Skiptrace
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Skiptracing is the process of locating a person's whereabouts. Skiptracing tactics may be employed by a skip tracer, contact tracer (in a public health context), debt collector, process server, bail bondsman or bail agency enforcer (bounty hunter), repossession agent, bail enforcement agent, private investigator, lawyer, police detective, journalist, stalker or by any person attempting to locate a subject whose contact information is not immediately known. Similar techniques have also been used by investigators to locate witnesses in criminal trials.[1]
Terminology
Other terms include to skip trace, or debtor and fugitive recovery.[2] A skip tracer is someone who performs this task, which may be the person's primary occupation. The term "skip" (as a noun) refers to the person being searched for, and is derived from the idiomatic expression "to skip town", meaning to depart (perhaps in a rush or perhaps hoping to elude creditors or law enforcement). As such, the skip tracers need to track down ("trace") the "skip" to their new location. The term "skip" is "attested by the mid 14th century, meaning 'to run, go, rush, flee,' and also 'to make off, hasten away'."[3]
Methods
Skiptracing is performed in a series of steps. The first step is gather the basic information about the person, such as first, middle, and last name, variants or nicknames (e.g. Robert may go by "Rob"), or aliases. The person's social security number, date of birth, last known physical addresses, email addresses, place of employment info and phone numbers are also important. Step one is try and verify which pieces of this information are valid, invalid, current, or no longer current. This verification of information requires corroboration to insure it’s accurate, with the most common method being a phone call made to a person who can validate or invalidate the person’s location information.
In deeper searches or more complex cases, multiple additional steps will be required. The person's social media pages may yield clues about their whereabouts. The skip tracer may also gather historical information such as the names of people the person previously lived with, relatives, or prior jobs, as these pieces of information can generate additional people the skip tracer can speak with that can provide clues or more details in regarding the location of the person you’re looking for.
A great deal of the information the skip tracer gathers comes from public record or “skip data” aggregators who aggregate and sell this information to skip tracers who have a legal and permissible purpose to gather it.
The next steps the skip tracer performs is to continue gathering as much information as possible about the subject using Internet searches, databases, public records, and their network of contacts.
In unregulated industries where a lack of laws, rules and compliance oversight allows the skip tracer additional methods they can use to locate difficult to find individuals, many skip tracers will employ various methods of social engineering, which involves speaking with people associated or related to the subject to ask questions that can lead them to the subjects location, sometimes under false or misleading pretenses.[4]
Records or Information that skip tracers use may include phone number databases, credit reports (including information provided on a loan application, credit card application, and in other debt collector databases), job application information, criminal background checks, utility bills, Social Security, disability, license plate or vehicle location data, phone records and public tax information.[5] While some of these records may be publicly available, some cannot be accessed without an appropriate search warrant, or a specific permissible purpose, which is generally only available to financial institutions, their contracted third-party vendors, law enforcement or licensed private investigators.[6]
Even when no specific information is returned, public and private databases exist that cross-reference skiptracing information with others the "skip" may have lived with in the recent past. For instance, if previous records show a "skip" lived in the same house as a third party, the third party may also be skiptraced in an effort to locate the primary target.[2]
The next step is to verify the information. The information is then analyzed and verified, eliminating some leads as outdated or associated with the wrong person. Sometimes the person's current whereabouts are in the data, but are obfuscated by the sheer amount of information or disinformation.
In the past, skiptracing included such things as dumpster diving and pretext calls to utility companies. Currently, skip tracing is largely conducted online using paid databases and phone calls to gather and verify information.[7] Modern social media platforms such as Facebook have greatly simplified skiptracing work.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Bohm, David (2007-02-15). Practical Handbook for Professional Investigators. doi:10.1201/9781420006407. ISBN 9780429245268.
- ^ a b c Lyons, Brad (12 January 2018). "Skip Tracing Manual 2018" – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Skip". www.etymonline.com. Online Etymological Dictionary. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ Blake, William F. (February 1, 2013). A manual of private investigation techniques : developing sophisticated investigative and business skills to meet modern challenges. Charles C Thomas. pp. 147–165. ISBN 9780398088569.
- ^ Miller, James (2018-08-20). "What is Skip Tracing and How You Can Use It [2019 Update]". Searchbug Blog. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
- ^ Ball, Craig. "Cybersleuthing for People Who Still Can't Program Their VCRS". GPSolo.
- ^ Harms, Steven; Larson, Aaron (2009-07-31). Credit & collections kit for dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 197. ISBN 978-0470555408.