PeopleLooker Review

Detailed Reviews

“I had an amazing friend called Sarah Johnson in my high school, and she was the most charming person I’ve ever met. I wonder where she is these days if only, I could meet her again!”. Many people have similar thoughts about their old school friends or past neighbors. Hunting them out of the 7.7 billion beings worldwide seems like a hassle. Well, private background investigation services similar to PeopleLooker make such tasks possible.

Pros

• PeopleLooker background checks are transparent, and they source their database from vast federal, state, and county public records.
• Their mobile apps offer unique service of reverse lookup services for phone numbers, email address, and property.
• PeopleLooker’s unlimited search policy attracts many users. Once a member has paid their subscription, then they are free to search for as many people as they wish.
• The opt-out option which allows an individual to remove his/her information from the database of PeopleLooker.

Cons

• Their collection of premium data digs users pocket deeper and can be an unsatisfactory feature of the system.
• PeopleLooker is a general background check service and not FCRA compliant. The usage of their data is thus limited to a personal level only.

Introduction

Background check services such as PeopleLooker are used to verify the authenticity of a person. You may meet someone new, and the need may arise to confirm their identity.

It provides the opportunity to check the targeted person’s contact details, location, profession, and educational background and also criminal records if any.

Background search engines are also popularly used to re-connect with people, maybe childhood friends, colleagues, or relatives.

Parents need to observe their immediate surroundings and the people in it to ensure no harm comes their children’s way.

Almost every individual owns a social networking account, and apps for online dating are becoming increasingly famous.

New trends such as Tinder and blind dates necessitates people to be cautious about the identity of the people they meet.

Gone are the days when people dated or married someone out of love and trust only. Security has become one of the most daunting issues.

It is practically impossible to escape from one’s identity, thanks to our digital age and domination of social media.

Everything seems to be a click away. However, the safety concern is also as paramount as the convenience the modern technology is delivering.

Almost all the nations have laws regarding freedom of information. The USA too, assures its citizen to access public records.

Practically though, it may be difficult to retrieve such information conveniently, as it may include visiting public agencies, among other things.

That is why private agencies have taken the initiative to collect public records, consolidate the information, and create a user-friendly database.

The database can be accessed by individuals who wish to search for a particular individual. It can be done using the person’s name, phone number, email address, or even a property search.

The search yields reports which contain multiple fields; contact info, associated people, criminal & civil, bankruptcies, professionals, and social media.

One can use PeopleLooker to search for oneself and retrieve public information. You can then protect your identity by monitoring it.

There is an option to opt-out one's information from PeopleLooker’s database.

Based in New York, the parent company of PeopleLooker is BeenVerified initiated in 2009. Their motive is to grant people with affordable and reliable access to public record information.

The need for PeopleLooker

The term background check gets majorly linked with employers and landlords who search before hiring or renting.

PeopleLooker is not used for such purpose though as it is a general background check service. Its use should be for a private purpose and not professional.

The checks conducted to make hiring, lending and credit-worthiness decisions are through Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA.)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (FCRA) rules govern the use of public information; it regulates the use of an individual’s data.

FCRA outlines its law that the organization using the information for employment or credit screening should inform the individual.

Thus, the individual receives the notice when his/her information gets accessed by third parties. Furthermore, they disclose the source of the data too.

The body responsible for providing such personal information is CRA. PeopleLooker isn’t a CRA hence its usage is restricted, it cannot offer public records for screening candidates.

The reports PeopleLooker offers to its customers empower them to make critical decisions and enhance their feeling of safety.

It is majorly used to re-connect with long-lost friends, relatives, neighbors, and past romantic relationships, or colleagues.

One can also identify appropriate online dating partner, get in-depth details of roommates, look up for unknown phone numbers or emails, among others.

It can also be an ideal way to monitor personal identity and preserve one’s public image.

There may be confusing scenarios in the usage of general background checks. If you are a roommate and you also own the house/room, you become a landlord too.

PeopleLooker cannot be used by an employer to make a hiring decision, but the employee can use it to check the background of the potential employer.

The background check service is confidential; the searched party gets no idea of the ongoing procedure. Thus, PeopleLooker information should not be used to contact people against their will.

