How to Find Someone for Free

Why pay a service to find an old friend or a missing relative, when you can do it yourself for free? The internet has made people finding pretty easy. Here's how.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Google the person's name. It may just be as simple as that to find their current address and phone listing. Some results will show a White Pages listing for the person.

2. If a simple Google search doesn't work, search for the name in quotes: "John Smithers". Also search for the name in reverse: "Smithers John"

3. Still nothing? Try s search in quotes, with a search wildcard (an asterisk) to account for a middle name or initial: "John * Smithers"

4. Remember to try alternative names...Bill for William, Susan for Suzie, and so on. Search with and without nicknames; your friend 'Skip' just might have a more formal first name worth searching on. Also try searching for maiden names, if you're looking up a married woman (or the occasional man who changes his name at marriage).

5. If searches turn up too many results (as will happen for common names), use other search terms to pinpoint an answer. If you know the person's city, workplace, spouse's name, school, or other identifying information, include those terms in your search.

6. The Resources section lists more people finding options.

Resources

• Google Search
• Still can't find them? Ask a professional research service.
• Intelius People-Find Online Service

[tommy424]

on 8/16/2009 Sorry but your advice was completly worthless.

[sallyemaycreate]

on 8/7/2009 Great info... 5*

[BenLeefield]

on 11/12/2008 Hi David

Thanks very much for adding our WikiWorldBook site to your people search knol. Much appreciated.

I'd also be very grateful if you could add us to this one as well. Essentially, our site offers a "Trace" facility. All someone has to do is type in the name of the person they are looking for and we generate a unique page for that person that then shows up in the Search Engine results. In effect its like travellers pinning notes to a community noticeboard in a cafe saying they are looking for a person - except with the web you have millions of people passing through daily rather than hundreds, so the odds are more in your favour. If you're interested, our Trace url is:-

http://wikiworldbook.com/trace-lost-friends-and-relatives

If you're not, thanks for the other reference anyway!