The process of performing investigative research can be time-consuming, tedious, and costly, but with the right strategies for searching in public and private records databases, gathering the appropriate data can be done quickly and easily. A criminal history check gathers past arrests of convictions and a public records search can make it possible to view a person’s entire criminal history to get to know the individual’s history with crime. A financial background check used to assess financial history, like bankruptcy records, tax liens, and financial relationships, should be conducted on those in financial services as a way to perform customer due diligence or vendor risk assessment. A social media search can be a great way to get to know a person’s interests and lifestyle, which is important for legal professionals who are gathering information about a witness or client before putting them on the stand. In addition, this type of search can help confirm or discredit a person’s location on a specific date and time. A skip trace can also confirm location with license plate recognition. A business records search can reveal any affiliations, while performing a Comprehensive Person Search can help uncover relationships to other people, like friends, relatives, aliases used, known associates, or business relationships. Finally, an asset search can allow an investigator to uncover any assets that may have been hidden by an individual that could be helpful in family law settlements or in repossession. Utility listings data is also a great way to uncover and cross-check information about a person that wasn’t available in public records.