Locating credit reports through the internet is an easy enough proposition as long as you want to spend some money. If you want it for free (don't we all) you will have to go someplace else. Here are some locations which promise credit reports on individuals or businesses for a fee. I have not run a credit check with each of them, so I do not vouch for the accuracy:
B. LOCATING PERSONS OR CORPORATIONS
This is a breeze on the internet. The problem comes about when you consider the source of the information each of the services is using. Most of the services have simply copied the white or yellow pages from all over the country. That is a fairly impressive database, but if a business or individual is not listed in a phone book, then the search ends there. Here are a number of services(1):
Most all of the big search engines have a people search function where you can search for both e-mail and regular addresses. If you want to visit this person or company, click on the map feature and a map will be drawn.
If a mapping feature is not linked to a site, then head on over to:
You can zoom in or zoom out on the map as you like. Be prepared to accept some discrepancies, though. Remember, these are just databases in which at some time, a human had to input information. Just because the map says the business is located to the west of Main Street, doesn't necessarily mean the business is actually located to the west of Main Street. This holds true if the business or person moved recently. The databases are only good if they are constantly updated.
Another way of finding people or companies is to think of an association to which the person or company might belong. One such example is if you want to find a doctor, chances are good that she will be a member of the American Medical Society. The society is thoughtful enough to provide a search feature on its site at http://www.ama-assn.org/ This search is a bit clumsy, though, because you have to know the state in which the doctor is practicing. But if you know a name and the doctor is registered, you can find her. If you want to find a lawyer either locally or in another state, try Martindale Hubbell online at www.martindale.com.
After you find a business or corporation, perhaps you want some financial information about it. Check out the EDGAR database from the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm. A few other sites are:
C. STATISTICAL INFORMATION AND DATABASES
What is the old saying about there being lies, damn lies and then there are statistics? There are a multitude of sites which feature statistical information of some sort or another. Here are several which I have chosen to put into rough groupings:
FEDERAL STATISTICS
STATE AND LOCAL STATISTICS
MISCELLANEOUS
DATABASES
While most of the sites mentioned above are databases, if you are looking for something different, try these:
D. GOVERNMENT DATA
Many of the sites mentioned above are maintained by an agency of the U.S. Government. For more sites, check out www.findlaw.com which has a directory of government sites, or any of the major search engines. If you know the agency, then try typing in the agencies' initials. There is a good chance you will hit it the first time. For example, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's site is www.hud.gov. Also try Villanova University's site at www.law.vill.edu/Fed-Agency/fedwebloc.html. Still can't find what you are looking for? Try www.fedworld.gov. This is a gateway site to the Federal agencies.
1. See Internet Directory for Dummies, Brad Hill, 1997 which has a category for phone books and e-mail directories. The author claims to have run searches to compare the services.