There are several instances when you don’t quite know whether to trust the other person or not. Maybe you are about to sublet your apartment to someone or hire a stranger for an important project you are working on. How to know if the stranger you are about to blindly trust does not have sinister intent. Also, it would help greatly to know if someone has a criminal background, particularly when it comes to dating or marriage. This post is intended to inform you about ways to effectively run a background check on a person.
Table of Contents
Here Are Some Easy Ways to Run a Background Check on Someone
1) Use the Internet
This is probably the most underestimated way to fish for someone’s personal and professional information without paying a penny or performing any legwork. Just Google the subject’s name and you will have more information that you need. If their name is a common one, then you might have to append the name with their home town as well. Google will scrape out all social media sites, professional sites like LinkedIn, and other activities that they might have performed in the past. If you want to do an in-depth background check that includes checking someone’s criminal record, there are third-party service providers such as Instant Record Check that can fast-track the entire process. They let you do a police record check in just a few minutes for a fee. Lastly, you can purchase a background check from an accredited drug test and screening company like Health Street with Vermont background checks.
2) Use Deep Web
Computer scientist and internet enthusiast Michael K. Bergman came up with the term “deep web” to refer to the little-known and hidden search engines that index the sites or webpages that mainstream search engines like Google, Bing or Yandex don’t. Bear in mind that the deep web is not the same as the dark web. The dark web is a place where illegal activities are carried out and it is better to stay away from it. On deep web, you can find personal and professional information about a person–in a more in-depth form.
3) Seek out Help from Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs)
If you are a landlord and wish to sell, sublet or rent out your home, you would want to go through the subject’s financial history first. It’s true that the credit score is a good measure of someone’s financial health, but it is possible to improve the score with some effort and dedication.
CRAs are independent or state-run agencies that maintain consumer credit information of every US citizen. They are regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. To know someone’s credit history, simply contact a CRA–doesn’t have to be Equifax or Experian–there are several small scale CRAs who offer to work for cheap.
4) Talk to the Subject, in Person
It doesn’t take a detective to figure out when someone is lying. Even if the subject is a chronic lier, there are signs that you can look for that will immediately tell you if they are guilty. However, when you are investigating someone all by yourself, it keys to keep the conversation friendly and jovial. You don’t want to offend an innocent person by asking them too many direct and blunt questions.
Summary
There are the best ways to run a background check on someone. Before you move further, keep in mind that most people do not even bother to Google the name of the person they are subletting their apartment or dating, or being friends with. You are already miles ahead from the rest of the crowd.