How it works

The content of public information is vast as it contains records from federal, state, county, and local levels.

One may gain such information physically (visiting public agencies and courts) or online (free or fee charged).

The government agencies may unnecessarily complicate the process of obtaining public records. Thus, many prefer private companies that provide the service of the background investigation.

PeopleLooker is a public record search engine, designed for personal use only. It provides the USA residents the opportunity to search for anyone they want.

Once a user is logged in, the interface design is a treat to the eyes. The neat and clean dashboard theme is attractive, with minimal crowding of tabs.

The dashboard has sections that host the recent reports, monitoring, and account information.

Their search system is easy to use. You only need to select the method of search and your good to go.

They also offer various ways of customizing search, through name or phone number, email address, and property address.

The first way of people lookup in the USA is by typing their respective names in the search engine.

They provide options of the first name, middle initial (M.I), last name, city, state, and age to ease the search process.

Once the user inputs the details, the system provides the results. A pop-up window portrays the search number and suggests the user provide more information to narrow down the quest.

The narrowing down is done via reporting estimated age of the person or by providing the maiden name. The final zoomed-in search result can be modified further to identify the correct person.

The closest connection to the searched person is viewed by clicking upon their names. The system takes approximately 30 seconds to produce the report.

An in-depth detail report is generated, depending on the record available in public records.

A phone number search option is available in the system. It is also an alternative way to lookup for a person whose name is unknown.

Majorly, people receive calls from unknown numbers, and this service is perfect for identifying the caller.

Their apps have additional feature and are quite popular in the market. PeopleLooker offers reverse lookup services for such numbers and also email addresses in their mobile apps

The same goes with email search; the system traces the owner of the email address. One needs to enter the address, and the system takes care of the rest.

The property search requires one to input the physical address. Provide details such as the street number and name, city, and the state of the targeted location.

The system delivers the property owner’s information. It is one of their attractive features as they also provide a satellite view of the place if available.

If there is any suspicious activity happening in around your neighborhood and you wish to discover then their reverse lookup is available in their apps.

One is also able to avoid property scams if you are aware of the status of the property you may wish to purchase.

All the hunts end up revealing the person’s personal information such as name, age, location, photos, social media profiles, criminal history, and more.

These reports are detailed, but the limitation factor exists. It is because if the source is limited, then, of course, the search shall yield similar results.

Their system is easy to use, and anybody can conduct their desired people search. There is almost null hindrance regarding a user’s technical know-how.

Different types of reports

Consumers face deceits when some companies charge extra dollars to unlock specific information such as criminal or professional records.

PeopleLooker belief that they provide a consumer-focused approach, unlike its competitors and that too at a reasonable and affordable rate.

Their people lookup delivers a detailed report which includes exclusive details. Naturally, some of the information is premium and has to be paid for by the user.

PeopleLooker report has various subdivisions that tackle different aspects of the search. It starts with an overview, which provides photos (if available), full name, nicknames, birth date, and address.

The contact information of the searched individual follows, with phone numbers, emails, and address history.

Interestingly they reveal the first and last seen of the phone numbers and emails. An indication is also present to show if the number is mobile or work.

The address history part allows the user to run a property test on the addresses generated by the system.

The associated people segment outlines the person’s immediate relatives, neighbors, and others. The system produces many results relating to your search.

Such information on the relatives, which include spouse, parents, or siblings can help one confirm that the person is the perfect match for the search.

The criminal and civil part of the report is probably one of the essential reasons why people conduct background checks.

The source of the records is digitally available jurisdiction. However, not all states have digitalized their criminal and traffic records.

Where the records are yet to be available digitally, PeopleLooker offers various background data services. As a result of this, a person goes to the courthouse and gets the necessarily required files.

The court records include criminal convictions, sex offender information, traffic violations, bankruptcies, divorces, marriages, among others.

Although these records are intended to be free of charge, they are only available for the citizen who submit a request for accessing them.

It includes setting up an account with the government’s website, filling out forms and waiting for an extended period for the reports.

Moreover, one has to figure out if the records are of the same person or not. It is due to this inconvenience that people opt to use background check services instead.

The professional section of the report uncovers career and education background of the person. The data is obtained from social websites as well.

The career shows all the companies the targeted person has worked with indicating the duration and also the job role.

