Free background checks on people don't honestly carry that much information in them however they do carry some information. Ultimately though if you want detailed information on someone, or if you have a credit or financial related reason for doing background checks on people you'll ultimately end up paying for a service either on a subscription basis (unlimited searches but limited usage / consent not required) or individual basis (financial/credit/etc. - requires consent). There are even services to verify employment history. This article describes what you'll typically find in a background check, be it a free background check, a non-consentual background check, or an FCRA compliant background check.
Free Background Checks on People - How Much People Can Find Out and How Shockingly Little it Costs
By Matt E Spitz
Free background checks on people are available via public records databases but the results you get for the free searches are usually quite limited. No cost public records searches typically will turn up a person's name, address, phone number, age, and sometimes relatives such as mother, father and siblings.
These resources are really handy when you have a pretty good idea who you are looking for and have a few facts about them. When it comes to verifying information that even strays a little bit into the the grey area of private information such as social security number, mortgage and home information, or other personal or financial related data, availability of information clamps down quickly.
The next level of personal background data digs into the aforementioned basic financial data, date of birth, mortgage holder, neighbors, plus partial social security numbers and death records. These are not free background checks on people however as there typically is a small subscription fee attached. Again, these records are somewhat limited in their scope but are immediately available and certainly more revealing that I would prefer... particularly for so small a fee. These additional records are most likely pulled from local tax records and other publicly available documents. They aren't necessarily 100% accurate, but they're usually close enough... and again, much more than I prefer people to know about me.
The next step up in terms of personal investigation is the credit background investigation. At this point credit data is available but again, these are not free background checks on people either and furthermore privacy laws actually require prior written consent of the person whom you are investigating. A law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) severely restricts who can access these records, meaning usually a specific business purpose is required.
When I do need to check information on someone I use my cheap pre-screening service first. For just under $10 a year I can do as many background checks on people as I want for a flat annual subscription fee. I use that information when I'm concerned people are trying to pull a fast one on me.
I hope no one tries to pull a fast one on you. See all kinds of sample legal background checks and see just how much information is available for so little.
Matt E. Spitz
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