Debtors and judgment debtors
Lenders, collection agencies and creditors' lawyers who need a current address to communicate lawfully or enforce a judgment.
OSINT Skip Tracing and People Tracing Services
OSINT skip tracing finds people who have moved on, so that a court case, a debt, an inheritance or a shareholding can be dealt with properly. We trace only for documented lawful purposes, and we turn down any request that looks like an attempt to find someone who does not want to be found by the person asking.
- Debtors and judgment debtors
- Witnesses and parties to litigation
- Heirs, beneficiaries and lost shareholders
- No stalking, harassment or domestic cases
Short answer
OSINT skip tracing is the location of a person from public and commercially available sources, such as company and property records, court filings, archived web pages, social media and licensed data. OSINT-S traces debtors, witnesses, heirs, beneficiaries and lost shareholders for clients with a documented lawful purpose, and delivers a verified current address or contact route with a confidence level. Focused traces take from 10 business days.
What Is OSINT Skip Tracing?
It is locating a person who has 'skipped', moved or lost contact, using lawful open-source research instead of pretext calls or unlawful data.
In debt collection, a "skip" is a debtor who has moved without leaving a forwarding address. The same work now supports litigation, probate, pensions and shareholder registers. An analyst starts from what the client knows, such as an old address, a date of birth or an email, and follows the trail through independent records until more than one confirms a current location.
The output is a location, not a dossier. Background and assets are separate services with their own scope: background checks and asset tracing.
Lawful Reasons to Trace a Person
Every trace needs a purpose we can write down and a client with a legitimate connection to it.
Witnesses and parties
Law firms locating witnesses, former employees or defendants, and supporting process servers with a verified address.
For law firms →Heirs and beneficiaries
Executors, trustees and probate lawyers finding relatives and beneficiaries named in a will or entitled on intestacy.
Lost shareholders and members
Companies, registrars and pension schemes reuniting people with dividends, shares or benefits.
Claimants and policyholders
Insurers contacting policyholders or beneficiaries they can no longer reach.
Support for licensed investigators
Open-source tracing for private investigators who need extra analyst capacity on a lawful case.
For private investigators →Cases We Refuse
We do not locate people for personal reasons, for ex-partners, or for anyone who wants to confront, watch or harm them.
We refuse requests to find a former partner, an estranged family member for private reasons, a person who has blocked or left the client, a journalist's source, an online critic, a protester or anyone in a domestic dispute, whatever reason is given. We also refuse clients who cannot show a lawful purpose and a legitimate connection to it.
The reason is not only ethics. In Remsburg v. Docusearch (N.H. 2003), an information broker sold a young woman's workplace address, obtained by pretext calls, to a client who then killed her. The New Hampshire Supreme Court held that an investigator whose disclosure creates a foreseeable risk of criminal misconduct owes the person traced a duty of reasonable care (case summary and opinion). We screen every client and purpose before we start, and we may stop work if the facts change.
If you are worried that someone is trying to find you, contact the police or a victims' support organization first.
US and EU Rules That Shape People Tracing
Several laws decide what a tracer may obtain, how, and what a client may do with the result.
| Rule | What it means for tracing |
|---|---|
| FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692b | Debt collectors contacting third parties for location information must say they are confirming location information, must not say the consumer owes a debt and generally may contact each person only once (text). We locate; contact is the collector's job. |
| GLBA, 15 U.S.C. § 6821 | Obtaining a financial institution's customer information by false statements or documents is prohibited (text). We do not make pretext calls. |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1039 | Obtaining confidential phone records by fraud is a federal crime with up to 10 years in prison (text). We do not obtain carrier records. |
| DPPA, 18 U.S.C. § 2721 | State DMV personal information may be disclosed only for listed purposes, including court proceedings, service of process and enforcement of judgments (text). We use such data only where a permitted purpose applies and the provider allows it. |
| GDPR and UK GDPR | Tracing an individual usually relies on legitimate interests, which require a necessity and balancing test (EDPB); Article 14 normally requires telling people their data was collected, with limited exceptions (Art. 14). |
We do not supply consumer reports. Trace results must not be used to decide anyone's eligibility for credit, employment, insurance or housing; those decisions fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Other countries have their own rules, which we check during scoping.
How an OSINT Trace Works
Purpose check, then research from the last known facts, verification against independent records, and a report with a confidence level.
- Purpose and client checkYou tell us who you are, why you need the person and what you will do with the result. We confirm the purpose is lawful before quoting.
- Start from known factsFull name, date of birth, last known addresses, emails, phone numbers, employers and relatives, plus any documents that link them.
- ResearchCompany, property, court and insolvency records, archived pages, public social media, professional profiles and licensed data where its terms allow.
- VerifyA location counts only when independent sources agree and point to the same person, not a namesake.
- ReportCurrent address or contact route, the evidence behind it and a confidence level, reviewed by a senior analyst before delivery.
Using OSINT to Locate a Person by Phone Number and Email
A phone number or email is a strong starting point, but it has to be linked lawfully to a person and a current place.
Open sources can sometimes link an email or phone number to a name, public profiles, old listings or an address. We use that to connect identifiers to a person, then confirm the location through records. We do not obtain subscriber records from carriers or email providers, track a phone, send fake messages or log into accounts. Those routes are unlawful or need a court order.