The social media lists out all the accounts the person owns or is associated with in the social networks.

Apart from providing supplementary information, social media accounts also avail ways to confirms the match of the person.

PeopleLooker offers premium data at an additional cost, which can provide extensive information to the user.

It may include felonies, voter records, licenses & permits, lien, civil lawsuit, arrest record, bankruptcy, associates, misdemeanor, among others.

Apart from providing all the above information, PeopleLooker offers monitoring option. It means that in case any information regarding the person is updated, the user gets a notification about it.

The user can download the report in PDF file. The system provides suggestions for background checks for similar people who can be related to the targeted candidate.

A point worth remarking regarding the use of the background check is that the purpose of conducting it should be personal and not for any nefarious activities.

The reports should only be used for personal decision making and establishing our security.

Data source

PeopleLooker uses web scraping softwares to mine data from federal, state, county and local public records.

Additionally, the system purchases information from the private organization after agreeing to specific terms and conditions.

These include social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others.

The retrieval of criminal and civil violations are from court records, department of correction, and sex offenders.

Thus, PeopleLooker draws its data from multiple sources, and it applies to people geographically located in the US.

Their service is subscription-based, and they offer an unlimited number of people searches.

It is one of the significant beneficial features as other platforms have a limited number of searches depending on the amount/subscription.

Necessary information is available for all the members of PeopleLooker. There is premium data that is accessible only after paying extra for the service.

Most severe criminal offenses appear on the report even after the person’s death. There is, however, some provision for removal of such information from the background checks.

The requirement for the expungement may differ state-wise, and it may require the accused to pay some fines and compensation related to the crime.

Not all the crimes can be erased from the records, including the pardoned offenses.

Most automated background searching platforms such as PeopleLooker face problems of inadequate information or erroneous reporting.

The root cause of such misleading issues is public records, as it’s the data source.

Limited use of PeopleLooker’s data

As mentioned earlier, the data from PeopleLooker cannot be used to make professional decisions. It is not a CRA; thus, it can be used only for the permitted cases.

The FCRA limits one from using PeopleLooker for employment or tenant screening, hiring household workers (gardeners, house helps, nannies), assessing creditworthiness or in business transactions.

Employers conduct background checks for the potential employees to ensure the selection of the correct candidate. The same applies to landlords who wish to rent/sell their property.

PeopleLooker is also not a reliable source for judging the creditworthiness of a person. Credit lenders and banks utilize information from other services such as FICO.

To access the financial background of any transaction is also against the rule. The use of education information shouldn’t be a part of making scholarship or admission decisions by the users.

Any general background check service is designed to make personal decisions only. You can search for yourself and monitor your digital footprint.

You can also search for individuals you wish to re-connect with or figure out unknown numbers and email addresses.

The property search enables you to be cautious about one’s neighborhood and vicinity.

Conclusion

PeopleLooker offers user-friendly & attractive interface, dependable background checks, and detailed reports for its users.

The users can get quick reports from their database, which has access to billions of public records. It is due to their dominant search engine which builds a background check report in a matter of seconds.

The sign-up process takes a few minutes. The user can choose any subscription plan; the system allows unlimited search options.

The company has made efforts to be transparent and honest about its pricing and what they will offer according to the subscription.

Their reports are extensive and provide in-depth information on any targeted individual residing in the USA.

They also additional services such as monitoring, and premium data. They also provide an opt-out option which allows a user to remove his/her information from the people search engine.

PeopleLooker does offer valuable information for people to make critical private decisions and maintain one’s safety and security.

Their customer support team is dedicated. Their downgrading factor is that on weekends, they offer limited support hours. It may cause inconvenience to users who direly need help from this team.

The reverse lookup service for phone numbers, email, and the property is available only in their mobile apps and not on their websites.

The accuracy of reports may be questionable in some cases. The comprehensiveness of the report also relies on the data source.

PeopleLooker allows access to their service on monthly subscription. Thus, it cannot be the answer to users who need to conduct a one-time search.

However, it is recommendable to those who look forward to employing it for an elongated time and plan on monitoring the reports.

PeopleLooker is ideal for new users of background checks as the system’s UI is attractive, and their service is reliable and upfront.