So you finally decided to run a background report on that new guy or girl in your life, your kid’s friend’s parents, or new neighbor – and now you have that sinking feeling you might get found out because they may get a notification you searched their records….
Infotracer does conduct their searches anonymously, but legal parameters and the use of anything electronic will always leave a trail. So the short answer to this question is that no, Infotracer doesn’t notify someone that you’ve conducted a search on their background. The long answer is a little more complicated…
Your Personal Information
Establishing an account in order to conduct a background inspection means that the company will file that information as someone who has ordered searches before. This information is always subject to technological threats and security breaches, but there are also companies that offer the ability for someone to see who has conducted an examination of publicly available information on them personally.
Details About Your Search
Agreeing to a privacy policy means that legally, you can’t use any information found in an anonymous background report against a person, especially if it concerns employment. However, these policies also require that your information must be given to authorities if it is requested by a legal government entity.
So, although Infotracer doesn’t notify a person when you conduct a search, that person can request reports showing them who have run a search on them in the past.
Your Only Other Options
In order to ensure that someone will never, ever find out that you have searched for their information, you would have to physically go through public records in order to find vital records, criminal records, court records, and property records.
Most government databases don’t share with each other, so you would have to conduct a search at the state or local courthouse as well as with the FBI. You can conduct a quick and free search online for sex offenders in your area, but this only works if they are registered as they should be. And simply stalking their social profiles or searching the Internet for their name can provide inaccurate and wimpy results.
This is why the services provided by Infotracer are even offered in the first place. It’s not very practical to conduct such an extensive search on your own, so they offer the ability to scan multiple sources at once for you.
What Now?
In today’s dating world, most people expect to be checked out online before meeting someone or getting to know them better. So a potential date or relationship likely wouldn’t be surprised or offended about you conducting a background search on them. And remember they would have to actually start requesting details about searches conducted about them to virtually every service out there, so it’s not likely they would find out.
You just have to weigh the pros and cons yourself and decide if the risk of the person finding out later that you searched them is worth you ensuring your safety now. Legal requirements force companies to ask for your information in order to conduct searches with them, so this means that your information is being stored in the virtual world somewhere. Although someone can try to discover if anyone’s been searching their records, this doesn’t mean it’s likely.
In short, if you have decided it’s best for you to check a person’s background and make sure you and your family are safe when you’re around them, you can rest easy. If you’re just being a Nosy Nancy and trying to spy on every neighbor you’ve ever had or a simple acquaintance just because you’re curious, the risk of them discovering this later may be quite embarrassing and reason enough to leave it alone.
These background informations are meant to provide valuable insight into a person’s criminal history to help keep you safe and informed. If you expect to just run the names of everyone you’ve ever met or sat in a meeting with, you’re not utilizing the service for what it was created for. Use your best judgment and if you really need some kind of verification or more information about someone, then carry on and remain confident you’re doing the best thing for you.
