NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF THOMAS SITE




PRIVATE-EYE SITE IS A FIND FOR WOULD-BE SLEUTHS
By SHARON MCDONNELL

Note: This article appeared in the New York Times On The Web, Tuesday, January 21st, 1997

Whether the challenge is tracking down a lost relative, friend or ancestor, trying to trace assets, or researching a company or a legal topic, the National Association of Investigative Specialists has a Web site. Thousands, in fact.

The association, based in Austin, Tex., is an organization of private investigators that runs Thomas Investigative Publications, a treasure-trove of free links to people-finder searches, government databases and other sources for private eyes and wannabes. The site is also a supermarket selling dozens of books like How to Find Anyone Anywhere and The Whole Spy Catalog, as well as over 600 products ranging from surveillance equipment to self-defense tools.

The organization's president, Ralph Thomas, whose home page features a blinking eye and whose e-mail address unaccountably features the numbers 007, has narrowed his selectionsand compiled a list of the top 15 Web sites for private investigators. He freely admits the sites are not comprehensive, but simply a starting point.

"There's a big difference between running a computer search and doing an investigation," said Mr. Thomas, who scours the Internet daily for an eclectic assortment of links from genealogy to medicine to criminals. He says nothing can replace a seasoned gumshoe's legwork, street smarts and people-reading skills. "You really have to know how to search, then what to do with the information when you get it."

Mr. Thomas' "Top 15" Web sites are:

Vital Records Database
If birth, marriage, divorce or death records are needed, this database lists the state agencies to whom to write for copies. Fees vary by state. A date of birth is crucial in obtaining a person's criminal or driving history, among other information. This service is more current than the official directory published by the United States Government.

Internet Address Finder
This free database lists the Internet e-mail addresses of over 5.5 million people. It also can reveal the identity behind an e-mail address. Registration with the service is needed for a person's e-mail address or name to show up.

Four11 People Finder
This free database, which claims to be the biggest "white pages" directory on the Internet, also has 8 million listings of e-mail addresses and Web pages world-wide. It also shows the telephone numbers for names
and addresses in the United StatesI, although unlisted telephone numbers do not appear. E- mail addresses are obtained from public sources as well as from registration.

Searching for People NetFinder
Type in an Internet e-mail address, and this free service will often reveal the person behind it -- even the last time he or she logged in, telephone number and address. The mind-boggling news is that people do not need to be registered here to show up, unlike other services. This service, which "fingers" accounts, does not work on all systems, notes the site, which is maintained by Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Military Locator Service
This database tracks down people in the United States Armed Forces worldwide, the base where they are stationed, rank and date of enlistment. The service covers 4 million military personnel, and notes if a person is on active duty, in the Reserves or in the National Guard. Formerly free, it now costs $3.50 per month for unlimited use.

FAA Aircraft Registration
If a person owns an aircraft, this free government database will list the address and other registration information.

Savvy Search
This free service will locate topics or people using more than two dozen search tools at once. These range from standard search engines like Alta Vista, Yahoo! and Excite to huge database sites like Time Warner's Pathfinder -- which features magazines like "Time" and "People," entertainment and lifestyle information -- Four11 and DejaNews, which searches Usenet news groups and mailing lists.

MapQuest
Type in a home or business address -- or even an intersection of two streets -- and view a free street map within seconds. Zoom in a few times for close-ups. (The surprise was this worked for my two-block cul-de- sac in the crazy-quilt chaos of Greenwich Village, as well as in semi-rural locations and other countries.) Free driving directions are even available for locations in the United States, plus some parts of Canada and Mexico.

The Seamless Website
One of the biggest legal sites, this offers over 6,000 links to topics like consumer, international and intellectual property law, legal research sites like FindLaw, law firms and legal services. The "Crossroads" section is a grab bag on information for anyone interested in the law.

National Address Server
Input an address -- or a misspelled or partial address -- in the United States, Canada or the
Netherlands to obtain the postal code and full address. This free service from the State University at Buffalo has links to national postal services, as well as people-finder services like Four11 and Switchboard and location-finders like MapQuest.

Switchboard
This free database lists telephone numbers and addresses for people and businesses in the United States. Type in a name without a city, and addresses and telephone numbers for people with that name will appear all over the country. Unlisted telephone numbers will not show up, however.

SEC Filings
Research detailed information on public companies whose filings are available in the Securities and Exchange Commission's free EDGAR database.

InfoSpace
A free database to locate telephone numbers and addresses of over 11 million people and businesses in the United States and Canada, e-mail addresses, Web sites, fax and "800'' numbers. A government directory includes Federal, state, county, congressional and local listings for agencies, courts and executives. Unlisted telephone numbers will not appear, nor will business or personal home pages or e-mail addresses not registered with the service.


Free Competitive Intelligence Analysis (Note-this one has been added from the orginial published list)
NetValue would like to help you learn what your competitors are doing on the Internet. Just give usa list of ten key
words or phrases that identify your products or services. We will use our expertise to search the World Wide Web
and identify up to ten different Web sites (locations) similar to the product or service profile you have given us. Our
report to you will include a brief overview of our findings, the relevant Web addresses we found, and a description
of what it would take (cost and process) for your organization to develop a Web presence. We will also suggest
ways you might differentiate your organization from others already on the Web.

A potpourri of other favorites from Mr. Thomas, who plans to restrict access to his free links to NAIS members later
this year, includes:

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
In charming Baker Streetspeak, this site publishes the immortal detective's free monographs on effective use of the Internet every two weeks. Topics include comparing search engines, locating investment information, researching news groups and mailing lists. The site, published by Intermediacy Inc. of Orlando, Fla., also includes a Q&A with Mr. Holmes on specific research queries.

The Reunion Network
This is a free database for adopted children who are trying to locate their biological parents, and vice versa. The site notes one woman found her daughter after 40 years one month after filling out its questionnaire, appearing on "Oprah" to tell her tale.

Sex Criminal Databases Florida
FLORIDA DEPT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT: SEXUAL PREDATORS DATABASE
Florida will display names, last known addresses, and photographs of convicted sex criminals. Florida even has a missing-children database.

Internet Sleuth
Over 1,000 free databases, indexed by category, are found here, from arts, business, government, shopping to medical.

Social Security Death Index
Search for the social security number, date of birth, and other information of the deceased by typing in a name. This database lists 51 million people, but notes people will not appear if their deaths were never reported to the Social Security Administration, if they never enrolled, or if they belong to categories not covered at the time. The self- employed, doctors, lawyers and farmers did not get coverage under the 1950s-60s, the database notes.

Related Sites
Following are links to the external Web sites mentioned in this article. These sites are not part of The New York Times on the Web, and The Times has no control over their content or availability. When you have finished visiting any of these sites, you will be able to return to this page by clicking on your Web browser's "Back" button or icon until this page reappears.

Thomas Investigative Publications, list of links.

Thomas Investigative Publications, home page.

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Copyright: 1997, The New York Times All Rights Reserved