Skip tracing is a term used in the industry for describing the process of locating a fugitive that cannot be found at any of their usual hangouts or at their home. The term skip refers to the individual that is being looked for and tracing is the term used to describe the act of finding the person.
Skip traces are most often used by bounty hunters, bail bondsmen, private investigators, repossession agents, debt collectors and sometimes even journalists.
How do Skip Traces Work?
Skip traces are done by first collecting as much information as possible about the person in question. The information that is found is analyzed and verified and then used to figure out where the person may be located. There could be a lot of information about the suspect or very little information to go on, there are advantages and disadvantages of each.
Many skip traces are done over the internet these days, but there are some skip tracers who will also use social engineering. Social engineering involves calling individuals who may know information about the suspect who is missing.
Skip traces will typically involve accessing phone number databases, job applications, credit reports, credit card applications, utility bills, loan applications, criminal background checks, driver’s license, air travel records, courthouse records, public records databases, and public tax information as well as any other information and documents that can be found.
Who Uses Skip Traces?
Skip traces are often used by bounty hunters and bail bondsmen to locate the individuals who have failed to meet the bond conditions. Often times, skip tracing is often used synonymously with bounty hunting. However, this is not correct as these two things are different. Bounty hunters may hire a skip tracer to get the information and the 2 processes are completely different.
