In the Beginning:In today's world, we live in an age of information. It started from your birth, and was recorded with your birth certificate, giving data not only about you, but your parents. This was the creation of your paper trail and it will follow you until you die(or you change it) This document can start the family's genealogical records, which can trace back generations before you. Although the computer age has come upon us, this one is one document that must be either an original or a certified copy from the city hall in order to be readily accepted for identification purposes. For the most part the dates on birth certificates are accurate, however an astute investigator recognizes that early on in life, people may fudge their birth date for e mployment purposes or attempt to cover a pregnacy prior to an offical marriage, plus several other reasons. Since many of these changes were executed early on in a subjects life, they have been used for many years, therefore we use them as the identifier. Of course, there are underground books which can faciltate the obtaining of a new certificate, such as " Handbook of Vital Records Information" obtained by Eden Press for $14.95 ... 1-800-338-8484. Other related books, range from $17.95 to $ $21.95 are:
Check their website for a multitude of identity and privacy books,~www.edenpress.com Also visit this site for general information on vital records and how to obtain them from individual states visit .www.nvi.net. The Mother Of All NumbersBelow you can order a free copy of your credit report. Many paper trail followers use the DOB found on credit report headers. This type of information is readily accessible by detectives and information researchers. Speaking of credit reports, your social security number is the one of the biggest identifers of all time. When used in conjuction with your date of birth, it can open incredible doors to personal information. Certainly, it is used to track your whereabouts, place of employment, credit history, educational background, and in some states, your drivers license. It is commonly found on voter registration records, court records, income tax, insurance cards, military records, and for the trustworthy, it is poorly used in PIN's( personal identification numbers) This is a very powerful number! Guard it as carefully as you can. Visual inspection of the SSN can reveal a little information about the holder. For example, the first three numbers, called "area number" represents where the application for the card was submitted, based upon the mailing address. From 1987, a federal law requires parents to obtain a SSN for their child ,if they choose to declare that child as a dependent on tax returns. Prior to 1987, most cards were applied for during early high school years. A new 1992 federal law now requires cards for children after age one year old to obtain a card for deduction purposes. From this information we can deduce the state the card holder was living in at the time of application. For example, numbers 010-034, reflects Massachusetts and 261-267 or 589-595 are Florida. Use the list below to determine the origin of state of an SSN by it's first three numbers: 001-003 NH 004-007 ME 008-009 VT 010-034 MA 035-039 RI 040-049 CT 050-134 NY 135-158 NJ 159-211 PA 212-220 MD 223-231 VA 232-234 NC 232-234 NC,WV 235-236 WV 237-246 NC 247-251 SC 252-260 GA 261-267 FL 268-302 OH 303-317 IN 318-361 IL 362-386 MI 387-399 WI 400-407 KY 408-415 TN 416-424 AL 425-428 MS 429-432 AK 433-439LA 440-448 OK 449-467 TX 468-477 MN 478-485 IA 486-500 MO 501-502 ND 503-504 SD 505-508 NE 509-515 KS 516-517 MT 518-519 ID 520...... WY 521-524 CO 525....... NM 526-527 AZ 528-529 UT 530...... NV 531-539 WA 540-544 OR 545-573 CA 574.... AK 575-576 HI 577-579 DC 580..PR,Virgin Islands 581-584 PR 585.... NM 586...Guam, American Samoa and Philipines 587-588 MS 589-599 FL 596-599 PR 600-601 AZ 602-626 CA 627-645 TX 646-647UT 648-649 NM 650-699 UNASSIGNED 700-728 Prior to 1963, these numbers were assigned to railroad workers, per the Railroad Retirement Act 729-999 UNASSIGNED If your subject displays any numbers that are "unassigned" the chances are it is a false ID. Also, these area numbers are a signal as to subjects state of abode during his pre teen and teen years. Want More Information on Social Security Numbers?Here's a couple of websites for further information To verify SSN through online sources look up, www.veris-ssn.com or try www.informus.com to check on the validity of an SSN. Informus has a free DEMO for an SSN check. Their full line of services has an initial set up fee of $250.00. Or try going right to the source by visiting the Social Security Administration at www.ssa.gov Obtain a copy of your report at www.freecreditreports.com A key tool in obtaing much information about you is found in credit reports. Bear in mind that the release of these reports are protected by federal laws. You cannot legally obtain a full credit report on someone else without their express permission. However, this is not to say that ruses are not done on a regular basis, in order to obtain the required documents. Bear in mind, the "headers" on these reports do not fall under this protection, and there is sufficient information here including your DOB and SSN to create major problems for you. A Few Tips: First, under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you must be told if the information in your file is or has been used against you. Secondly, you can request a free copy of your your report and then you have the right to dispute inaccurate information. The Credit Reorting Agency must reply back to you in writing and incorrect information must be removed. Generally, after seven years, a bad reort can be deleted from your files. But remember, that header information is very valuable in investigations and is not necessarily protected by law. ( some credit reports may contain arrest and conviction information). For your own credit report and how to maintain a fair credit status, check out the latest at : www.credit.com To order a credit report for legitimate purposes, click on the link botton.  