Use An Email Address As A Background Check Starting Point

Almost every person you know has at least one email address, and probably several.

They might not realize it, but their email address can tell someone a lot about them, which is why email OSINT (open-source intelligence) is a popular method for conducting background checks without spending a fortune on gathering non-publicly accessible information. Here are some things you can find out about someone from just their email address.

Their Full Name

Of course, many people use their full name as the first part of at least one of their email addresses. After all, they often want to be recognized as the sender of a particular email.

They don?t want you to think their email is spam, so they use their full name, often separated by a period, dash, or underscore, to ensure their email is opened. People who recognize a name in an email address are more apt to open it because they think it?s important.

However, you can also find the full name of a person who isn?t using their name as part of their email address. When signing up for an email address account, most email providers require a user to register their full name.

This data isn?t publicly accessible, but if you use the right tools, you can often find other data associated with the email address, like a social media account, that lists both their email address and full name.

Current Mailing Address And Phone Numbers

Again, you usually can?t access a person?s data behind an email address through the actual email provider. However, users typically give an email address when signing up for other services, such as social media, newsletters, and email advertisements.

Much of this information is considered open-source and will be revealed during an OSINT search. Even users who are careful to hide their name, address, and phone numbers from the public don?t realize that it becomes public information if you list it in certain places.

An example of this is using your unidentifiable email address to sign up for a social media site like Facebook. The default setting is to show your email address to anyone who searches your name. If you aren?t proactive and turn that setting off, your email address will come up in an OSINT search for that email address.

So, if you use the same email address on a job application, for instance, the hiring manager can use that email address as a starting point to find your current address and phone number. From there, they can use that data to find even more information.

IP Address

Although less likely, it is possible to trace an email to an IP address, which can lead to a physical address and other personal information. IP addresses are unique to computers, so if an IP address can be found, so can the computer the person used to send an email. And usually, that computer is located in a residence or business of the user themselves.

Why You Should Conduct An Email Background Verification? 

Conducting a background verification via email has a lot of reasons. Given below are some of the major ones: 

Privacy

Among the most popular reasons to conduct reference and background checks is to prevent legal liabilities or harm from various types of scammers. The types of harm include:

• Harms related to sexual harassment or violence
• Physical assaults
• Financial loss or reputational harm

Defending legal claims is one of the compelling reasons to perform in-depth verification of a confidential person. Searches like that of a multilevel jurisdictional criminal record present strong evidence of the person?s background. 

Boosting Productivity

Suppose you are the employer of a company. An email background verification will give you insight into the employee?s past experiences and also boost productivity. Past performances are a strong indicator of how they are going to perform in the future. Moreover, reference verification assists in differentiating between a mere poser and a competent person. 

Data Check

In-depth email verification gives you the private person’s name and other necessary data. This information will help you take necessary action against this private person. To be on the safe side, it is necessary to have all the relevant information in your file beforehand. 

Elements Of An Email Background Verification

While conducting a background verification, there are various elements to take into consideration. Have a look at them:

Determining The Need

The foremost factor one needs to consider before initiating the email background verification is the reason for doing it. You might find yourself asking what kind of information you need about this person. Check which data you need on a priority basis and how you can get them. An email background check consists of an address check, ID verification, court record checks, etc. 

Gathering Data

In order to conduct verification, one must have relevant data about the person who is supposed to be checked. This includes everything from their date of birth, name, social security number, and whatnot. These credentials help in digging into the background of this person based on the kind of checks performed. 

Tracking The Records

Optimizing the identity credentials of an individual, you get to search their records as well as databases. You can experiment by searching their criminal records, government databases, financial reports, and other public records. Nothing works better than a background verification using an email address for the checker. 

Analyzing And Reporting The Outcomes

After gathering all the data and verifying them, make sure to analyze them to depict the person?s suitability. This includes everything from economic crises to criminal convictions associated with him/her. 

Finally, you will need to report these outcomes to the authority. If you are single-handedly doing the operation, make sure you keep track of it. 

Conclusion

Finding information about a private person can be challenging if they are very meticulous about hiding their identity. But, if you know their email address, you have a great starting point for a background check that can tell you everything you want or need to know.

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