How Private Investigators Find People in the UK

January 19, 2022 - Reading time: 8 minutes

As a leading detective agency based in the UK, we are often instructed by our clients to help find people, and for a wide variety of reasons.

Whether you are looking for someone that owes you money, or an old friend, tenant, business partner or family member, a private investigator may be able to help to locate that individual and provide you with details such as their current address/phone number.

The best path taken in a missing persons case is often dependant on the circumstances. When we are tasked with finding people, the first step is typically to review all of the information that our client has available before deciding the best path forwards in each respective case. 

If you are interested in our people finder service, then reach out to us for a free consultation. Please include as much information as possible with your inquiry so that we can review the case and offer a free, no obligation quote if we are able to help.

Private investigators can use a range of tactics when searching for missing people. We will explore some of the more common methods which are used by investigators to find people in this article.

1. People tracing using record searches

As a leading detective agency in the UK, we have years of experience in tracing individuals through public record searches. Record searches are one of the most common solutions used by private investigators to trace people in the UK. It is not just having access to the necessary data, but being able to understand and navigate it, that allows investigators to successfully trace people using record searches.

We have invested in the most modern and up-to-date tracing systems available, which combined with our team’s experience in this area, means that we are often able to successfully locate and trace people for our clients.

Whether you need help to locate a debtor, your biological parent, or in any other case, then we can often assist to find the person you are looking for.

Tracing to find a person’s address

The goal for many clients that instruct us in tracing cases is to locate their subject’s address. In some cases it may also be possible to find the subject’s phone number and other details.

Tracing to find an address from a phone number

Private investigators are often asked to help find address from phone numbers. Whether or not this is possible in your case will depend on the type of phone number provided, which country it is located in, and the type of data available to your investigator.

Private investigators often have access to special databases which can sometimes allow them to perform traces and identify a subject’s name or address using their phone number. These traces are useful in a wide variety of different cases.

Tracing someone that owes you money

If someone owes you money, then they may feel a sense of security by running away and ‘burying their head in the sand’. They might fight this strategy to prove effective – until they are traced by a private investigator.

Tracing debtors is a service which is frequently provided by most private detective agencies. We suggest that if someone owes you money then you should take steps to locate them and recover your capital as soon as possible.

Tracing biological parents

Making the decision to find your biological parents can be difficult enough in and of itself. In most cases and in order to receive accurate and timely results, it makes sense to hire a professional investigator that is experienced in performing sensitive traces.

Please read our article for more information on how to trace your biological parents in the UK.

Tracing a person’s hidden assets

If someone is hiding their assets from you, be they your partner during divorce proceedings, or a litigant in court proceedings, then in many cases an investigator can help to trace and find any assets belonging to the subject which they may be attempting to hide.

Asset trace investigations are often complex. If you require our help with an asset trace investigation then please be sure to include all of the relevant details when getting in touch with us.

Tracing a person in the UK

If you require our help with a UK person trace, then please prepare to send our team all of the details and information relevant to your case. We will typically require the subject’s full legal name, date of birth, and past address. If more information is available to you then please include this in your inquiry.

Tracing a person internationally

In many cases we are able to help trace subjects that reside outside the United Kingdom, our fees tend to vary in these cases. As fees are heavily dependent on the circumstances, please prepare all of the information available and we will offer a free quote if we are able to help you. 

2. On the ground investigations

‘On the ground’ investigative techniques, or social engineering tactics, can sometimes be used by investigators to find people in missing persons cases where other methods have not yielded the desired results.

For example, in one case the subject’s whereabouts was unknown and we were unable to locate him through record searches. After we had exhausted all leads, an agent was deployed to the subject’s last known address. Through posing as an old friend and speaking to a neighbour, we were able to uncover the subject’s new address and phone number.

Thinking outside the box and using an agent to make inquiries during an ‘on the ground’ type investigation can often produce surprisingly good results – especially when you decide to hire an investigator that is experienced in the use of such tactics.

The results in cases where an agent is deployed to try and find information through making inquiries and speaking to people can often be unpredictable – of course you will need to pay your private investigator for their efforts whether the outcome is successful or unsuccessful, and therefore it’s important to consider all potential outcomes before committing to this form of investigation. 

3. Internet or social media research

Most people in modern society have multiple social media profiles, and many will have an even wider digital footprint. This digital footprint can be accessed by private investigators in order to provide clues on the subject’s whereabouts, employment/education details, relationship details, patterns of behaviour, even down to details relating to the subject’s attire.

It is not difficult to understand why social media plays a growing role within many private investigation cases. If a subject shares enough information about their lifestyle and behaviour through social media, then it may be possible to locate them using personal surveillance.

More information

Please visit the PrivateInvestigators-UK homepage for more information about us. We offer free initial consultations for all work, please reach out to one of our experienced team members for more information or to request a fee quote.