What's in a Name? This may appear simplistic, however the great variations and the ease of changing one's name turns out to be a very important identifier during any investigation. Commonly, people use variations of their"legal" name such as not using the middle name,John Smith vs. John Q Smith. Alternatively, the middle name may precede the first name in intial only, such as Q. John Smith. Or perhaps, J.Q. Smith, maybe John Quincy Smith, or John Q. Smith II or John Smith Jr. To add to this simplisitic hurdle, many times people become known by a nickname from a very early age and it becomes their known idenity on such items as utility bills, including telephone and electric. When an investigator attempts to search via a computer, the name may be missed if the detective is not astute. Things become more complicated when we compound name changes due to marriage,divorce and professional recognitions as well as legal change of names. Investigators searching on females must pay particuliar attention to names in previous marriages, which may be several, in addition to the use of maiden names. At the same time, professional women may elect to keep a maiden name, with or without a hyphen, along with the new married name, e.g Hillary Rodham Clinton. There are times that one set of name is used socially, while the other is utilized in business. Keep in mind the right to change ones name for non-fraudulent purposes in many states is just that.. a common law right. This makes a name change relatively easy and most times can be accomplished with a paralegal or by the subject filing a legal paper in the District Court. With the identifiers we covered, you can and are tracked through the peaks and valleys of your life. They are the building blocks of paper trails that follow and sometimes can haunt you. From an investigator perspective, these identifiers are his or hers "bread and butter" and allow the continuance of the investigation to a hopefully positive outcome. Paper trails are only one manner for tracking people. In the our new computer age,digital trails are as important and far more reaching than traditional methods. The basics on computer privacy and security are covered in another page of the Investigator's Digest. Of course, the use of computers can now expedite the retrieval of many public records, which just a decade ago would have required a lengthly wait via tradional mail. Public record searches can produce vasts amounts of information on people, and enhance investigators ability to gain insights into an individual background or locate a person that for whatever reason is missing. Tip: Never forget to check the Death Index on a person who has been missing for any length of time. Some investigators assume that a missing person is still alive. Every basic investigator's class will touch upon the use of telephones and city directories when trying to locate a subject. Telephone numbers can be a very powerful bit of information. Later, ID will provide you links into databases that can "manipulate" a number and obtain vital info. The basic tool is the "telephone book" and you should have access to not only the current edition, but 3-5 years prior in the city you are researching. Why? For several reasons. First, a current unpublished number may have been published 2,3 or four years ago. Much headache is now limited in your search. If a number is unpublished you will have several choices. One is to have an inside source within the telephone company, as many investigators do, or secondly use one of the databases we will talk about. Telephone Tips * Use AT&T's nationwide directory assistance. They will find the area code for you. If it is a non published number, they will search back into previous old directories and detirmine if the name was once published. Cost about .95 per minute. 1-900-555-1212 * For unlisted numbers,check the names of other household members living there, which may be listed. * Check public records,such as driver's license or voter registration files, they may have a number listed. * If you know the subject's city, the first step should always be calling directory assistance. Double check by stating "this may be a "new" listing. Remember, if the operator tells you "this is a non published number, you have good reason to believe that the target does indeed live in that city. * If you know the target's last telephone number, call it. A recording may tell you the new number! * Use some of the information found in Investigator's Digest topic on Public Record Searches. There are on-line databases or services that can be of great assistance in your search. Go to Public Record Searches Internet Based Resources Click on these links , most provide free searching services that include phone number look ups. Switchboard Contains over 90 million residential names gleaned from telephone directories and other public sources.Also includes free reverse telephone look up.... you type the number in and the search shows the name and address of the holder Free www.switchboard.com LookupUSA Contains 90 million households and 11 million businesses. Free www.lookupusa.com infoUSA This company can provide you online household data for specfic demograhics, including age,sex,county,income,own or rent residence. Fee based service according to how much information you request. Starts from $10.00 Used primarily in marketing, but very helpful info during investigations. www.infoUSA.com Remember to review our discussion in "What's in a Name" The spelling of names can be critical and ID recommends the use of "New Dictionary of American Family Names" to assist you in spelling variations ie. Smythe or Smith. Again pay attention to the use of initials in listings and the order of the system. Some directories may list P.T. Smith, others may list as Smith,P.T. Then abbreviations may cause conflict; St. Paul vs. Saint Paul are example A final word on directories. Every investigator and marketing representative is familiar with criss cross directories. It basically rearranges the information found in the white pages, in order for the the user to search by street address and get a name and number, and numerically by telephone number to find who is assigned that number.( this is a reverse lookup) Marketing people can effectively use a criss cross directory by looking up a particuliar street, then going or calling everyone on that street. To purchase these criss cross directories is rather expensive. Try your city library or or call a per minute look up at 1-900-288-3020. Private Investigator Robert Scott has a website that may help you with reverse look ups, www.crimetime.com . Tips: Telephones can assist you during investigations, and knowing a few extra insider's secrets can give you the edge. For example, should you have a recording of a push button telephone dialing a number, you can play that recording to a popular hackers magazine and find out the number dialed. Of course, from there you can determine the name and address associated with the number. Go to www.2600.com . They have been around since 1984 and publish a hackers magazine called "2600" For best results call them direct at (516)751-2600. They have a "phone services" section with several different options that may help. Tip: To make untraceable telephone calls,consider "Private Lines" which re-routes calls deafting Claller ID's and ANI's(automatic number identification) This service is available through a 900 service at the rate of $1.95/minute. Call 1 (900) 786-7737. COMPUTERS AND COMPUTER INVESTIGATORSComputer Investigator's will find the itsleuth site a great directory.Click on links to get right into the directory. Check it out. www.itsleuth.net Tip:Visit Investigator's Digest page, Public Record Searches to learn about public records searches. Start your own personal searches online from this page! |
 Sign Guestbook |
 View Guestbook |
| Lakeland | FL | 33804 |
|
. |
| Visitors: 04942 |