The proof is in the pudding

We have become a culture of disillusioned skeptics, and unfortunately this phenomenon is warranted. We’ve all been burned, time and time again, by those whom we recklessly trusted without good reason, other than the desire to believe they are trustworthy. As much as we’d like to rely on someone’s word, experience shows that it’s simply too risky, and we can’t afford to keep taking that risk.

We big city dwellers know that with so many people out there, the likelihood of all of them being decent, honest individuals is reversely proportionate to the rapidly growing figures of urban population. Often, individuals with criminal backgrounds flock to great metropolises to blend into the crowded streets and become the proverbial needles in the haystacks.

Hence, investigating the history of businesses and individuals every step of the way is quickly becoming a common practice, and in many cases, the law. Companies offering various background check services have mushroomed in the recent years, naturally responding to the law of supply and demand. The prudent thing to do is distinguish reliable services with access to thorough, current information from fly-by-night opportunists. Unfortunately, like with everything else, the rule of thumb here is: nothing for nothing makes nothing.

For instance, unlike land line directories where you must pay a fee to keep your number unpublished, free cell phone directories are a myth. By definition, cell phone numbers are meant to be kept private, and unwelcome calls from, say, telemarketers, are illegal, because the subscriber pays for every call. In this case, to research a person behind a cell phone number, we must rely on companies who specialize in reverse cell phone lookups.

According to recent news reports, State Departments of Public Services (DPS) are usually reactive, rather than proactive in collecting criminal records, and unless counties report all cases, DPS records are incomplete. Recent investigations by private agencies determined that on average more than a third of criminal records are omitted from the DPS databases. A word of caution: you may end up paying a fee to what you believe is the most reliable source of criminal record information, only to end up with falsely reassuring reports.

Like with any background check from a public agency, Search Detective charges a nominal fee, but we make it our business to collect the latest, most accurate public record information, including unpublished cell phone numbers that may reveal the hidden and potentially dangerous details about the owner. More often than not, it saves much more money in the long run; what’s more important, it may save lives. As we know, peace of mind is priceless.