Editorial StaffData brokers are companies that collect, aggregate, and sell information about individuals from public records, commercial transactions, online activity, and third-party data sources — compiling personal profiles that are then licensed to businesses, marketers, investigators, and others. Quick Answer: Data brokers build personal profiles by pulling information from public records, purchase history, online tracking, and … Read more
People search scams are deceptive websites and services that claim to provide detailed background checks, personal records, or investigative information about individuals — but instead deliver misleading, incomplete, or fabricated reports while charging hidden fees or enrolling users in recurring subscriptions without clear disclosure. Quick Answer: People search scams follow a predictable pattern: a website … Read more
Online investigative tracking is the process of locating, identifying, and linking a person’s digital presence across publicly accessible internet sources — using usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, profile photos, domain registrations, and other identifiers to determine where an individual appears online and whether multiple accounts belong to the same person. Quick Answer: Investigators track people … Read more
Identity verification is the process of confirming that a person is who they claim to be by comparing identifying information across independent records, databases, and sources — establishing through cross-reference that multiple data points consistently point to the same individual. Quick Answer: Investigators verify identity by cross-checking name, date of birth, address history, property records, … Read more
Public records about a person are official documents, filings, and data created or maintained by government agencies in the course of official business — and in the United States, most of these records are legally accessible to anyone who knows where to look. Quick Answer: Publicly available information about a person typically includes court records, … Read more
Jail records document short-term custody in local detention facilities operated by counties or municipalities, while prison records document incarceration in long-term correctional facilities operated by state or federal governments. Quick Answer: Jail records and prison records refer to different stages of the criminal justice custody system. Jail records document short-term detention following arrest or during … Read more
Civil court records document lawsuits between private parties seeking remedies such as money damages or court orders, while criminal court records document prosecutions brought by the government for violations of criminal law. Quick Answer: Civil court records and criminal court records come from different types of legal proceedings. Civil records involve disputes between individuals, businesses, … Read more
An arrest record documents that law enforcement took a person into custody, while a criminal record more broadly refers to the court and agency records created as a case moves through charging, prosecution, judgment, sentencing, and incarceration. Quick Answer: Arrest records and criminal records are not the same thing. An arrest record reflects a law … Read more
Quick Answer: Many adult criminal court records are public — including case dockets, charging documents, plea records, judgments, and sentencing orders. Juvenile records, sealed cases, expunged records, active investigation files, and certain personal identifying information are typically restricted. Because criminal records are maintained by multiple courts and agencies across separate government systems, determining whether a … Read more
Quick Answer: Property records are maintained primarily by county governments and document who owns real estate, when ownership changed, and what financial claims are attached to the property. These records are created when deeds, mortgages, liens, and related documents are recorded with the county recorder or register of deeds. Because property records are organized at … Read more