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Skiptracing 101
Billy Wells
Pronto Process
San Antonio
www.bountyhunt.com
This will be a basic "How-to" in the art of skiptracing. I will be sharing
with you the things I have learned about finding people who are lost, misplaced, or hiding. I have been an in-house
investigator for one of the largest automobile repossession companies in South Texas. I am also a licensed private
investigator and have hunted bond skips for over 5 years. I am the Executive Director of the U.S.-P.B.I.A., a national
association of bounty hunters and bail bondsmen. I am also a licensed bail bondsman in San Antonio, Texas. I own
a civil process serving business in San Antonio. Most of my training has been OJT (on the job training), but I
did learn a lot from Glen Arnold, my "Guru." I dedicate this training manual to him, and our friendship.
NAME
The very first thing I do is determine the subject's full and complete name and
any nicknames. If it is a female then you may need the variations of maiden or previous married names. If they
have a very common name then using all their names will narrow down the search. Basically what you are looking
for is a specific address on a specific date. This will give you a starting point from which to conduct your search.
If you have the complete name you can check many sources. I remember a time when
a man wanted me to find an old girlfriend of 30 years past. All he had was her name at that time and the names
of 2 children. You and I both know that women change their names often as they get married/divorced, so I really
doubted if I could find this woman. But by putting her name in my Pro CD of the U.S. I got 2 hits. With a phone
call I found the right person. You always must check the obvious first. I cannot tell you how many times the person
I was looking for had a listed phone number. So this is the first thing you check with the name: do they have a
phone? Perhaps the phone is listed in the spouse's name. Also, it may be that they now have a non-pub number but
in the past they had a listed number. I always check my CD-ROM to see if they had a listed number in the past.
They may live at the same address, and have a different phone number. If you find them with a non-pub number, an address can be obtained through
an outside source. I have looked hard and long for someone, only to find out that they had a listed number and
address with Directory Assistance. Don't overlook the obvious.
If you have the name and date-of-birth you can search the Driver's License and get
a date and address. This is one of the most important things about finding someone: can you pinpoint the time and
location? I use that information to find out who the Target was living with. This might be a clue to where the
Target is. If the Target is hiding, that doesn't mean the spouse is. Remember that Law Enforcement uses Name and
DOB, and credit uses Name and SSN. So there are 2 sides, the criminal and credit side, that you can search. Many
states use the SSN as the Driver's License number. Texas does not use the SSN in the DL. At least in Texas we have
the entire Driver's License on the Internet. Many states have a closed system for Driver's Licenses, so you will
need a Law Enforcement connection to get information. The Driver's License is supposed to be a current address-although
you have 30 days to update it, few do. But it is a clue to where they once were, and perhaps family still lives
there, or the neighbors remember them and where they moved to. Special Note: In every neighborhood there is always
a "busy body" that knows everything about all the neighbors. You have to knock doors until you find them.
If you have searched the nation/region for the Target's name and have no luck, and
you know what part of the country your Target was from, you can work the people in that area with the same name.
Just the other day, I knew the region where my target lived and knew he had a non-pub phone number and I needed
the new number and address. I just called the local police and asked if they knew him and they gave me a relative's
name and when I called and asked for him, they gave me the correct phone number. Bingo! If I have a phone number
I got you. Often times the people with the same last name in a region are related. And they are not all hiding.
Call the relatives and plan a reunion, High School, old Army buddies, offer a job.whatever.
Skip tracing is like running down rabbit trails. As I am working a case I create
another trail to go down and that trail leads me to others. Occasionally you will work a case until you have no
more leads and get stuck. When this happens I will put the case away and check it again in a month or so. You never
know what might pop up new on the SSN or you may find something you overlooked the first time around.
I always want to start with as much information as possible. If they have an application,
then I want a copy of that application. Sometimes they don't see the things I can see when I look at an application.
If they had a maiden name, then maybe they have gone back to using that name. If they were living with someone
else perhaps they are still together, or they put the two names together to make a variation of a new name. Common
Law. Maybe your Target just borrowed a name and operates under that name.
If you have a name and DOB (date-of-birth) you can usually get an old address. You
can check the local criminal records in the County courthouse-it is public record. By checking public records you
may find they were bonded out by a company that has their application on file. With an old address and name (prefer
2 old addresses) you can get an SSN. Then if you run an SSN
header you can get lots of past addresses and possibly a current address.
In addition to that you get the people who entered the information and you can work with them in your skiptracing.
I like to run all the old addresses and see how they related to my Target, and when. They may be old girlfriends,
in-laws, out-laws, ex-spouses/girlfriends, parents, or best buddies. He may have left people on bad terms, and
these people might like to get even with your Target, (dime him out) (Drop a dime) (Rat) (Snitch). Remember, as
long as there is a rabbit trail to run down, you are not beaten yet. I believe anyone can be found given enough
time and money. You have to set your own limits.
One time I was after a man, my Target, and all the information was wrong. It was
information about the Target's girlfriend's brother. I contacted the brother but he refused to help, but accidentally
he did give me the first name of my Target. With that information and phone numbers and address I was able to piece
together who my Target really was. Thus the capture was made. In every lie, there is a little truth.
Using the name of your Target, check with public utilities. Normally the Electric companies are not too
cooperative. If you are serving civil process you can get that information, even if you have to use a subpoena.
