"What if you wanted to find out everything about someone? Literally everything, including what they ate for lunch yesterday.
Would that be possible?
I often tell clients that anything is possible. Any motivated party can find out (just about) anything about someone. But everything?
Absolutely.
This, of course, means sticking to all legal and ethical boundaries that we have. I am sure some other people might have some more nefarious methods, like hacking into someone’s computer or phone, either of which is pretty much the hub of all personal information (if you don’t believe me, just ask the FBI). So here we go…"
Public Records
"I would even go to the extent of contacting every police department in each town/city the person lived in, checking by name, aliases and addresses to see whether they ever had any run-ins with the law, regardless of how minor they were (jaywalking included). I learned my lesson recently when doing some research on a person who seemed like a perfectly nice gentleman, until I found out that he had been harassing his neighbors for the past 15 years.
And I would go back to every town, city, county and state that the person had lived in since turning 18 (most everything before that would have occurred when a person was a minor, which in most states means the information is off limits)."........
Open Source Searches
"Next I would tackle open source searches. This means anything that may not necessarily fall within public records (e.g., some type of government document), such as historical news media, employment history, education history and professional affiliations.
I would even go to the local libraries where the person had lived and scour the local newspapers for anything I could get my hands on. College newspapers too. High school and college yearbooks also might be a good source. I’d be looking for not-so-flattering information, gaps in employment history, downright lies or ties to nefarious characters......."
Social Media
"Next, I would dive into social media. Whether or not the person is active on social media, chances are they are somewhere out there; you just need to find them or their footprint......"
The Internet
"Everyone can do a Google search. But at this level, you will need to go beyond simple search engine searches. You need to scour the depths of the Internet to find fake profiles that the person might have created or identify them on lists they shouldn’t be on (Ashley Madison, anyone?). Maybe they posted on some historic message board under one of their various alter egos or handles.
Don’t underestimate the power of the Internet......"
Surveillance
"Everything we have done up to this point provides a pretty good picture about someone. But when you want to find out everything about someone, you need to know what they are up to right now. What their routines are. Where they shop, work and bank. And of course, who they meet up with...."
Read the entire article at: Diligentia Group
