Running a background check on someone is getting more and more popular these days. It’s because it helps reduce the risk of fraudulent and even criminal activities in our everyday life. But why do a personal background check on yourself, you ask?

Well, it is always a good idea to run a self background check from time to time. Knowing what information is publicly available about you allows you to correct any errors, protect sensitive data, and maintain an accurate digital footprint. You may be surprised by how much of your personal information can be found online using public records and people search services.

This article introduces 5 of the top-notch People Search websites that offer background checks on yourself (as well as others) so you understand what is revealed through these public tools.

How do People Search sites work?

People search sites aggregate public data from sources like government records, social networks, and news reports which they collect, organize and share for a fee.  They cross-reference and match these myriad details to specific individuals using personally identifiable information to stitch together comprehensive background check reports. 

With just a name, address, phone number or another detail, people search sites can uncover almost everything from criminal history information and assets to family members, previous residences, interests and more, compiling in-depth profiles of people’s private lives from scattered crumbs of public information.

Best Personal Background Check

1. – Overall Background Search

Spokeo is the best background check site to conduct an overall search on yourself, providing different searching opportunities, including a name search, email search, address lookup, and reverse phone lookup so you can check if public information about you is accurate and up-to-date.

Moreover, it is one of the most uncomplicated people search sites and is characterized by its neat design and user-friendly UI. Information on individuals, such as contact info, social media activity, education and employment history may all be found with the help of Spokeo.

Follow these steps to conduct a personal background check:

1. Go to the search page of Spokeo.
2. Enter your name and click SEARCH NOW.
3. Spokeo will check the information against millions of public records in its database. Once finished, you will receive a detailed report.

2. – Lookup Social Media Platforms

As its name suggests, PeopleFinders lets you quickly find publicly available information about any person, including yourself. It scans billions of public records to uncover contact information, background details, and the current whereabouts of individuals. With just a name, PeopleFinders can help you find associated phone numbers, social media information, addresses, email addresses, and even a list of possible relatives.

With its extensive database compiling information from social networks and public records, PeopleFinders is considered the go-to people search site for gathering personal details on individuals from across social media.

Follow the instructions below to conduct a search:

1. Visit PeopleFinders’ home page to get started.
2. Enter a name and click Search Now.
3. Within minutes, PeopleFinders will search for the information provided in its data sources and compile the available records into a report for you.

3. – Verify Online Identity

Social Catfish is another popular destination for background checks, specializing in verifying online identity. If you also want to find out if someone you met on a dating website or app really is who they claim to be, Social Catfish’s here to help. It searches public records, social media profiles, images, videos and other online sources to uncover the truth about people’s online identities.

Complete the following steps to dig deep into any individual:

1. Go to Social Catfish’s official site.
2. Enter a name and click Search.
3. Wait a few seconds for Social Catfish to flip through billions of records in its database and generates an in-depth background report.

That’s the end of this post. Remember that running a periodic self-background check is important to manage your online reputation and take control of your personal data spread across people search engines and public records. Hope you’ll find these methods helpful in conducting a self background check. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment below, thanks!