Permissible Purposes to Run a Credit Report

The Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates the use of credit reports in an effort to protect a consumer's privacy. All users of a credit report must have a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act in order to obtain a credit report.

While there are a number of permissible purposes listed under the act, generally speaking, there are three which are applicable. The first permissible purpose is whenever the consumer gives permission in writing. The second is whenever the extension of credit is as a result of an application for credit from a consumer. The third and more complicated permissible purpose is when there is a legitimate business need in connection with a business transaction that is initiated by the consumer.

Here is a list of the most common permissible purposes:

• In response to a court order-the consumer reporting agency may furnish reports if so direct by court order.
• The consumer’s written instructions- the consumer reporting agency may furnished when the consumer gives the reporting agency written instructions to do so.
• Credit-consumers reporting agencies may furnish information in connection with a credit transaction involving the consumer and involving the extension of credit,review or collection of an account.
• Employment-consumer reporting agencies may furnish information for employment purposes defined as evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee.
• Business Purposes-consumer reporting agencies may furnish reports when there is a legitimate need for the information in connection with a business transaction initiated by the consumer and the person requesting the information.
• Insurance- consumer reporting agencies may furnish reports in connection with the underwriting of insurance.

Deadbeat Parent Locator

• Federal Parent Locator Service This is a resource to aid in locating a deadbeat parent.
• Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement This is a wonderful resource with lots of information.
• State Level Programs Just click on your state to be taken to its child support site.
• OCSE's Profile Of State Systems Just click on the appropriate state to get information about child support laws in that state.
• SupportGuidelines.com From the site: "SupportGuidelines.com is the comprehensive resource for the interpretation and application of child support guidelines in the United States. It is designed to be an aid primarily for attorneys who wish to research the law of child support in general and child support guidelines in particular."
• How To Collect Child Support Here you'll find some helpful advice.
• Other Resources Here are some links to helpful pamphlets and other resources.
• Handbook On Child Support Enforcement The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Program, a federal/state/local partnership to collect child support, provides a nice, online handbook.
• Child Support Information Here is some helpful legal information, courtesy of Nolo.com.
• Enforcement of Child Support Orders FAQ This will answer many of the questions you have about child support enforcement, courtesy of Nolo.com.
• Association For Children For Enforcement Of Support (ACES) This site offers a free self-help child support collection guide.
• International Central Authorities, Receiving Agencies, and Child Support Contacts Here is contact information organized by nation.
• WantedPosters.com's Hall Of Shame Post information about a deadbeat parent here. Provide a tip, if you have one, to help find a deadbeat parent. Check to see if someone is an alleged deadbeat here.
• DeadbeatLocators.com's Hall Of Shame Check their database of alleged deadbeats here.

Texas Attorney General Opinion on Court Records

The Attorney General issued an opinion applying the Social Security Redaction Act to public court records. Basically, the county clerks will be required to review each file/document you request and redact the SS#.

How does this work? In Dallas County, you can no longer view Deed images on-line. You must go to the clerk's office and pull the microfiche tapes to view the documents or make a list of the docs and have the clerk print them out for you (at the cost of (at least) $1 per page vs. FREE from your office computer). The microfiche files only go to 2005, so recent documents are not available for viewing without first paying for them at the courthouse. I hear Tarrant is following suit soon.

If you think you can just use a Title Company, think again. They have the documents through last week...but they have to buy them from the county and can't get the new ones either. Collin County will not let you see any Deeds, on-line or off-line, without the clerk printing them off for you first for $0.50 per page.

I also have also been told that Kaufman county & Rockwall county have shut down their Deeds office. Also,Rockwall county will not let you look at a criminal file without the clerk first reviewing it and redacting info as necessary. All the counties offered by Texas Land Records on their website no longer offer the images on-line.

Right now, it seems the biggest impact is on the Deed Records, however, I suspect they will soon apply it to all court records (criminal, civil, divorce,probate, etc.). Get ready for long waits, more copy cost expenses, multiple trips to the courthouse on the same case, more parking, more mileage, more headaches.

The opinion is not binding, and some counties may ignore it.

Reverse Phone

Reverse unlisted phone number lookup and reverse cell phone look up; how are they related to a Reverse Phone Directory search.

Performing a search of a reverse phone directory is simple. This powerful tool allows you to find a name and address to go with that slip of paper containing a mysterious phone number in your paperwork.

Most traditional white page directories offer a reverse phone lookup. This is the most popular directory assistance tool used on the Internet.

