New Friends Online? Check Them Out Before Getting Too Close

The Internet has become one of the latest places to meet people. Whether you are looking for a casual friend or a romantic interlude, it can all be found on the worldwide web. Places like Facebook and Myspace give you a forum to express yourself to others, and the number of matchmaker sites these days is overwhelming.

If you have ever spent any time meeting and greeting on the web, you know that most people are not exactly what they make themselves out to be. Some of them have gone so far as to create an entire alternate identity.

Despite the dangers, the rewards of meeting online can be great. You have the opportunity to get to know others from all over the world. You make new and interesting friends from places you may never have visited. It provides an excellent opportunity for us to share our cultures and open our minds to new possibilities.

Who is really behind that screen name?

When you make new friends online, how do you know if they are trustworthy? Can you really afford to get close to them, or are Internet friendships best kept very casual?

As with any new relationship, go slowly and proceed with caution. Keep the topics of conversation neutral and safe never discuss anything personal with someone you do not know. Be instantly suspicious if your new friend begins questioning you about your finances.

If you have been conversing with someone for a while and feel a connection, you may decide you want to take the friendship a step further. You may begin to share more personal details of your life, or you may begin making plans to meet each other in person.

Take smart measures to protect yourself

Before taking this step towards increased intimacy, be sure to reasonably protect yourself. First of all, try to validate your new friend's identity and ensure they really are who they say they are. Search records from the Department of Motor Vehicles in your friend's area and see if you can locate a license or identification card that matches the name, date of birth, physical description, and address of your new friend. If you cannot find a matching motor vehicle record, try voter registration records.

One of the best ways to protect yourself is to conduct an online background check of your friend. Any court documents from judgments, divorces, or lawsuits should contain some sort of identifying information you can verify. Criminal history checks will normally provide you with a date of birth and physical description, including any major scars or tattoos.

There are also specialized background check companies, such as Net Detective, who for a small fee, give you the ability to search all of the above records and more. You must do a little sleuth work of your own, though, and find out some important key identifiers from your new friend so you will know when you have found him or her.

Meeting on the Internet can be exciting. You must just ensure you go about it prudently, and protect yourself until you have solid facts reinforcing your ability to put your trust into your new friend.

Find Out Information on a Business Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

Nearly everyone has heard the horror stories a business takes your money and runs for the hills without ever providing the expectations set forth in the original agreement. How many times have you heard about someone who was having their home remodeled, only to have the contractor disappear with the money and a half-finished house? Or perhaps the job was finished, but the work so shoddy that someone else had to be hired to fix it. Maybe you wanted to open a retirement account and sought out a company that would help you invest your money, providing you with a healthy retirement down the road. Later on, you found out the firm had gone bankrupt, and the proprietor had absconded with your nest egg. Buying an existing business can pose potential problems and opportunities for fraud as well. The seller may show you a profit-and-loss statement, but how do you know they have not doctored the books to make the business appear more profitable than it really is? How do you find out if it will earn enough to support your family? Arm yourself with the power of knowledge Your ability to make sound financial and business decisions relies solely on the quality and accuracy of information you obtain. You may find something that looks great on the surface, but what happens when you dig deeper? Are you just as enthusiastic as when you first started out, or have you been provided with information that now makes you skeptical? The success of your financial future depends largely upon making informed decisions, especially when you are parting with large sums of your money. In order to ensure you have the best information available, you need become proactive and take matters into your own hands. Invest in online resources to protect your financial health There are many ways to investigate a business to uncover its business practices and level of profitability. The Internet offers access to an array of various public records to help you achieve that goal. Instead of spending countless hours searching through millions of websites trying to find information that is pertinent to you, invest in a records check or background check service such as Net Detective. You will be able to search specific businesses or people to find out precisely the information you need, without wasting your time sorting through useless data. Whether you want to investigate the past practices of your investment counselor, find out if he has ever been investigated for fraud, or ensure that a business you are planning to purchase lives up to its claims, an online background search can provide you with the tools you need to make an informed decision. These services work by providing you easy access via your home computer to millions of public records. Rather than trying to track each of these records manually such as tax returns or criminal histories save yourself time and hassle by completing your search through powerful investigative databases, such as Net Detective.