But usually the local water departments will help you with an address, name, or forwarding. I always try this source
if my Target does not have a phone number or it is a non-pub. I call as a "Special Investigator from Bexar
County" which I am. Or I might be an "Officer of the Court" if I am indeed with Civil Process. I
might have to use some "Law Enforcement" help if it is a criminal and I need information. Only last week
we were looking for a skip and were checking where the school-aged children and their records transferred. If you
are a private investigator working with an attorney, then records can be subpoenaed. I have had them tell me "No"
and with a subpoena they say, "Yes".
If you have the name and SSN you can check with the Cable TV. You can be the customer
checking on where your bill is being sent, or ordering new service/moving existing-but never go through with the
order. Stall them until you can check with your spouse. If you have a "contact" with the Cable Co. you
have a world of information. Most people will not do without their cable. We once looked for a Target that was
slick. He moved into a bills-paid apartment with no forwarding. But he could not live without his Cable TV. The
Cable TV is what found him, and he lost his car.
ADDRESS
If you have a given address you must determine a date or time that the Target was
at that address and determine whose name the utilities were in at that time. By checking with the Utilities Company
you can find out if there was a forward or new utilities in that name. I have often called the water department
and gotten good information as to whether they skipped, owe money, or forwarded. Also from the Utilities you can
get the time that they left (skipped). You may find that they take up new utilities at another location at about
the same time, but with a different name. That is why it is always important to know who was living with your Target.
If you don't know how to get utility information, then call a local car repo company and see how they do it in
your area.
Find the neighbors of the Target at the given address. You can use your PRO CD-ROM
of the US to locate neighbors of your Target. I like to do as much of my investigation as I can using the phone.
Eventually you may have to do some legwork, but at the beginning you can cover a lot of ground using the phone.
By calling the neighbors you can find out if they know where your target moved, remembering, there is always a
"Busy Body" in every neighborhood. I like to use pretexts when talking to neighbors. I may be trying
to find them to deliver a package, or calling about a job, or serving legal papers. The National Emergency Message
Center is a good way to get information from a neighbor. There are times when my target has a non-pub number, or
a phone number that I don't know, so one could call the neighbor and have them deliver a message from the National
Emergency Message Center, for the Target to call our 800 Trap line. Works every time.
You can get an address forward from the Post Office for 20 cents. We have our "Capitol
Couriers" delivery service. We deliver legal papers, criminal warrants, messages, and packages. We mail to
all the Target's known addresses past and present and see if we can get a forwarding. You must request that the
Post Card not be forwarded and an Address Correction Requested. I cannot tell you how many appointments we have
made to arrest someone, serve them papers, or just make a $100 location fee for a 20-cent post card. This is one
of the strongest tools in our arsenal. If you don't have a delivery service, I don't know how you can find anyone.
We have an 800 Trapline service, which works like caller ID that cannot be blocked. We issue extension numbers
that ID the target that is calling in. A Trapline service is a must for any "real" investigator. So we
mail out our post cards by the hundred and sit back and wait for the phone to ring. We do repeated mailings if
the card doesn't come back return to sender. That means someone is getting the card. If you keep mailing, finally
they will call to see what is going on. If you trap a number from a post card, you can call as the "Dispatcher"
and get delivery instructions. Remember that if you are using a courier the Target must be available to sign for
the package. That way you know if the Target really resides at that location or at least when they will be there
for delivery, in case you want their car. I once had a Target that I mailed a Capitol Couriers to, and he called
back expecting delivery. I went to the location with a package in hand, but the Target had gone to the river to
swim. I left my card and when the Target arrived home he called for delivery. We arrived and made the arrest. Amazing
that someone would call and make an appointment to be arrested!
If your Target is in a small town, you can use your CD-ROM with great success. You
can pull up all the bars, groceries stores, video stores, and pizza places and let your fingers dial for dollars.
I once had a minor skip in a small town some 100 miles away. Too far to go and do foot work because there was not
enough money in the recovery. I had to let my fingers do the walking. I pulled up all the bars, because I know
that they usually drink, smoke and chase women. From the bars I learned little, but then I went to the small corner
grocery. There I found that my skip had left town and where he probably went and how long ago he left. Sure saved
myself a long drive for nothing.
Remember that the Pizza Hut keeps all phone numbers of their customers on computer
as well as Radio Shack. Sometimes you can get an address off a phone number. I have called the local video store
to see if my "wife" has a card there, and from there I can usually get an address or phone number. Also
911 has all numbers and addresses recorded, if there has ever been a 911 call from that number, so if you have
Law Enforcement connections you are in.
You can check with the Local Authorities and see if your Target has been handled (been in jail
or is on probation). I was once looking for a woman and knew she was living with a man who had a non-pub number
in a little town. I called the local video store to see if they had them as customer, and believe it or not, the
husband of the owner of the video store was a local cop. He had handled the brother of the boyfriend of my target
and told me the phone number of an aunt. When I called the aunt and asked for the boyfriend by name, she gave me
the correct number. With the phone number, you can do a dial around (using a calling card) and offer a free long
distance calling card, and where would you like it sent? Works every time.
In the little towns everyone has to buy gas, cigarettes, and groceries, and most
people eat out. So in a little community where everyone knows everyone, try the local hangouts. If you know what
your Target does for a living then check with the locals and see if they know where he works.
Billy Wells' process serving business, Pronto Process, is located in San Antonio,
Texas
Additional information regarding this and related topics is available by subscription
at: ProSkiptracer.com
Re-printed by permission. Copyright © 1999 IIS. All rights reserved.
Revised: July 9, 1999.
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