Reverse phone look up is easy to use and provides accurate and timely results. If the phone number you are searching is listed with a phone company, traditional 411 operators will have that person or business information. Of course the cost of calling directory assistance ranges from $0.50 - $2.00 per inquiry.

Consider performing a reverse phone search when that mysterious phone number pops up on caller I.D. but has no name attached to it. Here is a list of potential reasons why someone may consider using a reverse phone lookup tool to identify;

• Harassing Callers
• Stalkers
• The "other person" in an affair
• Kids' friends, boyfriends/girlfriends
• Those annoying hang-ups in the middle of the night.

While searching the term reverse phone in Google or other search engines you will literally find 100,000's of web sites that offer this useful tool.

The difference between a basic reverse phone search you would find on Google or many other web sites is that they only use a standard flat file or a flat file that needs to be updated from one or two sources.

What most people really don't understand is how or where to get reverse unlisted number search or reverse cell phone number look up information. There are very few web sites that offer this information without a substantial fee.

As far as I know, there is only one website that offers the convenience of reversing residential and business land line phone numbers that are both listed and unlisted as well as some cell phone information with out charging for it.

It offers direct access to a reverse phone number search that connects to twenty-four different systems updated in real-time including unlisted phone number and cell phone number databases.

If you know of any other online free reverse phone number searches that offer unlisted and cell phone data please comment here so we can all learn about the great tools available to this industry.

PI Industry Blogs Creates Paranoia Rather Than Educate

Why do so many PI Industry blogs seemingly like to create paranoia within the industry rather than educate it's fellow members?

I subscribe to many online groups, blogs and associations. I also subscribe to many PI industry trade magazines. The majority of the articles and blogs written by fellow Private Investigators or self-described "industry experts", tend to document their opinions or interpretations of the law rather than educating the industry of the facts.

Here is one example of such a post from
http://www.informationweek.com/

It's Official: Pretexting Is Illegal - President Bush signed a bill last week making a controversial practice known as "pretexting," a federal offense. The law specifically forbids the act of misrepresentation, impersonation or deception in order to obtain personal telephone information. Just five months ago, pretexting fell into a gray area of the law. The complete post can be found by clicking here.

This and other uneducated posts only allow one to speculate what the law is and only offers an uneducated interpretations of the law, rather than disclose the factual nature of the law itself.

I have personally tried to post factual information regarding pretext laws and each time the moderator of some PI groups have exercised their right to sensor my opinion by not posting my message.

I have have specialized in telephone investigations since 1997, in the last year the FTC, FCC, Congress and even several State's Attorney Generals offices have focused on how information brokers and private investigators have accessed telephone / cellular call records from the various Telco carriers.

In their investigation into this issue these government agencies have found that the primary way information brokers and private investigators have gained access to these records have been by "pretexting" the carrier in a variety of creative ways.

Their investigation prompted President Bush to sign into law H.R. 4709 - The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006.

The term Pretext can be defined as: Obtaining secret or private information by pretending to be someone eligible to see that information; in other words, giving a fictitious identity (pretext) to obtain restrictive information.

While this sounds illegal, it is not.

In fact the ONLY laws I have found that prohibit pretexting are limited to pretext for financial information (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999),
and now for call records (H.R. 4709 - The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006).

While I certainly obey the current laws and must agree with them, I disagree with the opinion when the term "pretext" as a whole is used or interpreted as illegal. And, in fact is an essential tool for many industries including the Private Investigative Industry, police officers, collection agencies and even our government.

Find historical records - 50 state list - Delaware - California - Wisconsin

The National Archives provides links to all the state archives, which sometimes have online indexes of public records that are not at the local jurisdiction’s Web site. While these may be of more relevance to genealogists, private investigators often are charged with developing social histories for criminal defense cases, tracing beneficiaries for real estate matters, rooting out unclaimed assets or developing background on people and companies.

After you get to the state archives site look for a link to online databases or family history records if you don’t see the type of record listed you’re interested in. If the index isn’t online you can review the index and records at the state archive or receive microfilm through inter library loan. The California list of family history records includes:

• COUNTY RECORDS 1850-1987. Includes probate court case files, wills, naturalizations, deeds, homesteads, and vital records for 28 counties. Not all records are available for all counties.
• MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS* 1856-1972. Records may include registers and case files for Stockton, DeWitt, Modesto, Mendocino, and Sonoma State Hospitals. Some indexes available.

