Need an inexpensive, exceedingly fast, accurate and current way to conduct skip-tracing? Try Accurint.com, a database with more than 20 billion records from 400 sources. How inexpensive? Searches begin at 25 cents and never top $4.50. Is it exceedingly fast? You bet; Accurint searches through its 20 billion records in seconds. Accurate? Well, as accurate as the public records upon which it depends. (A search of my record linked me to my current husband--but missed my immediate relatives, and had a full record of my former husband and his family). Current? Once again, that depends upon whether the public records from which the data is collected is current.

This database is geared to collection agencies, attorneys and law enforcement agencies who need to find a missing witness, an heir, debtor, criminal suspect, relative (or associate) or neighbors (current and previous). The results will display a person's current name (or names), AKAs, property ownership, DOB, Social Security number, current and historical addresses dating back 20-30 years, current telephone number(s), names of others living at the subject's current address, and date of death.

Accurint can be searched by the subject's name or social security number, and even by an old address (and of course a current address) and phone number. I tried to search by one of my old phone numbers, and it did not work; however, searching by one of my old addresses worked like a charm. Besides home addresses, Accurint will sometimes display work addresses—always a difficult bit of data to locate.