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  • Contractor background check: what to verify before work starts

    Letting a contractor into your home or onto your job site is a trust decision made with very little information. Here is what to confirm first.

    1. The name is real

    Identity confirmation and alias checks reveal whether the person goes by other names — one of the most common red flags.

    2. The address checks out

    Address history tells you whether the person actually lives where they say they do, and how long they have been in the area.

    3. Public records

    Court and criminal record searches surface matters that are part of the public record.

    4. The phone belongs to them

    Phone consistency checks flag numbers registered to a different name or business — worth a question before work begins.

    5. Their online footprint

    Public profiles and web references either support the story you were told or contradict it.

    Keep reading on TellData

    Sources & further reading: Reverse phone number lookup  ·  Recycled phone numbers: a hidden risk in screening pipelines  ·  Our data platform

  • How to run a background check on someone (2026 guide)

    You do not need an agency or a private investigator to find out who you are dealing with. With a name, a phone number, or an email address, you can run a person report yourself in minutes.

    What you need to start

    The more identifiers you provide, the sharper the match. A full name is enough to begin; adding a phone number, email address, state, or SSN dramatically narrows the results to the right person.

    What a report actually shows

    A TellData report returns identity confirmation and SSN trace, known aliases, full address history with dates, court and criminal records, watchlist and sanctions screening, linked phone numbers and email addresses, and public social and web references.

    How to read the result

    Reports open with a screening result — Clear or Review. “Review” does not mean the person is dangerous; it means something in the data needs a human look, such as a phone number registered to a different name.

    What you cannot use it for

    Person reports are for general information only. They are not consumer reports and cannot be used for employment screening, credit decisions, or tenant screening as defined by the FCRA. For those, you need a Consumer Reporting Agency.

    Keep reading on TellData

    Sources & further reading: KYC and identity verification  ·  Background checks have changed — what it means for small business  ·  Our data platform

  • What does a background check show?

    People imagine a background check is one big criminal database lookup. In reality a person report is assembled from several different sources, each answering a different question.

    Identity and address history

    An SSN trace confirms the legal name, age, and state and year the number was issued, then returns every address linked to that person with first and last reported dates.

    Court and criminal records

    Authoritative court databases are searched for criminal matters as well as civil, administrative, and traffic cases. Each case is listed with its number, court, filing date, and disposition.

    Watchlists and sanctions

    The person is screened against watchlist and sanctions databases, with a clear statement of whether any records matched.

    Phone, email, and online footprint

    The report checks whether the phone number is consistent with the name given, lists linked numbers and email addresses, and reviews social profiles and public web references.

    Keep reading on TellData

    Sources & further reading: Email lookup  ·  Reverse phone number lookup  ·  The $50M fraud bug caused by one wrong identity merge