Locating and serving people who are actively trying to evade search is a difficult task. In 2019 there were 68 million people with debt in collections on their credit report alone. That does not include the types of people hiding from process servers, legal obligations, or domestic cases. That is where the power of a professional skip tracing company can help.

At Houston Process Servers, we have provided quality process serving services for years. We have the experience needed to locate people through our professional skip tracing team. We work closely with law enforcement, legal teams, and the courts to find, authenticate, and report on people operating in unknown locations.

While our team has the advantage of many tools not available to the general public, we thought we would pull the curtain back a little and show a few simple tips on how skip tracing can help locate evasive persons.

#1 – Always Start with Verification

It may seem like such an easy step, but verifying all the pertinent details of the elusive target’s case is critical to success. There have been many times when someone believed to be evading process is actually unaware of the situation. Maybe a phone number or address is off by one digit, or a name is misspelled. That causes process servers to attempt a successful delivery, only to be met by a confused citizen a couple of houses down from the intended target. When we get a new case, the first thing we always do is verify every piece of information to ensure a small mistake wasn’t made along the way.

#2 – Hit the Sites

Desktop searches provide the highest success rate with the smallest time investment. We always begin with Google and enter the target’s full name and zip code. This pulls up public records about their address, phone, email, and work locations. This also populates different People Finder websites that provide location details that may not have been entered into law enforcement records.

We will dig deeper where necessary and combine these searches with genealogy websites and special access databases to discover any “webs of support” that may inform our team of possible locations the target may be hiding. Everyone needs food, lodging, and a place to sleep. There is a good chance a close friend or family member is providing those resources. They may not know the whole story and are just offering a place to stay out of the kindness of their hearts. This is why we always treat them with respect and professionalism while uncovering where someone may be hiding.

#3 – The Power of Social Media

We are always surprised by the amount of information people volunteer online through their social media accounts. The skip tracing profession has become a much more accessible career because of everyone’s need to post photos of their latest vacations, favorite hangouts, and dining preferences. A basic search of a target throughout social media often provides a long list of known connections that may have more information about where someone may have fled. Even better, this information is easily verifiable in visual form.

Social media also provides a trail of where a target has been. Predicting what steps they may take in the future is often a result of tracing where they have been before. Habits don’t change overnight, and a target may still frequent specific locations and businesses they have come to appreciate.

#4 – Hit the Streets

The most reliable way to get information on a person trying to evade discovery is by talking with human beings. Someone always knows something about the possible location of a target. A wealth of knowledge is available through human assets like a target’s co-workers, business partners, friends, neighbors, and family. They can provide the best insight into where a target may have gone and how they are supporting their new lifestyle. Conducting quality interviews is an essential part of our skip tracing services to locating people.

#5 – Keep Records of Everything

Skip tracing involves building a clear pathway from the vast amounts of data collected. That information will need to be communicated clearly and concisely to law enforcement or for legal proceedings. Our team always stays as organized as possible every step of the way when we locate a target. We want our partners to have a reliable record to conclude their business.

Having clean records is also a benefit for the overall search. Our experienced skip tracers know how one piece of information may relate to something found in a completely opposite resource. They can make connections that others do not see because they have dealt with this world before. This is an investigation and making leaps of mental understanding requires clean record keeping.

Our Professional Team

Skip tracing is a time-consuming endeavor that often requires experienced professionals to accomplish. We know how overtaxed our partners in law enforcement and the courts are and want to provide you with the resources needed to complete your cases. At Houston Process Servers, we offer a full-service expert team with comprehensive capabilities at reasonable prices. Our company has all the certifications, insurance, and licenses needed to assist any legal process.

If you are interested in using our services, please use our contact form. We often make our first delivery attempt within the first 24 hours of an agreement. We look forward to hearing from you and building a mutually beneficial partnership.