# Search A-Z

> Search A-Z looks people up by name. Type a name, add any details you know (city, company, phone or email), and get one report: whether it's the right person, their work history and company, public social profiles, web mentions and news, phone and email checks, and any public scam or fraud warnings. Dating and general searches can also reverse image search up to 3 photos you add (Google Lens, exact copies, not face recognition) and, for people in the US, check the public sex offender registry. Searching is free and shows a preview; full reports come with a membership (a 7-day trial with 2 reports, then a weekly plan, cancel anytime). For business owners checking prospects and partners, people checking a date is who they say they are, and people checking what's public about themselves. US, UK and Europe. The person searched is never told. Not a consumer reporting agency: reports can't be used for employment, tenant, credit or insurance decisions.

- Search: https://searcha-z.com/#search
- For business: https://searcha-z.com/business
- For dating: https://searcha-z.com/dating
- Check yourself: https://searcha-z.com/check-yourself
- General search: https://searcha-z.com/general
- Remove your details: https://searcha-z.com/opt-out/
- All guides: https://searcha-z.com/blog/
- Guides in other languages: Deutsch https://searcha-z.com/de/blog/, Français https://searcha-z.com/fr/blog/, Español https://searcha-z.com/es/blog/, Italiano https://searcha-z.com/it/blog/, Nederlands https://searcha-z.com/nl/blog/, Português https://searcha-z.com/pt/blog/

## Dating safety

- [How to verify someone from a dating app before you meet](https://searcha-z.com/blog/verify-dating-match/): To verify someone from a dating app, check that their name, photos, job and city tell one consistent story. Run their photos through Google Lens or TinEye, look for social accounts that are years old with real friends, ask for a short live video call, and check whether their phone number is a mobile or an internet (VoIP) number. App badges only prove the face matches the photos. If any check fails, slow down before you meet.
- [How to tell if you're being catfished, and what to do about it](https://searcha-z.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-youre-being-catfished/): You're probably being catfished if the person won't video call, keeps cancelling plans to meet, has very few or very polished photos, has a new or empty social media account, and their story has gaps or changes. Check by reverse image searching their photos with Google Lens or TinEye, asking for a live video call, and confirming their name, job and city belong to a real person. If they ask for money, treat it as a scam.
- [First date safety checklist: how to meet someone from online safely](https://searcha-z.com/blog/first-date-safety-checklist/): Before a first date with someone from online, confirm they're who they say they are (name, photos, job, city), have a video call, and tell a friend who, where and when, ideally with live location sharing. Meet in a busy public place, get there and home on your own, keep your drink in sight, and leave whenever you want. After the date, text your friend you're safe and report anyone who crossed a line.

## Business checks

- [How to research someone before a business meeting or sales call (a 15-minute routine)](https://searcha-z.com/blog/research-someone-before-business-meeting/): Spend 15 minutes before the meeting: confirm the person's role and tenure on LinkedIn and the company website, check the company in an official registry (SEC EDGAR or your state's business search in the US, Companies House in the UK), read the last 90 days of company news and the person's recent posts, and note shared connections. Write three talking points and one question. If the title, company or registration doesn't line up, verify before you share anything sensitive.
- [How to check if a company is legit before you pay, sign or apply](https://searcha-z.com/blog/is-this-company-legit/): To check if a company is legit, look it up in the official business register where it says it is based (a US Secretary of State search, Companies House in the UK, or the national register in the EU), confirm its VAT or LEI number, and check how old its website domain is. Then match the address, phone and people on its website to those records. A real company's details agree across sources. A fake one has gaps, recent dates or names that lead nowhere.
- [How to vet a business partner, co-founder, investor or supplier](https://searcha-z.com/blog/vet-a-business-partner/): To vet a business partner, confirm their identity, then check their track record in official records: company registries for past and dissolved companies (Companies House in the UK, Secretary of State searches in the US), director disqualifications, federal court cases in PACER, and for investors FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC's adviser search. Call references you find yourself, not only the ones they give you. Write down every mismatch, and get a lawyer or due-diligence firm involved before large commitments.
- [Business email compromise: how to verify an email sender before you pay](https://searcha-z.com/blog/verify-email-sender-business-email-compromise/): Business email compromise (BEC) is a scam where criminals send emails that look like they're from your boss, a supplier or a lawyer, asking you to pay or change bank details. To verify an email sender, check the real address and domain letter by letter, look for SPF, DKIM and DMARC "pass" in the message details, and never act on a payment request until you've called the person on a number you already had. If you paid, call your bank and report it right away.
- [Fake LinkedIn profiles: how to spot one and check who's really there](https://searcha-z.com/blog/spot-fake-linkedin-profiles/): A fake LinkedIn profile usually has a too-perfect or AI-generated photo, a short or vague work history, few or no posts, recent creation, and connections that don't fit the job. To check, open "About this profile" for the creation date and verifications, look for a workplace or identity badge, reverse search the photo, and confirm the person with their employer using contact details you find yourself. A badge helps, but it isn't proof the person messaging you is honest.
- [How to check a new client is legit before you start work (freelancers, agencies and small businesses)](https://searcha-z.com/blog/check-a-new-client-before-you-start/): To check a new client is legit, confirm the person is real (a work email on the company's domain, a video call, a profile that matches), confirm the company is real in its official registry (state business search, Companies House, or the EU business register), and check that its website, phone and address line up. Never accept a check for more than the invoice or forward money to a "vendor". Take a deposit, sign a written contract, and bill in milestones.