Reverse Phone Search: How You Can Find Out Who's Hiding Behind Any Phone Number

Got a phone number but don't know who it is? Maybe you've seen strange numbers showing up on your teenager's cell phone bill. Or maybe you picked up a number to call about an investment - but you suspect a scam. Or maybe you found a mysterious number in your wife or husband's things. For dozens of reasons, we find ourselves with a telephone number - but no name.

You're itching to find out who it is. Not just for curiosity's sake. The safety of your family or the security of your bank account could be at stake. You need a way to discover just whose phone number you have.

There's good news. You've got options. I'm a professional writer and researcher. I've discovered four different ways you can find out who's hiding behind any phone number. You can:

- Call, pretending to be someone else
- Look it up in a published crisscross directory
- Befriend (or trick) someone at the phone company
- Go online and search

Let's see what's involved with each approach and discover when they work best...

Call the Number

It's the simplest thing you can do. Pick up the phone and call. But pretend to be someone else to avoid recognition. When they answer, ask for a person with an unusual name not likely to be there. Say something like "Hello, is Lilly Becky there? No? Are you absolutely sure? Well, who am I talking to then?" Be a little forceful. Even sound angry, as if you think they're lying to you. This approach can rattle the other person and make them reveal their identity.

Avoid this one if you're not comfortable acting. And make sure you don't call from a number that can be traced back to you!

Look in a Crisscross Directory

Crisscross Directories have been around since the late 1800s. They're like phone directories. But they organize their listings by phone number, or street address, instead of name. These directories are still available in print form even though most of the information is also now available by computer.

Such cross-references are primarily designed for business use. Usually, sales departments rely on them to conduct direct marketing, build lists of sales leads and gather business intelligence.

The drawback is that they're expensive - costing in the hundreds of dollars or more. Still, you can usually find copies in your library, especially for the local area you live in. If you're looking beyond your own town, you probably won't be able to use the free version in the library.

Get an Inside Connection

Having a buddy on the inside of the phone company was classic approach for TV detectives. If you recall the Rockford Files or Mannix or any other old private eye show, they were forever pulling over to a pay phone and calling their friend, Ginger or Susie or Maggie, at the telephone company. The friend would dutifully give them whatever information the PI needed to pursue the case.

Interestingly, this method actually works - even if it's a little on the shady side. If you know someone at the phone company, you can probably talk them into helping.

Unfortunately, they probably won't help you once a week like on the TV shows. At some point your friend's better judgment will take over. You'll be left with nothing but numbers again. (Makes you wonder, doesn't it, just what the detective had that you don't)

21st Century Answers - The Internet Search Solution

When it comes to finding out who's hiding behind a phone number, the best way I've found is online search. Yet, search takes time. And not finding what you want quickly gets very frustrating.

To help, a number of businesses exist to make reverse phone searching quicker and easier. These businesses have already found the best sources for reverse phone searching. They take you directly to the databases that have the information you need. You can find out names, addresses, and much more, starting with just a phone number.

Some of these Reverse Phone Lookup services are free. The better ones cost a little. Quality always does, in my experience.

If, in your case, it's not that important to get accurate information fast, then give the free services a shot. They're mostly supported by pay for performance advertising, like Adsense, which doesn't earn them much. That means the free services rarely have the money to invest either in buying data access or in creating more usable interfaces.

In my case, as a professional, getting quality information quickly is important. I pay the small fee and get reliable information.

But, even if I didn't write for a living and were just casually looking up phone numbers from time to time, I'd still go with a paid database service. The cost is minimal. Often a small, one-time fee covers one to three years or even longer. If I only looked up a number once or twice a year, it would still be worth it in time saved.

Final Word

As important as it can be, finding out personal information with just a phone number used to be nearly impossible. Today it can be quick and easy. I've found four approaches that work, but one proved the simplest and most effective. It's using a quality, reverse-phone-search service online.

In a future article I'll talk about some of the reasons reverse phone search can be so important in these times. You might be surprised to hear how it not only can satisfy curiosity, it could even save your life.

