Are you getting what you’re paying for?
The information presented on this web site is provided by Docusearch Investigations, a fully licensed and insured private investigation firm. It is intended to educate consumers on how to quickly identify scam web sites offering public record searches. Even if you choose another firm, please take 3 minutes to review this information. When searching online for public records, always follow these three common sense rules. Doing so may save you hundreds of dollars and hours of valuable time:
Common Sense Rule #1:
Stay clear from any website that doesn’t publish their contact telephone number.
Most of these scam sites appear overnight and aren’t even real businesses, rather affiliate fronts for subscription software. Look for their phone number. If you don’t have the ability to speak with a live person, it is most certainly a sham.
Common Sense Rule #2:
“Instant results” are never current.
Public records and civil recordings are maintained only by individual county courthouses and are updated daily. There is no instant access to these records, other than from the courthouse. Therefore, any web site claiming instant results is only providing old, outdated information.
Common Sense Rule #3:
Only buy from a reputable state licensed, insured investigative firm.
Just as you wouldn’t hire an unlicensed, uninsured contractor, providers of information are no different. State licensed investigators answer to governmental agencies and are bonded and/or insured. They are much less likely to perpetrate a scam. They also have access to information sources that others don’t.
Following these three simple rules should keep you safe. For additional information regarding the different types of Information Providers and the scams they employ, please review the Related Articles section on the right side of this page.
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Below, please find an honest review of some of the most popular web sites offering public records and civil recordings. We even provide a link to their site, so you can judge for yourself. Would you like us to review a public records lookup website not included below? Contact webscams.org.
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| Website Reviews: Public Records & Civil Recordings |
Docusearch Investigations
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
Yes |
 |
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Courthouse search |
|
Licensed private investigators search civil court, law suits, bankruptcy, tax liens & property records.
|
Intelius
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
 |
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Promises to deliver all the outdated, useless information you don't need or want.
|
Consumer Warning.org
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Probably worst of all. Cleverly disguised as a public service warning, just a front for Net Detective.
|
Free Public Records 123
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Claims to be your #1 Free public records site, then wants to charge. Try reading their sample report.
|
Sentry Link
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Instant results |
|
If results are instant, how can they be current from a database?
|
US Search
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
A very large database company with very old records. Check out all the "add-ons".
|
Ancestry.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Genealogy site |
|
A great web site to research family history, not to investigate.
|
Free Public Records Search Directory
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Anything but free, an affiliate for subscription software Peoplesmart.
|
About.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Link site |
|
Displays links to other pay sites and subscription software.
|
The Center 2000
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Np |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Joke Site |
|
A rather clever joke site that is linked to Intelius.
|
Public Records Center
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Appears at first to provide links to county courthouses, but really an affiliate for Intelius.
|
People Lookup.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
An Intelius affiliate.
|
DocEdge
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Courthouse search |
|
A good company for commerical use. Plans start at $90 per month.
|
County Records.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Courthouse search |
|
Very limited coverage area.
|
USA People Search
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
A subscription database company.
|
Records Court.org
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
An affiliate for Inteligator subscription software.
|
Inteligator
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Another subscription database company like Net Detective.
|
People Searching.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
A clever site which claims to compare subscription software, but in fact, is an affiliate to all listed.
|
People Finders.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
A subscription database company.
|
Archives.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Genealogy site |
|
A genealogy membership website, not for public record searches.
|
People Smart.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Another subscription based database search co.
|
Been Verified.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Well publicized subscription software, still a scam.
|
Net Detective
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
The original subscription software scam is still available.
|
State Records.org
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Subscription software affiliate.
|
Public-Files.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Subscription software. Clicked on Contact link and got FAQ's, no way to contact.
|
Government Registry
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Yet another subscription software affiliate.
|
Public Records Now.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Billions of outdated useless records.
|
Court Records.org
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Instant access subscription software.
|
Criminal Check.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Just another subscription affiliate.
|
Lexis Nexis
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Commercial database |
|
A good site for commercial applications.
|
Spies Online
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Link Page |
|
Provides links to other pay sites.
|
Public Background Checks.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Sells subscription to old database information.
|
Locate Records.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
A front for Net Detective.
|
Bankruptcy Search.org
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Subscription membership to old information.
|
Find Property Owner.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Database search |
|
Title research company. Phone number is provided to all paying customers.
|
Property Records.net
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
More unverified subscription based database.
|
Public Records County.org
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Another anonymous subscription. |
Thanks for the info!