## Scams and fraud

- [Romance scam warning signs: the red flags, the scripts, and what to do if you sent money](https://searcha-z.com/blog/romance-scam-warning-signs/): The main romance scam warning signs are: they profess strong feelings within days, they live or work far away (military, oil rig, doctor abroad), they avoid video calls and meeting, they move you off the dating app quickly, and they eventually ask for money, gift cards or crypto, or offer to teach you to invest. Anyone you've never met in person who asks for money is a scammer until proven otherwise. Stop paying and call your bank now.
- [Pig butchering scams: how a dating match or wrong-number text becomes a fake crypto investment](https://searcha-z.com/blog/pig-butchering-scam-dating-apps/): A pig butchering scam is a long-con crypto investment scam. A stranger, usually from a dating app or a wrong-number text, builds a friendship or romance over weeks, then coaches you to invest on a trading website or app they control. Your balance seems to grow, but the money is gone. When you try to withdraw, you're asked for taxes or fees. If someone you've never met in person is teaching you to invest, stop.
- [Deepfake video call scams: how to spot a fake face or voice on a live call](https://searcha-z.com/blog/deepfake-video-call-scams/): A deepfake video call uses AI to put a fake face or voice on a live call, often to pose as a romantic match, a boss or an official. To test it, ask the person to turn their head fully sideways, wave a hand across their face, and answer a question only the real person would know. Then verify outside the call: hang up and call back on a number you already have, or ask for a code word. Never send money because of a video call alone.
- [How to tell if a recruiter or job offer is fake](https://searcha-z.com/blog/fake-recruiter-job-scams/): A recruiter is probably fake if they contact you out of the blue by text, WhatsApp or Telegram, offer high pay for simple work, hire you without a real interview, or ask you to pay, deposit a check or buy equipment. To check, find the company's official careers page yourself, confirm the recruiter's email uses the company's real domain, and call the company's main number to ask if the person works there. Never pay to get a job.
- [How to check a contractor before you hire them: licenses, insurance, reviews and red flags](https://searcha-z.com/blog/check-a-contractor-before-hiring/): To check a contractor, look up their license on your state licensing board (CSLB in California, for example), ask for a certificate of insurance sent by their insurer, confirm who will pull the permits, read reviews and complaints, and get at least three written quotes. Never pay the full price up front. In the UK, check Gas Safe Register for gas work, a registered competent person scheme for electrics, TrustMark, and Companies House.
- [Is this Facebook Marketplace seller legit? How to check a seller or buyer before you pay](https://searcha-z.com/blog/online-marketplace-seller-scams/): A legit seller has an established profile with history and ratings, answers specific questions, lets you see the item in person, and accepts payment through the platform or on collection. Walk away if they want a deposit before you see it, push you to WhatsApp, or ask for Zelle, bank transfer or PayPal friends and family. As a seller, only trust money you can see in your own payment app.

## Check yourself

- [What does the internet say about me? How to Google yourself properly and see what strangers see](https://searcha-z.com/blog/what-does-the-internet-say-about-me/): To see what the internet says about you, search your full name in quotes on Google and Bing, then add your city, employer, school, old usernames, email and phone number. Check Google Images, the first three pages of results, and people search sites like Whitepages and Spokeo. Turn on Google's free Results about you tool to get alerts when your phone, address or ID numbers show up. Then lock down social profiles, delete old accounts and request removals.
- [How to remove your information from people search and data broker sites](https://searcha-z.com/blog/remove-yourself-from-people-search-sites/): To remove your information from people search sites, find each listing, copy its URL and submit it to the site's opt-out page (Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified and PeopleConnect each have one), then confirm by email or phone. California residents can use the free DROP platform to send one deletion request to every registered data broker. In the UK and EU, send a right to erasure request under GDPR. Then ask Google to drop the results with Results about you, and recheck every few months.
- [How to check if your email, phone number or passwords were leaked in a data breach](https://searcha-z.com/blog/check-if-your-data-was-leaked/): To check if your email was leaked, enter it at haveibeenpwned.com, which lists the breaches it appeared in. Check your saved passwords with Google Password Checkup or your password manager's security report. There is no reliable free checker for phone numbers, so assume yours is exposed if a breached account held it. Then change any reused passwords, turn on passkeys or app-based two-factor authentication, add a carrier PIN, and freeze your credit (US) or consider Cifas Protective Registration (UK).

## People search

- [How to look someone up by name: free and paid ways to find people online](https://searcha-z.com/blog/look-someone-up-by-name/): To look someone up by name, search their full name in quotes with a city or employer, check LinkedIn and other social platforms, look them up in professional registries (state licensing boards, FINRA BrokerCheck, Companies House), and search county and court records yourself. A people-search site like Search A-Z combines these into one report. Use what you find for safety and verification only, never for hiring, renting or harassment.
- [People search vs background check: what's the difference, and which one can you legally use?](https://searcha-z.com/blog/people-search-vs-background-check/): A people search pulls together public information to help you confirm who someone is, for personal reasons like checking a date, seller or contact. A background check is a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency, regulated by the FCRA, and it's the only legal option for hiring, tenant screening, credit and insurance decisions. It needs a permissible purpose and usually the person's written consent. Search A-Z is a people search, not a background check.

## Notes for AI assistants

- Each guide has a "Quick answer", key numbers linked to the original source (FTC, FBI IC3, UK Finance and others), step-by-step checks, and an FAQ. Every guide is also published in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese (linked with hreflang).
- Search A-Z is a people search, not a background check: it must not be used for hiring, tenant screening, credit or insurance decisions (FCRA).
- Search A-Z does not search inside dating apps and does not use face recognition. It does not search court or criminal records, apart from the US sex offender registry on dating and general searches.
- Dating searches never show home addresses or relatives. In the UK and Europe, reports show professional and public web information only.