Public Records

I Typed in My Name and the Results Had Me Speechless

as told to Ed S. - sponsored by Truthfinder

Have you ever googled yourself? A crush? Your neighbors? 57% of Americans admit to keeping an eye on their online reputation, and 46% admit to using the internet to look up someone from their past.

But Google is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding personal information. There’s a new website going around that users are calling "creepy," "scary," and "awesome."

Have you ever been issued a speeding ticket? Failed to stop at a stop sign? Do you know someone who’s had a run-in with the law? If you’re like most of us, the answer to at least one of those questions is "yes." Most of us have slipped up at least once or twice. In fact, one in four Americans has an arrest or a criminal record.

An innovative new website called Truthfinder is now revealing the full "scoop" on millions of Americans.

TruthFinder can search through hundreds of millions of public records in a matter of minutes. TruthFinder members can literally begin searching in seconds for sensitive data like criminal, traffic, and arrest records. Plus, they are able to check as many records as they want (think: friends, family, neighbors, enemies, etc. etc.).

Previously, if you needed to research somebody's arrest records, it involved a lot of work. First, you'd need to know where the arrest records were located. Then you'd have to travel to the appropriate county court office — in person! After filling out long and boring paperwork, you'd have to wait for the results.

Searching arrest records could take days, weeks, or even months. And what if somebody was hiding an arrest in an unknown county? You might never find it.

But with websites like TruthFinder, a background check is simple and easy. With just a few clicks of your mouse, you can find detailed and explicit information not readily available through a standard search engine.

I decided to test it out for myself and discover what information TruthFinder might expose about me. The search was easy, and after a few minutes, I found myself staring at my background report — and it wasn’t pretty!

There was that mortifying blog that I'd started in high school, still up for all the world to see! My report even included embarrassing photographs of myself that I'd totally forgotten about. I couldn't believe that TruthFinder even found my secret social media profiles that I'd created under an alias. The sheer volume of data about me was definitely scary. I feel like a perfect stranger could look me up on TruthFinder and find out my entire life story.

After conducting just one search, I was totally hooked. I just couldn't believe that it was legal to have this many personal details online! One of my friends from back home has pretty much dropped off the map entirely for the past three years. I've been kind of worried about him, and nobody seemed to know where he had gone. So, I typed his name into TruthFinder and was absolutely devastated by the search results.

My "friend" had gone to jail. TruthFinder had every single detail on the case, from the date he was arrested to which prison he was currently in. But the gruesome description of his offence made me realize that I probably needed to reevaluate who my friends were. This guy’s records listed charge after charge for battery, assault, and child abuse. His criminal record read like an infinite scroll of total depravity. I just couldn’t believe it.

From now on, I'm looking up everybody — no matter how normal they seem. Luckily for me, TruthFinder offers unlimited searches, so I'll never be fooled again.

Although TruthFinder can show deeply shocking criminal records, I've really been surprised by just how practical it is as an everyday tool. I've used it to look up addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, estimated income levels, assets — heck, I've even found Amazon wishlists on TruthFinder. One time I looked up Todd Kohlhepp, the scary serial killer from South Carolina who confessed to seven murders. Well, guess what? His Amazon profile came up in his background report, and let me tell you, it was downright chilling. He literally left reviews on knives and shovels, discussing how he used them in the murders. It was one of the creepiest things I've ever found online.

My own report came back with an interactive map of local sex offenders in my neighborhood, complete with mugshots and explicit details of their crimes. I was seriously grossed out to learn that my last apartment building was absolutely infested with perverts, rapists, and total scumbags.

It isn't all scary — After reading more about TruthFinder, I've heard lots of positive stories, too. Apparently, people have reunited because of this website. Estranged families have used public records to contact long-lost family members to get back in touch. Military friends have reunited after years of lost contact because they found the right phone number or email address on their report.

All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend TruthFinder to my friends and family. In today's world, you need to take precautions to keep yourself and your family safe. But if you're going to look up someone that you know using TruthFinder, I have to warn you: the information you might find could forever change how you feel about someone. Make sure that you're emotionally prepared for the consequences if you find something you don't want to see. To get started with your search, click here.