by Maria Montoya

Created on: July 06, 2009

While you may think that you can trust your online significant other, it is difficult to know anyone well whether online or in real-life. Unfortunately, many people have been financially or otherwise taken advantage of by someone that they met online. You should know your online paramour's name and location before the two of you start discussing an in-person meeting. Once you have these two pieces of information, you can start to check them out.

Most states and counties have their court records available online. This is a good place to start. You may need to enter the name different ways to get all of the records. For example, enter a first name of J and last name of Doe when searching for records related to John Doe. Documents may be stored under Jon Doe or under John Doe. Everyone makes mistakes. Don't miss out on potentially important information because the court clerk made a typographical error.

Normally, any record found related to your beau will also include a date of birth. Write this down because it will be helpful to you in the likely event that there are several people who share the name. Property, marriage, deeds, estate, and other related documents are available online in some counties. These records are helpful in determining marital status. You have a reason to be suspicious of John Doe's marital status if he owns property with Jane Doe. Look for speeding tickets, small claims court filings, and criminal court records. These are evidence of disrespect for the law and failure to pay bills are clues to the kinds of things you may have to deal with if you decide to continue a relationship with this person.

Peoplesearch.com will display some information at no charge, such as: previous cities lived in and possible relatives. If you are willing to pay, you can also purchase a comprehensive background report. Search the court records of every state and county lived in to ensure that you have a complete picture. Note the names of possible relatives. One of these may be a current or previous spouse. If you aren't worried that the person you are investigating will find out, you may decide to interview relatives and neighbors for further information.

It is important to keep in mind while investigating that a person has certain rights to privacy in this country. It is generally illegal to obtain a credit report, do audio surveillance, or monitor computer activity (on a system you do not own) without the consent of the person.

Learn more about this author, Maria Montoya.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.