When searching for a person is lawful and when it is not

• Locating a debtor under a confirmed obligation or a court judgment.
• Tracing a relative with whom contact has been lost, including inheritance situations.
• Establishing the whereabouts of a defendant or witness for a legal procedure.
• Searching for a person who has gone missing in a family or international situation.
• Identifying a party evading performance of obligations.

• Searching for a person who has deliberately ended contact with the client.
• Tracing where a restraining order prohibiting approach or contact is in place.
• Tasks showing signs of harassment, pressure, blackmail or revenge.
• Searching in order to pass data to third parties for an unclear purpose.
• Establishing whereabouts without willingness to explain why it is needed.

A person's address, once found, is information capable of causing harm. Responsibility for the consequences rests not only with the person who uses it, but also with the person who provided it.

For this reason, the lawful purpose, the basis and what the client intends to do with the result are established before work begins. A refusal to explain the purpose is sufficient reason not to take on the task.

In some situations the result is not passed to the client directly, but in a form that prevents misuse: for example, by confirming a fact without disclosing the exact address, or through a lawyer acting as intermediary.

It cannot be guaranteed that the person will be found. People change countries, documents and ways of life, and some traces disappear irreversibly.

What can be guaranteed is the lawfulness of the methods, that all available lines of enquiry have been worked through, and an honest report on what was checked and where the search stopped.

• Locating a person
• Tracing relatives
• Debt recovery

• Locating a relative and making contact safely - 21 minutes.
• How an international search for a person is organised - 22 minutes.
• Due Diligence on an executive before hiring or partnership - 23 minutes.
• Reputational audit before appointing an executive - 21 minutes.
• PEP and sanctions checks on an individual - 18 minutes.
• Red flags when checking an individual - 18 minutes.
• How long a search for a person takes and what the timeframe depends on - 17 minutes.
• What information is needed to begin a search for a person - 5 minutes.