| Skip trace or skip tracing is a process whereby people | | | | the person has been living at the given address, with |
| who have gone missing are located and traced. Many | | | | information on the neighbor as well. These directories |
| a time people go missing because of bad debts, any | | | | can be accessed in any of the city libraries. |
| kind of crime that they might have committed, mental | | | | Apart from the residential information that the criss |
| illness or because of facing abuse at home. They are | | | | cross directories provide, business listings can also |
| then located by skip trace techniques and these are | | | | prove to be great help in tracing the missing by giving |
| largely used by private investigators, police detectives, | | | | information on the work area of the same. |
| attorneys and journalist and don't forget the debt | | | | Before a skip tracer starts hunting for those missing, |
| collection companies. Skip tracers locate the missing | | | | they determine whether the skip (or the act to go |
| people in order to locate a possible witness, locate life | | | | missing) is intentional or unintentional. Those who have |
| insurance beneficiaries, lost friends or even a loved | | | | gone missing owing to bad debts or some criminal act |
| one. | | | | are generally intentional skips. |
| There are many sources of information which aids in | | | | In such a case it gets a bit difficult to discover such |
| the skip trace process. Telephone directories, public | | | | people because many people know how and where |
| records, motor vehicle records and property records, | | | | to hide and how to avoid such trials. More often than |
| are all used to gather information about a missing | | | | not such people may also change their looks, making |
| individual; though with the internet, skip tracing | | | | the job of the skip tracers difficult. |
| techniques have become far more advanced. Skip | | | | Skip tracers generally look into the paper trails a |
| tracers may also look into the credit reports like the | | | | person leaves behind. Credit card usage can provide a |
| information given on loan application or in credit card | | | | plethora of information, by denoting in which areas the |
| application, on a job application by the missing person | | | | missing have been using their credit cards. Similar kind |
| & getting out the criminal history with the police. All | | | | of information can be provided by account |
| these factors which help in locating a particular person | | | | transactions. Though some of the sources of |
| are known as "identifiers'. Generally, more than one | | | | information are publicly available, for others a search |
| identifier is required for locating the missing. | | | | warrant may be required. |
| A criss-cross directory offers a deluge of information | | | | The job of a skip tracer is both a very challenging and |
| for any individual. It gives telephone numbers listed by | | | | gives good rewards financially. A person can hone his |
| the serial number, the addresses and even how long | | | | skills in a short span of time. |