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Cynthia Hetherington
HetheringtonGroup.com
Investigating on the Internet:
Research Tools for Fraud
Examiners
Public Record Searches and Computer
Databases
2 of 25
Limitations of Online Records
Types of records vary widely from state to
state
Searches are limited to geography
Online records may be brief abstracts of
original records
3 of 25
Limitations of Online Records
Source of information must be
reliable
Accuracy and currency of data must
be verified
Online records may not go back very
far
4 of 25
Public Records
Litigation history
Media history
Business and personal
affiliations
SEC filings
Corporate records
Regulatory history
Property records
Academic records
Financial Records
Vendor and supplier
relationships
Board appointments
Liens, judgments, and
UCCs
Subsidiaries and
franchises
Physical assets
Intellectual property
Political and charitable
causes
5 of 25
Right to Privacy?
“Privacy” is not found in either the
U.S. Constitution or the Bill of
Rights.
It is referenced in many court
rulings, but only to address specific
circumstances or types of records.
6 of 25
Online Records:
What Can They Be Used For?
UCC filings
Locating people
DMV records
Finding legal
records
Marriage/divorce
indexes
Financial or credit
information
Telephone listings
State civil court
records
Property records
OSHA records
Federal civil court
records
7 of 25
Online Records:
What Can They Be Used For?
Voter registration
records
Locating assets
Credit header
information
Federal criminal
court records
Corporate filings
Professional
licenses
Tax assessor rolls
Background
checks
State criminal
court records
8 of 25
Court or Litigation Records
Financial information (bankruptcy or
divorce)
Psychological state (divorce)
Medical reports (injury or accident
litigation)
9 of 25
Litigation History
There may be problems identifying
court jurisdiction.
Some records exist only at the county
level.
Investigators may have to search
multiple jurisdictions if the subject
either lived or acted in multiple
locations.
10 of 25
Online Records
Voter registration
Marriage license
Real property
Property tax
Civil actions
Criminal actions
Litigation history
Divorces
Bankruptcy
Probate
11 of 25
Online Records
Business filings
Corporate
registration
Fictitious business
names/DBA
Uniform
commercial code
filings
Employee and
labor records
State tax filings
Professional
associations and
licensing boards
12 of 25
Online Databases
Most information is available online
Some information may need to be
retrieved in hard copy and delivered
There are annual, monthly, or “pay as
you go” services
13 of 25
Online Database Sources
LexisNexis
CLEAR
IRBSearch
infoUSA.com
Tracersinfo
LocatePlus
Dialog
D&B
Experian
BVDep
SkyMinder
Kompass
14 of 25
Other Websites of Interest
Court websites
• State court websites
• Federal court websites
• International court websites
• Other court-related websites
15 of 25
Other Sites of Interest
CPA Directory
SEC filings
Obituaries
Professional oversight committees per state
16 of 25
Search Strategies
Develop a past address
Establish the date of birth (DOB)
Discover the Social Security number
(SSN)
17 of 25
Search Strategies
Most services use “text string
matching”
Recognize the order of the more to
less powerful searches
Watch costs
18 of 25
Types of Searches
Credit bureau header
Current occupant/new address
Last name
Bankruptcy filings, tax liens, and court
judgments
Department of Motor Vehicles
19 of 25
Financial Information
and Assets
Do assets exist, where do they exist,
and are they recoverable?
Search for hard assets.
Search for asset potential.
20 of 25
Start Here
BRBpublications.com
Searchsystems.net
Knowx.com
Intellius.com
Zabasearch.com
21 of 25
Hard Assets: Real Property Records
22 of 25
Hard Assets: Property Tax Records
23 of 25
Finding Legal Records
Onsite court searches
• Jurisdictional issues
• Will not include litigation information that has been
selected by the court
• Each court has own rules
24 of 25
Conducting Background Checks
Background checks are generally conducted
for two reasons:
• Perform due diligence
• Discover information about prospective employees
25 of 25
More Information on Public Records
Read information journals by:
• Data2know.com: Internet & Online
Intelligence Newsletter @
www.data2know.com
• Information Advisor @
www.informationadvisor.com
• Information Today publications @
www.infotoday.com
• BRB Public Record Blog @
publicrecordsblog.typepad.com/
• Spending time in business libraries