What Can You Expect from Intelius?

All the Fluff or All the Fuss

Intelius is another prime example of good marketing strategy. The Washington based firm specializes in information and data warehousing technology, full automation and volume at low prices. Well, you do get what you pay for sometimes. Customers of Intelius will most likely be dissapointed with their "Background Check" reports, as they run between $30 and $70 on average, depending on the search criteria. However, buyer beware that information in these reports are often meaningless, such as public phone records which one could find by using Yahoo people search, etc. In addition, there is no guarantee of accuracy. Automation brings about speed and efficiency, but this is in no way a real investigation. Buyers of the service should expect limited results, and if any criminal records are found (often overlooked) expect to have to follow up with the corresponding jurisdiction for detailed case and prosecution information.

The firm has been highly successful at leading the market in the multitude of Internet offerings for background checks. While Intelius at least provides some kind of service (although limited and not a background check or investigation) some of the other background check websites are scams themselves. For a international background check, the number of sites are far fewer, as few data processing organizations can access the technology abroad. For real investigations and background checks abroad, try legitimate firms such as Wymoo International or Kroll.

Lastly, you are at a loss if you are looking for information outside the United States. Currently, Intelius services do not cover anything but U.S. public record searches, and some fluff to make their reports more marketable (such as neighborhood information??). I'm still not sure what this is... are you?

Best of luck,

A. Hathaway