OSINT Skip Tracing Tools vs an Analyst-Led Trace
Tools and people-search sites return candidates; an analyst decides which one is right and proves it.
| People-search sites and scripts | Analyst-led trace | |
|---|---|---|
| Output | Lists of possible addresses, often out of date | One verified location with evidence |
| Common names | Mixes up people with the same name | Separates namesakes using independent records |
| Cross-border | Mostly limited to one country's data | Follows the person across countries and registries |
| Use in court | Weak without supporting records | Source-referenced report with captures |
Many clients run the cheap searches first and come to us when results conflict or run out. Tracing is one of several OSINT services for law firms and lenders; for tracing linked to fraud or hidden assets, see OSINT investigations.
What You Receive
A short report you can rely on: who we found, where, how sure we are and what supports it.
The report gives the verified address or contact route, the records behind it, a confidence level and any doubts. We do not contact the person; your lawyer, process server, registrar or collector does. Focused traces take from 10 business days, multi-country traces up to about a month, and urgent work costs 50% more. The quote is fixed after written scoping, the fee goes down if we miss the agreed date, and everything is under NDA. If the person cannot be found, we report what we checked.
OSINT People Tracing: Specialized Services
Focused versions of people tracing for specific subjects, deals and situations.
Debtor tracing
Locate consumer and business debtors who have moved on, with verified addresses and employers for lawful collection and enforcement.
Read more →Witness location
For counsel only: locate former employees, eyewitnesses and records custodians for interviews, disclosures and subpoenas, without contacting them.
Read more →Heir and beneficiary tracing
For executors, trustees and probate lawyers: identify unknown heirs, find missing beneficiaries and document identity before distribution.
Read more →Send Us the Tracing Brief
Tell us who you are, why you need to reach the person and what you already know. We confirm the purpose, then send a fixed quote and delivery date.
OSINT People Tracing FAQ
Our firm has a judgment against a former client who moved and stopped answering mail — can OSINT skip tracing find his current address so we can enforce it lawfully?
Yes, this is a typical case. We start from his last known details and trace him through company, property, court and other records, social media and licensed data where permitted, until independent sources agree on a current address. You receive the address, the evidence and a confidence level. We do not contact him; your enforcement agent or process server does. Focused traces take from 10 business days.
I'm the executor of my aunt's estate and her will names a cousin nobody has heard from in twenty years — can you trace him and what do you need from me?
Yes. Send the will or the relevant clause, your appointment as executor if available, and anything you know: full name, approximate age, last town, parents' names and old photos. We trace through records in the countries he may have lived in and confirm identity before reporting. If he has died, we look for evidence of that and, where relevant, his own heirs.
I want to find my ex-partner's new address because she moved with our shared belongings — will you take this case if I explain why it's important?
No. We do not trace former partners or anyone involved in a domestic or personal dispute, whatever the reason. If you have a legal claim to property, speak to a lawyer; they can pursue it through the courts, which have their own lawful ways to serve papers. If there are safety concerns on either side, contact the police.
We are a debt collection agency in the US — can your team locate skipped debtors by phone number and email without breaking the FDCPA or pretexting rules?
Yes. We locate debtors from open sources and licensed data without pretext calls, false statements or carrier records, so the trace itself does not rely on prohibited methods. The FDCPA's rules on contacting third parties for location information apply to your communications, so we do not contact anyone on your behalf. You receive the location evidence; your compliance team handles contact.
Our company has hundreds of shareholders with unclaimed dividends and outdated addresses — can you run a bulk lost-shareholder trace and how long would it take?
Yes. We agree a batch format, the data you can share, the identity checks needed before a match counts, and how results are delivered, then trace in priority order, such as largest holdings first. Timelines depend on volume and countries; we fix them in the quote. Results come with confidence levels so your registrar can decide which shareholders to contact first.
Our law firm in Germany needs to trace a witness who now lives in another EU country — is that legal under the GDPR, and does the witness have to be told?
It can be. Tracing a witness for legal proceedings normally relies on legitimate interests, which need a documented necessity and balancing test. Article 14 usually requires informing people that their data was collected, but there are exceptions, for example where notice would seriously impair the purpose. We document the basis with your firm and collect only what is needed to locate the witness.
Why should I pay for an analyst when cheap skip tracing tools and people-search websites already give me a list of possible addresses for the person?
Because a list is not an answer. People-search results mix up people with the same name, repeat old addresses and rarely cover other countries. An analyst checks which candidate is the right person, confirms the current address through independent records and documents it so it holds up if challenged. Many clients use the cheap tools first and bring us the cases where they fail.
Sources and Notes
- 15 U.S.C. § 1692b: Acquisition of location information (FDCPA)
- 15 U.S.C. § 6821: Privacy protection for customer information of financial institutions (GLBA)
- 18 U.S.C. § 1039: Fraud in obtaining confidential phone records
- 18 U.S.C. § 2721: Permissible uses of motor vehicle records (DPPA)
- EDPB Guidelines 1/2024 on legitimate interest
- Article 14 GDPR: Information where data are not obtained from the data subject
- Remsburg v. Docusearch, Inc. (N.H. 2003): summary and opinion text
Sources checked 7 October 2026. Figures about third-party firms and tools are as published by them or by the cited source on that date.