Are you getting current, accurate information?
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 criminal record searches. Even if you choose another firm, please take 3 minutes to review this information. When searching online for criminal 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.
Criminal recordings are maintained only by individual county courthouses, state and federal criminal authorities, and are updated daily. There is no instant access to these records, other than directly from the courthouse or enforcement agency. Therefore, any web site claiming instant results is only providing old, outdated information.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 online criminal records. We even provide a link to their site, so you can judge for yourself. Would you like us to review a criminal records lookup website not included below? Contact webscams.org.
16 people found this review helpful.
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| Website Reviews: Criminal Records |
Docusearch Investigations
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
Yes |
 |
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Live courthouse search |
|
Licensed private investigators search county criminal court as well as state and national proprietary repositories.
|
Intelius
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
 |
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Database only |
|
Promises to search billions of publicly available information.
|
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: |
Database only |
|
A very large subscription database company. Check out all the "add-ons".
|
Criminal Watchdog
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Instant search site that claims to have current records. How can that be?
|
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.
|
HireRight
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Unverified |
|
Requires a membership fee and subject's permission.
|
GovPoliceRecords.org
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Premium police records database? There is no such thing.
|
County Records.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Courthouse search |
|
Very limited coverage area.
|
Integra Scan
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
No |
|
| Source of Information: |
Database search |
|
They list their phone number then advise you not to call them.
|
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.
|
Criminal Background Records.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Subscription software.
|
Criminal Searches.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
Subscription software.
|
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.
|
Public Records Info.com
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
No |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Outdated database |
|
A subscription affiliate for US Search.
|
Instant Checkmate
» Visit Website |
| Licensed Investigator: |
No |
|
| Phone Number Provided: |
Yes |
|
| Subscription Required?: |
Yes |
|
| Source of Information: |
Database search |
|
Instant access database records. |
Thank you so much for this information. I was just about to pay for one you have only one star for. Wow, I had no idea what to look for. Again..Thanks for the information. I don’t have the money to lose.
Patty
Thank you very much. Now i know where not to go. It is a great information service you are providing. I am going to search Adoption Records, do not know how to do this, it will be trial and error. My Mother was Native American, and she was adopted in the adoptions of 1917-1918 in Montana. really am lucky to have found your information.
Am not very computer savvy, so need all the help i can get. am on a slim budget. Thanks very much,
Anne Marie
Please watch out for any site that is a front for CIS Nationwide. I got scammed through one of their fronts: http://www.criminal-records.org (please consider adding to your one-star list). Wish I had seen this site before getting scammed. I suspect CIS is not only taking people’s money but also using their detailed information to commit identity theft schemes as well.
I would love to hear a success story from anyone that managed to get their money back from one of these shameful companies.