We have discussed the best way to reverse lookup an email address in the past.  One of the best ways to reverse an email address is to enter it into one of the major search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN.  There are a number of ways to do this:

- You can enter the email address as is like anyone@anywhere.com but some search engines will ignore the @ symbol and return results where the id or the domain name appears on a web page.  To avoid this, you should do a search without the @ symbol that checks for pages where the user id AND the domain name appear on the same page, like anyone AND anywhere.com – make sure you include the AND in the search.  Some search engines like Google will use the AND search by default and so all you need to do is include a space between the email id and domain name.

- People will often use the same logon id for numerous email addresses.  Someone could have multiple email accounts with different email  services, like user_id@yahoo.com and user_id@hotmail.com etc. You should try searching for just the user id to see where it appears online.  For instance, say you know someone with the email of address of john_doe@anywhere.com, you should try a Google or Yahoo search for just the user id of john_doe to see where else it appears online.  Very often it will be used by the same person for various addresses, especially if the id is somewhat unique and uncommon. 

- With the proliferation of blogs, message boards and comment posting on the web, you may also want to reverse lookup the email address on one of the major blog search engines like feedster.com or technorati.com.

Additional reverse searches for phone numbers and addresses are located on skipease.com at Reverse Lookup .

This informative article in the Sydney Morning Herald discusses in depth  how  everyday citizens are using web searches from Google to Mamma to do background checks and ’spy’ on one another. 

Instead of George Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’, we now have a multitude of wired ‘Little Brothers’… but who are we to complain, modern search technologies have been a great leap forward for people searches, skip tracing and public record searching.

You can read the entire text of this interesting article by David Stonehouse on smh.com.au @ Spy Versus Spy .

Here is an interesting article from Wired Magazine about people who manage to keep their online personal data trails short or non-existant and are able to avoid being found on Google searches.  From the article -

Geri Agalia doesn’t appear to leave less of a data trail than most
Americans. She has a phone in her name, a bank account, utility bills,
a mortgage and a credit card. But the stay-at-home mom and part-time
student is among a select and ever-shrinking group of the digitally
privileged — her name does not appear on Google.

The only problem for Geri Agalia now is that her name and location ( San Diego, CA ) have appeared in a Wired Magazine article.  So she is no longer ‘UnGoogleable’.  The irony of it all.  She says she does not talk to telemarketers; well, maybe she shouldn’t have talked to Wired Magazine. 

You can read the entire article by Ann Harrison on Wired.com @ ‘UnGoogleables’ Hide From Search .

Ambient Findability is a forward-looking ( or, rather,  forward-finding ) new book by Peter Morville that should be required reading for all skip tracers, private investigators and internet research professionals. 

The book discusses the theory and practice of how people find the information they are seeking in an era of information overload and how they sort out the information that is useful for their particular purposes.  With modern communications and publishing, the question isn’t "Is the information out there?", but, rather, "How do I ask the right questions and search the right way to find the information?"

Topics discussed in the book that are of interest in the field of skip tracing and investigations include:

1. Social Networking Sites
2. Global Positioning Systems
3. Mobile Communications
4. Mapping  and Wayfinding
5. People Finding

At only 179 pages, the book is easily readable and understandable, but contains information that is invaluable for skip tracers and investigators.  Learn how others find information and apply these practices in your own searches.  This book should not be viewed as a "how-to" search tutorial, but, rather, a way of seeing the search possibilities that are expanding at a mind-numbing rate.  If you want to think about the future of finding, searching and locating, then this is the book for you.

You can read an interview with the author of Ambient Findability in Business Week at The Impact of "Ambient Findability" .

The book description on Ambient Findability can be read on Amazon.com at Ambient Findability.

And Peter Morville’s blog on the subject can be read at Findability.org.

ZDNet is reporting on a new artificial intelligence program that can translate languages, speech-to-speech, using electrodes attached to a person’s face and throat.  Researchers believe that the language translator could be implanted in a person’s mouth within the next decade for seamless, real-time speech translation.

You can read the entire article posted by Roland Piquepaille on ZDNet at Can your mouth become multilingual?

The November / December 2005 issue of Professional Investigator Magazine is out now.  Articles include:

Coverage of the 2005 World Investigators Conference
Insurance Fraud
Unmanned Remote Surveillance
Searching the Deep Web
Getting Ready for Court

and more.  You can visit the site at Professional Investigator Magazine .

Google Maps are now available as downloads for your web-enabled cell phones.  Although the map service is free, your cell phone must have web access, which is typically an additional charge on your cellular phone service.  The Google mobile phone map features include:

1. Detailed Directions
2. Integrated Local Search Results
3. Movable and Interactive Map Displays
4. Google’s Famous Satellite Imagery

You can read the specifications and access the Google Mobile Maps at Google Local For Mobile .

What are the top free people search resources online?  In our opinion, the top free people search sites online have to be the following ( in no particular order ):

White Pages 411 People Search – the best 411 free people search site online for basic directory assistance searching.

DAPlus Free People Search – the DAPlus free people search pulls information from other resources besides typical directory assistance listings, like public record sources and consumer information sources.  The DAPlus site contains millions of people search records not found on other 411 directory assistance sites.

Skipease Reverse Lookup – a comprehensive listing of reverse lookup searches, including: reverse phone lookup, reverse address lookup, reverse email lookup, reverse area code lookup, reverse zip code lookup and unlisted reverse lookup tips and tricks.

Zaba Search Free People Search – The Zaba Search people search is another popular free people search that pulls information from sources other than just 411 directory assistance sources and contains listings not found on other free white pages sites.

ZoomInfo Free People Search – The ZoomInfo free people search contains millions of people search records based on employment history.

Google University Searches – the Google University Searches can be used to search a specific internet domain for a given university, allowing you to search for mention of a current student; former classmate; alumni; staff member or administrator for a specific university.

Skipease Mobile Searches – save the url of this link to your web-enabled cell phone or wireless device for a great list of mobile people searches; yellow pages; google searches and map searches for wired people on the go.

Deceased People Searches – a listing of searches for deceased people, including social security number – SSN – death indexes and obituary searches.

Inmate Search – a listing of federal and state inmate searches.

You can save this page to your favorites to keep this list handy, or visit all of these free people search sites and more on Skipease. com at  Free People Search .

Jim Downing at smartmobs.com has posted an interesting blog entry and article link on a new auto anti-theft system developed by Hitachi that recognizes the vein pattern on the owners hand.  The system could potentially disable the use of the car if an auto thief tried to use the door handle and his vein pattern didn’t match the pattern recorded on the system.

You can read the post and related article at The pattern of veins on a driver’s fingers.

An article published in the International Herald Tribune details the rising use of wireless "door-to-door" text messaging searches to find suspected criminals and perpetrators. 

From the IHT article:

"When soccer fans rioted in Rotterdam last April – this time targeting the police, not just rival fans – they might have expected a fierce chase. There was no way to foresee, however, the unique wireless wrinkle used in the pursuit by prosecutors determined to round up as many of the offenders as possible. 

After the initial phase of the investigation left many of more than 200 suspects on the loose, the Dutch authorities turned to a kind of cellular door-to-door search – mass text messaging in search of criminal information.  The cellular-era tactic has appeared in a growing number of cities since early last year, as the police seek to turn cellphones into direct lines to potential witnesses."

You can read the entire article at Wireless: Cracking down on crime in a cellular era by Chris Oakes @ iht.com.

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