A cheap way to start a search for people in the U.S. is to check a telephone directory, call Directory Assistance and/or use a free people-finder Web site, such as ZabaSearch.com,
Virtual Gumshoe, The Ultimates White Pages and/or Telephone Directories on the Web. You can search for less common names on the Web using regular search engines (see "Search Engines").
If that doesn't work, the following vendors offer databases specifically for finding people in the U.S.:
(1) Accurint. I've gotten good results from Accurint at reasonable prices.
(2) Intelius. I haven't used Intelius myself, but I hear it is good.
(3) KnowX, which allows you to charge your search to a credit card.
(4) SmartLinx on Lexis provides good results, though the cost can be substantial unless the database is included in a flat fee contract.
(5) Merlin is popular with private investigators. It is possible to get complete social security numbers through Merlin, if your business has a permitted purpose.
(6) PeopleSearch on Westlaw is powerful (they have an exclusive right to use Experian data), but can also be pricey. Rather than going for a whole report upfront, you first might want to try searching for the person in the Address Search database to see if/what information is available.
Alternate Strategies: If you can qualify as "law enforcement agency, government agency, a government contractor or an accredited news organization" you can search voting records on GovernmentRecords.com.
Beyond that, you can check Internet search engines and broad news databases, such as MEGANW;ALLMGA on Lexis, ALLNEWSplus on Westlaw or PAPERS on Dialog; or if you know where the person lives, you may want to check just the news for that state. If the person does something special (ex. runs a company), you can check in a specialty database (e.g., a business news file or Martindale-Hubbell for lawyers) or search for a D&B report. Lexis has a number of Who's Who directories.
For rich people, potentially dead people, famous people or military personnel, see also the sources discussed below. To find people in prison, see the separate entry for "Prisons, Prisoners and Jails."
_______________________________
If you have an e-mail address and need a home address, try Infospace's reverse e-mail directory at www.infospace.com/home/white-pages/email-search (see also "Email Addresses"). If you have a telephone number and need an address, try the Reverse directories listed in the entry on "Telephone Numbers."
________________________________
Canadians: I've been told that Canada doesn't have a good database for finding people, largely because of national privacy legislation such as PIPEDA (the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act). I'd suggest searching Canadian news articles and telephone directories (see "Telephone Numbers"), plus putting the name into a couple of good search engines.
Potentially Dead People: To try to determine if a person has died, check obituaries (see "Obituaries") and/or the Social Security Death Index, which lists people who were receiving Social Security when they passed. The Index is available on RootsWeb.com and Lexis (FINDER;DCEASE). If you have the person's social security number you could run it through the SSN Validator.
Famous People: Dialog has a database called BioIndex (File 287), which has Who's Who entries, as well as Marquis' Who's Who (File 234). Lexis has PEOPLE;GALBIO. The TV Show Biography posts 1-paragraph entries about celebrities on the Biography Web site (www.biography.com). I haven't used any of these sources; please let me know if you have.
You can get copies of foreign Who's Who entries from NYPL Express.
Former Employees: Databases of former employees are available through Accurint and
ZoomInfo. You can also search the person's name in a good business news database and a good search engine to find references to past positions.
Professionals: If you're looking for a professional, check with the government agency that licenses the profession. See also the entry for that profession e.g., "Attorneys," "Certified Public Accountants," "Company Personnel" (for executives), "Securities Dealers".
Military: To locate military personnel, see "Military Records."
