5 Awesome Types of Reverse Searches You’ve Got to Try

Online background screenings have increasingly grown in popularity over the years, with more and more people resorting to it to verify known details as well as to find out the unknown. The advantages of using a people search tool can extend from your personal life to the workplace – whether you are curious to find out more about someone you’ve just met online, or trying to verify details of a candidate you have interviewed at work, or suspecting fraudulent behavior by a new neighbor.

However, these search efforts have mostly focused on people searches using reverse name lookups, with effective search results generated by several tools in particular. These range from search engines like Google that collate freely available online data, to websites specializing in background searches like Nuwber that provide more in-depth and comprehensive reports.

However, did you know that reverse searches can be carried out on a whole range of content? The amount of content that could be searched is quite overwhelming and could be diverse in nature, from text and images to even sound clips. Technology has indeed opened up a vast digital world for us to explore. Below are 5 awesome types of reverse searches that could surprise you with the staggering amount of information you can uncover in a digitally connected world.

Reverse address search

Whether you are trying to find more about a particular business location or want to check out the neighbors of a new house you are interested in buying, there would be many occasions when you are left wondering what to do with only an address in hand. This is when a reverse address search could come to your rescue.

Depending on which tools you use, a reverse lookup of an address could get you much more than a name. While you can go through county records to uncover ownership details of an address, there are far easier and less stressful ways to get the job done.

The easiest way to search an address is by using a popular search engine like Google. While it’s free to use, Google could pull up all records that are available online that relate to the address you are searching for. It can also provide you with details of any social media profiles the address might be linked to, depending on the user’s privacy settings. However, be prepared to spend a significant amount of time searching through a long list of websites retrieved by the search engine.

There are also several effective people search sites that offer reverse address lookups free of charge. These are an ideal choice if you want to save time and get all available details summarized in a report. These reports can be surprisingly comprehensive, although that type of detailed service would usually require a small payment. The information these background search sites can provide can range from contact numbers and property ownership details to their social media activity and even details of neighbors.

Reverse email search

From phishing attacks to fake requests for help, email scams are on the rise. The IRS reported a 60% increase in email scams aimed at stealing money and tax data during 2018. This year, a Toyota supplier lost $37 million due to an email scam that triggered the change of account details for a fund transfer – an increasingly encountered scam, commonly known as a Business Email Compromise (BED). 

Whether you are faced with a suspicious email or simply attempting to validate the authenticity of an email request, finding out the true identity behind an email address could save you from much trouble. This is exactly what a reverse email lookup does. It’s about retrieving personal details such as a name and a contact number with the help of nothing but an email address.

An email verification tool such as NeverBounce can help you verify the accuracy and authenticity of an email address. However, a social media search or a search engine tool can get you access to more information. Social media sites, in particular, could provide you with access to more personal details if it’s linked to a profile, post or a comment, depending on the privacy settings.

Social media sites have become a great platform for sharing especially bad personal encounters. So, if the email address you are searching for has been involved in any prior scams or frauds, for example, these can be uncovered easily through conversations in social media.

Background search sites can also perform people searches using an email address. They use complex algorithms to get you a comprehensive set of details by accessing a vast network of information like social media platforms as well as public records and even criminal records.

Reverse phone search

According to the YouMail Robocall Index, 49 billion robocalls were reportedly received by Americans during the first 10 months alone this year. Health-related robocall scams have jumped by 29 percent while interest rate-related ones have increased by 13 percent in October. The numbers are certainly disturbing and it seems spams and scams have become the new buzzwords.

From phone scams to prank calls and annoying telemarketers can all become good enough reasons for deciding to perform a reverse phone lookup. There are many free options available to help get you started, including Caller ID subscriptions and directory assistant services offered by your telecom operator.

Downloading a caller identification app like Truecaller could be of particular use as it can help you identify the caller’s name and even location at times. These apps have access to impressive spam directory databases generated by users, which can at times exceed 1 billion in numbers. They can even help you identify messages as well as block spam calls.

While the amount of information you can retrieve through these caller identification apps are limited, you can select a people search site if you require more in-depth information about the caller. These are especially useful when it comes to uncovering the identity of spam and nuisance calls or those you suspect of fraud.

Apart from the basic personal details, these background screenings can uncover felonies, warrants as well as arrest records. They can even provide you with details of neighbors, immediate and extended family, property and vehicle ownership as well as bankruptcies and credit ratings.

Reverse image search

A reverse image lookup allows you to upload an image and carry out a search for related information that is available online. These details could range from a list of websites containing the image to different image sizes and similar images. This can be useful whether you are attempting to find more about someone you’ve met on a dating site or you are looking to credit the source of an image that you want to include in your blog.

Search engines like Google are usually the first choice to carry out a reverse image lookup. On Google, for example, you can open the browser and click on the image tab on the top right corner to open the image search window. It will provide you with the option to upload an image or to paste an image URL to search. Once done, Google will sift through billions of images available online to provide you with the most relevant search results.

Specialized sites like DupliChecker can also provide you with reverse image lookup features. The advantage of using these sites is that they are able to perform fast searches across a number of search engines like Google and Bing. This will provide you with improved results while saving you from the trouble of going through several search engines.

You can also carry out an image search on your mobile device using several options. The Chrome app, for example, opens up a menu with “search Google for this image” option when you press on an online image that you would like to search for.

You can use Google to directly upload an image from your phone by opening the Google search page in the desktop version. There are also many other free and paid apps available for download on app stores to help you perform reverse image lookups.

Reverse Audio Search

Is there a familiar tune buzzing in your head that you just can’t seem to put a name on? Have you ever been to a restaurant and heard an awesome piece of jazz music that you want to track down? Reverse audio lookup is an exciting service to explore audio content in moments like these by playing an audio clip or singing or humming a tune.

While it is often used to search song clips, an audio search can also be quite useful for searching other audio content like podcasts and sound effects in commonly used formats.

There are plenty of specialized search engines for audio content. Shazam is one of the popular apps for searching music content to check the song title, artist and other related music. It’s a neat way to explore massive databases of music and even offers music playlists, and streaming services with the option to purchase.

Google also allows you to search audio content on its desktop version as well as on the Google app for mobile devices. These music searches can also be linked to the Google Play library.