The Delaware Archives house state historical documents and have created an online index of probate files covering the years 1680 -1925. Search by last name, first name is optional, for a list of full names, date and county of filing.

These are not indexes to all the names appearing in the records, but only the names of the deceased for whom the files were created. Contained in each index are the individual’s name, and a date or dates. The dates correspond to the date of the documents within that individual’s file and may refer to a date of the will or to a date for probate to begin. New Castle and Kent County Probates are on self service microfilm available in our Research Room, and Sussex is in the process of being filmed (inquire with Research Room staff for details). Copies of this microfilm are also available for sale.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has an online Wisconsin Name Index to their holdings. Order document images for a fee. The Wisconsin Name Index includes 150 county and local histories, dozen of professional directories and biographical encyclopedias, more than 60 scrapbooks containing 30,000 obituaries, and selected articles in Wisconsin magazines and newspapers. These publications were indexed by Wisconsin Historical Society librarians between roughly 1870 and 1970 but contain information on individuals from earlier date ranges. You can search the Wisconsin Name Index and purchase full text copies of available items which will be mailed directly to you.

HR 4709 - Telephone Records & Privacy Act of 2006

President Bush Signs HR 4709 -Telephone Records and Privacy Act of 2006

(Posted on behalf of NCISS and written by Bruce Hulme)
President Bush signed H.R. 4709, the “Telephone Records and Privacy Act of 2006″ on Friday, June 12th. This Bill passed the House last April and the Senate on the last of the 109th Congress in December.

In addition - Bryan Wagner, a Colorado “private investigator” formerly in the employ of Action Research Group, was the first “player” in the Hewlett-Packard scandal pled guilty to federal charges. He is expected to testify against others that have or will be charged in connection with obtaining telephone records and computer information. Charges are also pending in the California court.

H.R. 4709 bans pretexting of telephone companies and their customers for “Confidential Phone Records Information.” Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting “Sec. 1039. Fraud and related activity in connection with obtaining confidential phone records on a covered entity.” Key elements in this criminal violation are interstate or foreign commerce, making false statements to a covered entity, its employees, the customer or knowingly providing a false or fraudulent document to the entity or accessing customer accounts via the Internet, or by means of conduct that violate section 1030 of this title, without prior authorization from the customer.

There is a prohibition on the sale and transfer of Confidential Phone Records without prior authorization from the customer. A prohibition also exists in knowingly and intentionally purchasing or receiving (or attempting to do so) such information without prior authorization from the customer or if one has reason to know that such information was fraudulently obtained.

While recognizing that there have been exigent circumstances where accessing telephone toll records by investigators assisted in saving lives, locating abducted persons and recovering stolen property, NCISS still supported H.R. 4709 on the basis that the mood in Congress was to put forth legislation that would have expanded making pretexting illegal in areas other than just obtaining telephone records. The unintended consequences would have outlawed undercover operations in by the private sector; and that is just one example. Our analysis, even prior to the unfavorable publicity generated by the H-P matter, was that if HR 4709 failed to pass in the 109th Congress, in 2007 it would return with additional privacy protections and make the use of pretexting for any reason in a non-law enforcement setting illegal. Such measures could still be introduced in other legislation as the 110th Congress gets underway in 2007.

This week Senator Feinstein introduced two bills that NCISS will be watching very closely, S 238 the Social Security Number Misuse Protection Act and S 239 the Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act of 2007.

Every bill that NCISS took a position against in the Senate and House during the past two- year session of the 109th Congress, failed to be enacted into law. However, we expect our work will be considerably more difficult the next two years with both the Senate and House being controlled by the Democrats.

It is important that NCISS increase its membership and lobbying “war chest.” Any inquiries regarding applications for membership or contributing to the NCISS Legislative Committee Fund may be directed to the contact address below.

Bruce Hulme, NCISS Legislative Director
NCISS7501 Sparrows Point Blvd.

Baltimore, MD 21219

Tel: 1-800-445-8408

email: nciss@verizon.net

or go to: www.nciss.org

FTC Asks Court to Order Permanent Halt to Telephone Record Pretexting

As the Hewlett-Packard pretexting fraud scandal intensifies with criminal charges and arrest warrants, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed it has settled charges against a call-detail broker that will be barred from selling such information and from the pretexting technique used to gain such data.

"The settlement bars the defendants from obtaining or selling consumers' confidential phone and credit account records unless authorized by law or court order and requires that they give up the money they made selling phone records in the past," the FTC says.

FTC asks court to order permanent halt to telephone record pretexting phone records obtained by deception were unlawfully sold to third parties.

