Spokeo offers a number of very nice and simple search reports and a very easy to use site. Better still, they offer plenty of data in order to help you confirm that you have found the right person before spending your hard earned money on a full report. You will also appreciate that the site has a simple and uncluttered look and feel to it. This makes it easy to get started right away without feeling assaulted by too much information.

Available Searches

Search Inquiries	Services	Accuracy Grade
Background Report		B
People Search		A-
Criminal Background Search
Reverse Phone Number Search		B
Reverse E-mail Search		B+

• Background Report
  Spokeo offers a Background Report option unlike other sites. In additional to information about an individual’s personal details, you are supplied with a Family Background and Neighborhood information. The reports are so thorough, that you can even find out information that normal search engines can’t find like: Personal Videos, Online Blogs, Comments, even social networks or aliases they may have.
• People Search
  While helpful with Background Information, the best thing about Spokeo is their quick and easy People Search engine. With even just an individual’s name, you are able to pull back a great amount of information. You may need to sift through results to find the person you are looking for, but with a map of the United States that indicated the locations of all people who match the name of your search, it doesn’t take too long to find the person you are looking for.
• Additionally, Spokeo provides a multitude of ways to help you check on a person of interest with options to conduct Email, Reverse Phone Number, Username and even a Reverse Address Search.

Case Study

To confirm that fact that Spokeo is a useful tool in conducting a background report and people search, we decided to try and find the CEO of Spokeo.com, Harrison Tang. Through some other publicly available information, namely a simple Google search, we already knew that he lived in Pasadena, California and we had an approximate age range. With this in mind we began a basic people search on the site. Using his name and city and state information, we pulled up about 10 results. Five of these names were in the state of California. A great extra feature the site utilizes to enhance its search results is the use of Bing maps. This helped to further hone in on the individual you are searching for and adds a bit more certainty to the results. It also displayed basic information on each of these people on the sidebar. This made it quite easy to immediately narrow down the search to our target.

From here, clicking on the target gave us a run down on everything that would be included in the full report. This seemed quite comprehensive, including home address, work and business information, marital status, education, family members, and more. We were very well pleased with the results of these search efforts.

Key Features

The best part of the Spokeo service is just how straightforward and easy to use it is. Compared to most of the competition, this is like a breath of fresh air. The added maps from Bing showing the approximate location of the people being searched is also incredibly helpful. Not to mention the fact that showing what information will be included in your report gives you an accurate idea of what to expect.

Most of the search options offered work well, so there is not any particular type of search category or option that really stands out; it comes down to what type of information you may already have. You can also print your reports as PDF files to have them on-hand.

Another great perk offered by Spokeo is a monitoring feature. You can enter the details of the person you wish to track, and you will receive alerts whenever his or her status is updated (ie. they moved locations, their phone number has changed, etc)..

Fees

The Spokeo fees are done in a slightly unique fashion. They do not offer the option of buying a single report. Instead, you may purchase a membership. These are not trial memberships, either. For either $14.85 for a 3-Month membership ($4.95/Month) or $23.70 for a 6-Month membership ($3.95/Month) you can come aboard. This gives you the ability to conduct a limited amount of searches: 20 Email Search, 20 Phone Searches, 20 Username Searches, 20 Address Searches and 50 Email Contact Reveals. While basic name searches are unlimited, it is best to keep in mind that if you go over the allotted search quota, you will need to purchase an additional membership. Additionally, if you are not satisfied with the results of your search, Spokeo has a 100% guarantee where they will “gladly” issue a refund.

Methodology

Spokeo uses a number of public records and other files in order to compile their lists. This includes phone books, real estate records, and other types of public records. They also use social networks, marketing surveys, and more. Ultimately, they use the power of what has become known as machine data aggregation.

Reliability

The actual reliability of the data and information returned can vary somewhat from search to search. Obviously, this will depend upon whether or not your particular data was found through something like a marketing survey (less reliable) or a real estate listing or database (more likely to be reliable).

Safety & Security

Spokeo is committed to the safety and security of all their users. This means that you are even able to retain access to your searching history on the site. Not to mention the fact that if you do not want your own information to be displayed for other users to purchase, they also have an opt-out feature.

Customer Support

Unlike a number of other people search websites, Spokeo does seem very committed to customer service and support. This means that if you should ever have a question or concern, there are support agents standing by. Feel free to give them a call or send an email; most messages are answered within 12 to 24 hours. They also have a very detailed FAQ section. Plus, if you are having trouble finding someone through an online search, they will work with you.

Bottom Line

As data aggregation companies go, Spokeo is not only one of the most well-known, but also one of the best and most effective. They offer a lot of options for finding exactly the person you are looking for and provide a very clear and easy platform to conduct those searches.