People Search by Social Security Number

How to People Search by SSN On the Internet

If someone you know is missing or you're trying to locate a long lost friend or relative and all you have is a social security number, there are several instances in which you can conduct a people search by SSN using Internet databases. In the next few paragraphs, we're going to discuss your options for conducting your investigation.

The Investigative Membership Option

This is where you join a Public Records/Investigative Membership site (the kind that private eyes use) and you pay an annual fee for access to databases, reverse search tools and people search engines. The fees normally range from $25-$100 per year and you conduct your own searches using the tools in the member's area. This means you are not guaranteed results, but you can also conduct multiple searches. A few of the more popular membership sites that fall into this category are:

• Web Investigator - (Starts at $29.95 and goes up) One of the oldest and most trusted investigative memberships online
• Gov-Records - (Prices range from $29.95 to $49.95) This is another good one that many people like.
• Civil Files - (Prices start at under $30) This is a membership that focuses mostly on individual records and people search tools

The Guaranteed Results Method

If you go this route, you are basically hiring someone else to do the job for you. You could hire a locale private investigator using your phone book or you could use an online firm. One very good option online is to use the SSN Trace option from Best People Search. You supply the service the person's social security number, and they will return:

This service only costs $37 and can be very helpful.

Another online company that can do background checks using a SSN that can help you in a people search is US Search. For about $60, you can get a detailed report from just a social security number and last name. You can view a sample report by clicking here.

The Free People Search by SSN Option

If you want to search for free by SSN, your search will have a lesser chance of turning out positive results. With that said, it's certainly not impossible to get a hit using the free people search ssn tools.

The first thing you will want to do is check Roots Web (http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/). This is the social security number death index. Hopefully, you will not find results using this tool. That is because it will only lists results if the social security number you input belongs to a deceased (dead) person. If it's been a while since you last had contact with the person you are searching for, a quick search here will at least give you peace of mind that the person has not been officially pronounced dead anywhere in the USA.

If you're search at Roots Web comes up empty (which is good if you're trying to track down a live person), the next thing you should do is verify if the SSN is valid. The SSN Validator (http://www.ssnvalidator.com/) will allow you to input any SSN and ensure that it is valid and that the person it belongs to is living. You simply enter the number, agree to the terms and conditions then press enter. The results are immediate. It will tell you the approximate date the SSN was issued, whether or not the number is valid and it will list a name only if the number belongs to a deceased person. If no name appears, you will know the owner's number is probably still alive.

The next thing you should do, and proceed with caution here, is to enter the SSN into Google or your favorite search engine. Sometimes a person will have haphazardly used their social security number in an online message board, on a site like MySpace or somewhere else. Although it's a long shot you get a match, it does happen and could be a free way to accomplish your search.