Find Out About Your Partner without Snooping Through Their Things

No matter how solid our relationships are, every one of us has had a moment in time where we doubt the honesty of our partner. Usually such a feeling of distrust is brought about by a sudden change in behavior. Perhaps your loved one has suddenly lost weight, made new friends, or is staying out late after work. Maybe he or she seems to be taking more phone calls in private than usual, or just seems to be daydreaming more. Most of the time these are innocent changes that occur as part of the growing process, but they are certain to breed insecurity with the one left waiting at home. How can you find the answers without getting caught? As soon as questions arise about our partners, we want answers as quickly. We need to put the fears to rest, or immediately confirm them so we can deal with the problem. One of the oldest forms of spying on a partner has been the act of snooping through their belongings. From going through receipts and credit card bills to checking telephone records and hacking into their e-mail accounts, a suspicious lover will do almost anything to get to the bottom of things. However, these actions can be dangerous. If you are snooping through your partner's belongings, you are most likely suspicious that he or she is being dishonest, but you are not yet ready for a confrontation over it. So what happens if you get caught? At times, snooping is not discreet, and it opens the window to possible discovery. Snooping also may not provide the proof that is so desperately sought. Discover the truth without risking your c over There is a better, faster, more discreet way to find out what your partner has been doing outside of your home. A legal, discrete computer background check can tell you a great deal - without the risk of getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar. Knowing where to start can be tricky, though. You would have to determine which records you wanted to search, and then try to figure out where to go to access those records. Or you could simply use an online background check service, such as Net Detective. For a small fee, these companies will allow you to access their substantial national databases. You can quickly and privately find out all the information you need in just one place. Not only will this save you hours of picking through the mail, the trash, and the laundry, but the efficiency of it will save you plenty of nail-biting as well. You will have a whole host of information available at your fingertips, which can even include insight into your partner's previous relationships. Regardless of what kind of information you seek, you will be able to put your fears to rest almost immediately with an online investigation service.

The Reverse Cell Phone Search

THE REVERSE CELL PHONE SEARCH A phone chirps loudly in the background, with its ring tone revealing that it is your mobile. More than likely, you are preoccupied with several tasks, ranging from returning business emails to finishing dinner for your family. By the time you have an ability to reach for your cell phone, you missed the call, and the person on the other end did not bother to leave a message. Much to your dismay, you find that your cell phone’s highly advanced caller ID service was unable to detect an identity. Could the call have been from a stranded family member? Perhaps simply a wrong number? Let us hope it is not a probable client who came across your company’s brochure! Thanks to modern technology, you no longer have to sit in wonder about the unnamed call to your cell phone. Even if you do not have access to cell phone records, there is a proven way to match a number with a face or place. Perhaps you may want to investigate who is making prank or threatening calls to your phone, or you may want to look into suspicious phone numbers appearing on your spouse’s cell phone bill. By performing a reverse cell phone search, you may be able unravel the mystery and get the answers you need. The overall process of reverse cell phone searches is rather straight forward. With this method, you use a cell phone number to find a person, instead of using their identity to find that number. Since cell phone numbers are not typically listed in your local directory, performing a reverse search on a land line is often easier. However, this is where internet enhancement comes into play. Those looking to conduct a reverse cell phone search online to obtain cell phone records have several different options. The first one is very simple, effective, and will not cost you a dime. Through the popular search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, you can use their databases to derive cell phone and identify information. View it from this perspective. New content is frequently placed online and detected by the search engines, which includes cell phone numbers and records. For example, most newspapers will publish classified ads or even entire editions on a website. If someone lists their phone number, there is a great chance that the phone number has been indexed within the internet and is now available for search. Try conducting a reverse cell phone search by playing with the search box of your preferred engine. Many websites have different criteria of how a phone number should be entered into their database. Be sure to try a few different variations. Some may enter a cell phone number in the manner of 1112223333, while others may prefer a format such as (111) 222-3333. Exercising a bit of creativity in your reverse cell phone search will certainly assist along the way. Using the search engines as free tool is a great way to begin your own reverse cell phone number search. However, to achieve more accurate and detailed cell phone records, you may wish seek professional assistance. Several online experts specialize in reverse cell phone searches, with services ranging from affordable to very expensive. The quality and the depth of the information they provide your reverse cell phone search is very valuable, as you obtain access to their entire database of information and records. In fact, their cell phone records databases can give you a myriad of relevant information, such as personal information, address history, current location, and wireless provider. Paying a fee that quickly produces accurate, detailed information may prove worthwhile in the end, especially in terms of saving you time and energy. A reverse cell phone search can be used for many reasons, such as checking up on your teenager or merely tracking down that phone call you missed. Gathering personal information from a cell phone was once perceived as impossible, but it now can be discovered with speed and accuracy when you access the power of internet databases for reverse cell phone searches.