From social media and dating sites to online forums and communities, the internet provides convenient ways to find and connect with romantic partners, friends, useful professional contacts, and vendors.
Unlike in the real world, getting to know people could feel easier in the digital space. However, it is largely a faceless medium that allows anyone to fabricate information, concealing their real identity behind fake personas.
As a result, the internet could harbor scammers, stalkers, criminals, and other bad actors disguising themselves to manipulate genuine online users. Imposter scams are the most reported fraud in the US, costing Americans $2.6 billion in 2022.
Naturally, whenever you meet someone online, learning more about them is critical for your safety. Here are three proven techniques to gather information about anyone you come across on a digital platform.
1. Try a Search Engine
The internet holds a vast amount of information about each of us. The easiest way to search it is by using a search engine. These platforms deploy bots to crawl and index web pages, which are then matched with search queries using advanced algorithms.
Google is still the number one choice for online searches, both on desktop and mobile. However, platforms such as Bing have attracted a massive audience, too, and are becoming increasingly popular worldwide.
Top search platforms have a few advantages over less heard-about ones. They usually have better indexing capabilities that regularly capture a larger amount of new and updated pages published online.
What makes them stand out is their algorithms, which could produce more relevant and recent results for your query at lightning speed. These results are listed on their search engine result pages (SERPs) in the order of relevance, among other criteria.
Tips For Using Search Engines
If you know the relevant person’s first and last name, you can simply type it into the selected search engine’s search bar and click enter. The platform will list the matching results from its database of indexed pages.
This may sound fairly simple. But finding information on the internet is not always easy using a name. Remember, you could discover multiple people with the same name. Sometimes, you might find none at all. This could happen with people who frequently use a nickname.
To improve your search results on a search engine,
- Type the name within open and closed quotation marks. This signals the algorithms to find exact matches instead of partial ones.
- Try using different name formats, including initials and shortened forms of names.
- Add other information about the person. For instance, if you know where they work, search for [name] + [company]. Similarly, when you have their email address, type [name] + [email]. This could help improve the accuracy of the results.
After each search, scan the top 20 results on the SERP and click on the page links you think are relevant. This exercise could take some time. But it is certainly worth the effort when you consider the possibility of uncovering information right from the source.
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Can Search Engines Find Every Relevant Page Online?
Not always. Publishers can sometimes hide their pages from search platforms for various reasons. In addition, technical glitches could prevent websites from getting noticed by search bots. In both these cases, the relevant pages won’t turn up on search engine results.
Even if a page gets indexed, algorithms could miscalculate its relevance to a particular search query and display it at the bottom of the SERP. When the SERP has several thousand results, the chances of you finding such pages are pretty slim.
Having said that, the top search engines have an impressive track record for unearthing information. This makes them excellent resources for learning more about people you meet online.
2. Check Social Media
Today, 90% of Americans are active on social media. So, if the person you are conversing with online is real, you can likely find them on one of the popular networking sites. Here’s how.
Search Their First And Last Name On The Top Sites
This includes Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and similar platforms with large user bases.
Go through their search results to identify the profile of the person in question. Don’t see any matches? Then, add other personal details to refine the results. These can include an email address, location, or a college. You might also need to try their name with nicknames, initials, and other formats.
Another way to improve your search efforts is logging into the social platform. If you don’t have an account, it is worthwhile creating one to make use of extra search facilities provided for platform members.
We recommend searching on different networking sites even if you have met the relevant person on social media. By uncovering their profiles on other platforms, you can dig a little deeper into their true identity.
Review Their Social Media Profiles And Activities
Personal bios, posts, comments, and reviews are excellent for learning more about an individual.
Remember, genuine users tend to write more personal descriptions about themselves. If they sound overly scripted, they are likely fake.
Highly edited profile images might also signal that something is amiss. Recently created profiles, fewer followers, and little to no engagement should raise alarm bells, too.
3. Use A Reverse Search Tool
Unique identifiers such as contact numbers and email addresses can also help you discover information about strangers. There are specialized search tools to facilitate such reverse searches.
How are they different from search engines or social media? These platforms don’t provide links to the original web sources. Instead, they aggregate various information about individuals to compile comprehensive reports for each person.
You can access these reports based on the reverse search facility provided by the platform. Nuwber, for example, organizes people reports based on names, phone numbers, locations, and email addresses. This allows you to search its database and discover valuable data about a specific person using its search capabilities.
The information these search tools can uncover is extensive and can range from an individual’s age, marital status, and address to their financial and educational details and criminal records.
To Conclude
The internet is a hotbed for various malicious actors. Therefore, whenever you meet someone online, learning more about them is crucial before you warm up to them or reveal your private details.
Search engines, social media, and reverse search tools are the top methods to find out personal information about strangers you come across in the digital space. By spending enough time gathering data, you can avoid unnecessary trouble later.
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