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a U.S. district court to order a permanent halt to operations that deceptively obtained and sold consumers’ confidential phone records without their knowledge or consent.

The agency alleges the practice is not only unfair and deceptive in violation of federal law, but could endanger consumers’ safety. The agency also will ask the court to order the defendants to give up their ill-gotten gains.

According to the FTC complaint, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides that customers’ phone records may only be disclosed "upon affirmative written request by the customer." But since at least 2005, the defendants have obtained confidential customer phone records, including lists of calls made and the dates, times, and duration of the calls, and sold them to third parties, without the knowledge or consent of the customers.

In order to get the records, the defendants used and caused others to use "false pretenses, fraudulent statements, fraudulent or stolen documents or other misrepresentations, including posing as an account holder or as an employee," of the phone company.

The agency alleges the defendants have offered to sell the confidential phone records to third parties. Selling the records constitutes an invasion of privacy that could endanger the health and safety of consumers, the FTC charges.

There are four call-brokerage cases still in litigation, according to the FTC: 77 Investigations Inc. and Reginald Kimbro, based in Upland, Calif., and using mailing addresses in Jacksonville, Fla., Broomfield, Colo., and Nashville, Tenn.; AccuSearch Inc. (dba Abika.com) and Jay Patel, based in Cheyenne, Wyo.; CEO Group Inc. (dba Check Em Out) and Scott Joseph, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; and Information Search Inc., and David Kacala, based in Baltimore, Md.

Several major wireless and wireline service providers also have filed private legal action against call brokers, and they've been petitioning the courts to halt the businesses permanently. State attorneys general also have been taking action where applicable.

In related efforts, the FTC is working with the U.S. Department of Justice and some 15 federal agencies and departments on an Administration- organized "identity theft task force." It's made some early interim recommendations to help address the problem of identity theft, especially over the Internet, in advance of a final report and strategic plan due in November.

Reverse Phone Number Look Up

Why is a Reverse Phone Number Look Up so useful when locating people?

Once you have a persons phone number you armed with a very valuable tool. By supplying a current (or old) phone number to an experienced investigator it is almost a certainty that the person or business you seek will be identified.

An experienced investigator can use the phone number to run a "reverse phone number look up" from one of many public records sites available.

The databases provide online access to public records such as real estate deeds, lawsuit filings, and other information filed by individuals and businesses with local, state and federal agencies.

They also provide access to publicly-available information such as published telephone numbers. Some sources include unlisted, non-published and even cellular or wireless data from their reverse phone number look up investigation.

This legal hard to find information is derived from the following sources:

• Public Data Records
• Court Records
• Magazine & Newspaper Subscriptions
• Information Supplied by the Consumer from web sites they visit or purchased products from that reveal sharing info in privacy policies.
• Utility Accounts
• Information consumers provide to creditors

I have researched this topic and have specialized in telephone investigations for over 20 years. The following list documents the main reasons people have hired me to perform a reverse phone number look up:

• Investigate Harassing Calls
• Identify the name of a phone number that is listed numerous times on a phone bill and is not recognized
• Identity / Customer verification
• Cheating Spouse Investigations
• Locate Skips / Debtors
• Online Auction Verification

If you need to find someone and have a limited budget, a free reverse phone number look up is where you should start. But if you can't get the information needed quickly, don't waste time with web sites that don't specialize in this research or have an investigator available to assist you.

Once you hire an investigator to provide assistance in your research of reverse phone number look ups you are almost guaranteed to obtain accurate results.

View Social Security Records

How to View Social Security Records in order to find people.

Armed with only a social security number the world wide web has any number of sites that allow you to View Social Security Records as a tool to locate old friends, classmates, debtors, skips, and even run background checks.

Social security numbers are typically entered into a National Database derived primarily from archived consumer reporting agency records. Consumer reporting agencies obtain their records from;

• Financial Institutions
• Credit Grantors
• Insurance Agencies
• Court Records
• State, Local & Federal Government Agencies
• Debt Collection Agencies
• Utility Companies
• Landlords and Property Managment Companies

The SSN is then cross referenced with billions of other records from publicly available and privately available databases that can reveal the subjects reported address history, phone numbers and even current or past employment information.

Approximately 98 percent of the adult population in the USA can be quickly located with a Social Security Number Search. Nationwide SSN searches will provide the persons name, and reported addresses associated with the Social Security Number.

So the answer to finding who you are looking for...
View Social Security Records and I bet the address you seek will be there.