How to find someone using a social security number

Sometimes, you need to find someone and you only have their name and social security number. Here are a few tips to help.

Recently, I had the task of performing a background check on a potential employee and I was provided with their social security number and name. I was a bit flummoxed.

Finding people is a task that can take some time and sometimes it seems to be a hard task. However, if you already have their social security number(SSN) then half the battle has been won. Getting the SSN is probably the hardest part of finding them. Of course, it might just mean you knew them in a former life so trying to locate them again now should not be too hard. There are not that many ways to find people for free but I have placed a few suggestions that will help your cause.

First step to finding someone

One of the initial checks should be to ensure that the social security number you have is accurate. So where did you get it from? Is it a valid source or is someone trying to pull the wool over your eyes? An SSN is usually in the format of 3 numbers – 2 numbers -4 numbers, that is ###-##-####. Of course, if you got it right from the actual person then it is more certain to be correct. They may have given it to you to help you perform a background check on them or you might be looking at your own background to get foreknowledge of what someone might find if they look.

Second Step

Do not proceed without doing this...

The next important step is to make sure the number you have is for a living person. The free way to do this is by searching the social security death database. This can be found here: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3693. Make sure you click on ‘show advanced’ so that you can search via SSN and name. This is one of the only free ways to find someone by their social security number. Of course, you will only find dead people here but at least, it will cut any further searches short if the trail stops here. If you are doing a background check, it gives you insight into the person who provided you with this particular SSN and also you do not waste too much time or money searching for a non-existent person.

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Good old Search Engines

The next free way to find someone by their SSN is to input their number into the Google search bar and press 'Enter'. Try it with and without the dashes in between the numbers to see what comes up. Also, try putting the number in quotes. This will get rid of a few fo the results and help you get rid of irrelevant results. You should also try this method with the other search engines like AOL, Yahoo and Bing as they may have different results.

Everybody searches for someone sometimes

Poster

The Government could help you find someone

Another way to contact someone using their SSN is to send them a letter using the social security administration office. In humanitarian cases, they will even forward the letter for free. Any other reason will require a fee of twenty five dollars at time of writing. They will then forward the letter for you using the details they have. Of course, this allows the person being contacted to get in touch with you if they so choose. The social security admin site is: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/html/ltrfwding.htm.

Paid For Services

However, if you are doing background checks on the person for employment or accommodation maybe, then you will probably want more information about them. In which case a background checking service would be something to consider. Places like Intellius provide this service. Other places like USA Trace will help you for a fee of thirty eight dollars (at time of writing). All you need to provide is the SSN and their name.

These are a few ways to find out more about a person whose social security number you have. Go forth and find out more...

No Stalking now!

If you need more ideas on how to find someone's address, have a look over on the site by clicking the blue words.