Can someone find out if I look up their records?

crumpet · August 5th, 2009, 02:05 PM

My friend wants to use Intelius to look up some info on a man she is interested in. Not in a stalkerish way, just curious, and not too many details (but criminal history is of interest). She doesn't have a computer, so I'd be doing it as a favor. The Intelius FAQ says no one will know if you are looking someone up . Does anyone have any experience with this and do you think I can believe them that this guy won't ever know I paid $1 to get his records/info?

Thanks.

sharky · August 5th, 2009, 02:33 PM

I think there is always an electronic trail, but that would only probably be pursued in terrorism, murder, etc.

Looking up someone is not a stupid thing to do nowadays IMO.

fgg · August 5th, 2009, 02:40 PM

your friend should be careful with the info you find though. i did this when i first started dating my current guy. found out he had a kid (before he could tell me) and got into trouble for some stupid stuff he did when he was in his late teens/early 20s (which confirmed what he told me). i ended up asking him about the kid once i felt like enough time had passed that he should have told me and we got into a huge fight because i invaded his privacy, blah, blah, blah.

in this day an age, if you have those kinds of recourses available, i think you would be silly not to look into it.

burnt_toast · August 5th, 2009, 02:44 PM

Criminal history is public record and is often available online for free (and via a service that doesn't require an account ... thus no name trail). She should start with the website of the county in which they live ...

is this in the US?

crumpet · August 5th, 2009, 02:51 PM

^^^Yes, it's in the US. I know you can look up criminal records for particular cities or counties but it would take forever to look up every county in the state. I mean, if he lived out of state and got arrested for beating his girlfriewnd it wouldn't show up on the records of his current county, only the place he was arrested and charged and went to court. This search says everywhere they've lived and legal records from all those places, including divorce (for instance). Some people lie abou their past re: marriage, being divorced, having relatives.

As for the guy who got mad at you Gatorgirl for invading his privacy, he was wrong. Having a kid is a huge issue that should be put on the table from the get go. It is deceitful not to and I have to wonder what the motive would be. There are people who just don't want to date parents (not that we aren't friends with them) and no one has a right to get all involved with me then spring that on me.

fgg · August 5th, 2009, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crumpet

As for the guy who got mad at you Gatorgirl for invading his privacy, he was wrong. Having a kid is a huge issue that should be put on the table from the get go. It is deceitful not to and I have to wonder what the motive would be. There are people who just don't want to date parents (not that we aren't friends with them) and no one has a right to get all involved with me then spring that on me.

well, i found out about it in a shady way - i have a friend who has access to records that the average person couldn't get to. it's a whole long story but i was like what if that was a dealbreaker for me? not fair keeping something like that when i'm so honest. the story is that the kid is like 10 and he didn't know about him for a lot of years so it is a sensitive subject.

Daphne · August 5th, 2009, 07:07 PM

Accurint and Autotrack are also good for finding info about people. We used them frequently at the news agency I interned for. Like Sharky said, there is an electronic trail, but I don't think there is any way for the person in question to find out you accessed their information.

DolceVita · August 5th, 2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloridaGatorGirl

well, i found out about it in a shady way - i have a friend who has access to records that the average person couldn't get to. it's a whole long story but i was like what if that was a dealbreaker for me? not fair keeping something like that when i'm so honest. the story is that the kid is like 10 and he didn't know about him for a lot of years so it is a sensitive subject.

You are very forgiving! I would find it hard trusting someone who kept their child a secret regardless of how long they'd known they were a father. I guess i'm the cynical type..

fgg · August 5th, 2009, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DolceVita

You are very forgiving! I would find it hard trusting someone who kept their child a secret regardless of how long they'd known they were a father. I guess i'm the cynical type..

i do trust him but i haven't really gotten past it. i want to ask a ton of questions but i haven't really broached the subject since out argument about it. to my knowledge, he pays for the child but doesn't see him.

Novice · August 9th, 2009, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crumpet

My friend wants to use Intelius to look up some info on a man she is interested in. Not in a stalkerish way, just curious, and not too many details (but criminal history is of interest). She doesn't have a computer, so I'd be doing it as a favor. The Intelius FAQ says no one will know if you are looking someone up . Does anyone have any experience with this and do you think I can believe them that this guy won't ever know I paid $1 to get his records/info?

Thanks.

They're a cummunation of public info, e.g. criminal records, property records & in some states tax records, etc....
No, he won't know since its a database search & they're not going to email him or anything. However, if she tells him... well, then he'd know. Has she thought of going to a library to do it instead since it might open up a whole can of worms of you find out something that he doesn't want to tell her - or whats to tell her in his own time.
If you want a proper search the extra charge is usually worth it.

zigzag · August 13th, 2009, 09:19 PM

she could run his name thru your states Criminal justice system and sex offender lists for free. for the sex offenders go to watchdog.com and for your state's penitentary's listing you may need to google, but it should be there to look up anyone with any felony convictions anyway.

she could try calling the police department and asking if they would run his name and telling them why. once i went to a game night at some people's house i met online and wanted to scope them out first and the police were fine with letting me know there had not been any disturbances in that home and they had no record when i explained why i wanted the information. they thought i was wise for asking. criminals are not protected from the public, their records are public so you are not breaking any laws by asking if it is to protect yourself. i even told the people i checked them out and they got a big laugh out of it when i told them they checked out. they said they had a good security system so if anything happened it would be recorded, lol.

good luck.