of hits, and timeframe to give the end users a gauge of what level of credibility they want to assign to a result. Based on the source information they will be in a better position to direct their investigation by making more informed decisions as it relates to following up on tips and leads and conducting investigations.

Accessing Source Documents Information

Source Documents information for individuals is obtainable after a Person Search or Advanced Person Search. There is a *View Source link under the Full Name on the search results page. A number, which indicates the approximate number of unique data sources used for this record, is placed by the right side of the link.

Clicking the *View Source link leads to a pop-up box with source documents summary.

Only one pop-up box is displayed at one time. The box closes automatically when you click the *View Source link for another subject.

Managing the Source Documents

You can do one or all of the followings from the source documents summary box.

  • Click on top right to print the source information summary.

  • Click to close the pop-up source information summary box.

  • Click the plus sign by Expand All to reveal details of every data component; or click the plus sing by a specific component (for example, Address) to reveal that particular source details.
  • Click the minus sign by Collapse All or by a specific component to close the details sections.

  • Click after clicking the plus sign(s) to print the full or partial source details.

  • Click to close the pop-up source details box.

Data Components in Source Documents

The following is a list of components included in the Source Documents for individuals:

  • Name

  • SSN

  • Age/DOB

  • Address

  • Phone

 

Note: Depending on the subjects, not all the components may be present. For example, if a person never owns a phone number, the Phone information may be missing.

The list below is the Source Documents information available for each of the components above:

  • Source – a list of named sources of a component. Example, Person Locator 1. See below for details.

  • # of Occurrences – the number of times a component is found within a named source. For example, if the number of occurrences for Person Locator 1 is 3, it means the same record is found three times in that source.

  • Dates Seen – time range a component was first and last seen within a named source. The format of this piece of information may vary depending the availability of data. For example, you may see November, 2006 – December, 2009; or January 2, 2006 – March, 2009; or November 13, 2008 – February 1, 2009. It is also possible that you see only one date (for example, Dec, 2000) instead of a date range.

List of Sources

The system utilizes more than 50 data sources, most of which are spelled out for you. For example, Tax Assessor Records. A few are masked per contractual agreements.

  • If you see Person Locator 1 (or 2/4/5), that indicates the data is from one of the consumer bureaus.

  • Historical Person Locator is data extracted from a historical phone database.

  • Phones covers records from electronic Directory Assistance listings and combined phone sources.

 

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