Have you ever heard someone on TV talking about skip tracing? If so, how much do you know about it? Skip tracing is not as glamorous and adventurous has TV sometimes makes it out to be, but it is also no walk in the park. Doing it well requires a keen mind and attention to detail.
Below is everything you need to know about skip tracing, compliments of Salt Lake City, Utah’s Judgment Collectors. As a collection agency, Judgment Collectors works exclusively on unpaid judgments.
Table of Contents
What Skip Tracing Actually Is
It is easy to walk away with a lot of strange ideas after seeing skip-tracing depicted on TV or in films. In terms of its definition, skip tracing is pretty basic. It is nothing more than the process of tracking down someone who has left town – or skipped, if you will.
Who Utilizes Skip Tracing
Skip tracing is an important tool utilized by a variety of professions. Right off the bat, Judgment Collectors relies on skip tracing to track down debtors trying to avoid paying their debts. Skip tracing is also utilized by:
- Divorce Attorneys – Divorce attorneys utilize skip tracing to track down deadbeat exes who fail to pay child support and maintenance payments.
- Criminal Attorneys – When a potential witness in a case decides to make themself scarce, a criminal attorney may turn to skip tracing to locate them.
- Private Investigators – Skip tracing is utilized by private investigators looking to find individuals so a summons can be served.
- Bounty Hunters – Skip tracing is not only a tool bounty hunters use, but also the primary tool for doing what they do. Bounty hunters do not get paid if they don’t succeed.
It should be obvious that skip tracing is not limited to a particular need or industry. It can be utilized by anyone searching for someone who does not want to be found.
How They Do It
Next up is how skip tracers actually do what they do. These days, a lot of them start with social media. Why? Because far too many people are careless about what they post online. Social media can be a goldmine of helpful information.
After social media, skip tracers might turn to public records searches. They have no shortage of choices to work with. Skip tracers can look into property transactions and tax records. They can look at local police blotters, arrest records, and court records.
Wherever public records are found, they can be utilized to glean valuable information. If these do not provide enough information, skip tracers have other sources of information they tend to not disclose. To discover more about the various data-collecting techniques, visit this website: https://www.blogs4us.com/
What is the reason for their secrecy? They don’t want to give the people they are searching for any hint as to how they are going about their business. What skips do not know remains an advantage to the skip tracers.
What Happens When Skips Are Found
Last but not least is the question of what happens when skips are finally found. That depends on the reason for searching for them. In the case of an outstanding judgment, finding a skip gives the collection agency an opportunity to convince that person to pay up.
A divorce attorney can proceed with collecting unpaid alimony and maintenance once a skip is found. A private investigator can serve their summons, a criminal attorney can serve their subpoena, and a bounty hunter can return their target to police custody.
Skip tracing is all about locating people who are purposely trying to hide. With all the tools available to skip tracers today, it is hard to stay hidden forever.
