Using the Internet and search engines like Google and Yahoo you can gain access to all sorts of publically available federal, state and local records. Unfortunately your search won’t take you very far if all you have to go on is a first name. But if you can manage to get the person’s full first name (not a nickname), last name, and ideally either a telephone number or city or state of residence, you’ve got enough to get the balls rolling.

Most people reveal plenty of personal information without even realizing they’ve revealed it. So tune in and don’t miss out! As you communicate, listen for talk of things that may trigger a public record.

For example, does the person make reference to his home? If so you might find accessible public records regarding deeds, liens and bankruptcies. Has she admitted to being previously married? If so be sure to tap into the local database that maintains records of divorce to verify whether it’s truly “over.” Starting to get the idea?

Google that name

Just as you would do if you were searching vacation destinations, you can use Google to search for a particular person. Simply type the first and last name of the person you want to search into the search box and remember to add quotations around the name before pressing enter. That way your search results are limited to the words contained within the quotations.

Within seconds Google’s search will likely result in one or more pages of links containing the name entered between the quotes. By reading the brief summary that appears below each link, you’ll have a better idea which are worthy of further investigation and which are not.

If you see any that appear at first glance to match the person you’re searching, open the link and read on. It may be a dead end and if so, just close the link and continue. But it may reveal something you didn’t already know about the person or offer another lead worth pursuing. You never know what you’ll find with Google but it’s definitely worth checking, especially since you can easily do this yourself.

Other helpful sites

Another valuable web site for finding information on a specific person is www.findpublicrecords.com . After entering as much of the person’s name as you can you’re presented with a list of entries that match the name entered plus that particular individual’s age, immediate family members, and previous cities lived in (if available).

If you’re able to match the person with the details, you’ve struck gold and can now dig a lot deeper. It’ll cost you anywhere from a few dollars up to about $50 for a full-blown background check that includes a search of state criminal records, aliases, historical address information, property details, marriage, divorce and death records, and more.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money and your primary interest is checking out a person’s criminal history, try searching state law enforcement databases. Simply enter [name of state] criminal history search into your search engine then look for links to actual government agencies. Government agency websites typically end in .gov or .us and/or include the word “state” in the website address. Navigate the site until you find where to conduct your search. Fees charged, if any, depend on the state and the type of search you’re conducting.

With so much information so readily available, it doesn’t make sense to forgo checking someone out before getting further involved. If that’s not enough incentive then consider this: Doing so could save your life or the life of a loved one!