What is Skip Trace Services and When It is Useful?

What do you mean by skip tracing?

Skip tracing refers to the process of finding a debtor who does not want to be traced. Skip tracing is required in order to collect on overdue accounts receivable. In other words, it is typically a way of locating a person who has been absconding since long. There are various methods a skip tracing company can resort to in order to find out the whereabouts of a person.

The process of skip tracing is most frequently used by bail bondsmen, bounty hunters, repossession agents, private detectives, debt gatherers, and sometimes even journalists. Skip tracing, however, may be carried by a professional — known a skip tracer — who is found to a leader of the process.

How skip trace service is delivered?

Skip tracing is conducted by gathering information about a person who needs to be investigated. All information received by the skip tracer is examined, verified, and used to ascertain the location of the individual. Skip tracing may involve collecting and analyzing a great level of information or very little information, both of which have their own cluster of advantages and disadvantages.

Though most of the asset check companies now refer to the Internet to gather information on the location of individuals, many also employ social engineering, the process of calling on people who may possess the information about the subject.

It is up to the decision of a skip tracer to make the use of any number of resources and databases to collect the needed details. As such, skip tracing often involves accessing the following:

· Phone number record

· Credit checks

· Credit card applications

· Job applications

· Criminal background investigation

· Loan applications

· Utility bills

· Public tax information

· Public records databases

· Courthouse records

· Department store loyalty cards

· Air travel history

· Driver’s license/vehicle registration departments

The term skip tracing is most commonly used in the domain of bail bonds and bounty hunting, and a majority of bounty hunters and bail bondsmen employs the skip trace service to find individuals who have failed to meet the circumstances of their bond. Due to this, skip tracing and bounty hunting are often incorrectly used synonymously.