Easy internet sleuth tricks you’ll wish you knew sooner

The internet is a treasure chest of information … if you know where to look. Whether you’re trying to verify a website, learn more about your neighborhood or dig up what’s floating around online about you, a little tech know-how goes a long way.

Here are some simple, powerful tricks to level up your sleuthing skills.

THE BIGGEST WI-FI MISTAKE YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE MAKING

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See the details of any website

You’ve come across a website that offers an incredible promise of a free trip to Hawaii. Aloha! All the site needs is your personal info and a credit card. Before you take the plunge, make sure you’re not getting screwed over.

A WHOIS lookup search checks a database that contains information about domain names and their registrants — so you can find out who owns the website and see if they have a real business address and contact information. 

A woman is seen holding a credit card while using a laptop. (iStock)

How do you get this done?

• Head to a WHOIS lookup website. There are plenty of them on the web. I use who.is.
• Plug the site’s URL into the search bar. You’ll see who owns the site and their contact information, including address and phone number.

Next time you think a friend is getting scammed, pull out this awesome tech party trick. You could save them some cash and embarrassment!

RELATED: Your IP address: What it is and why you need to protect yours if you care about privacy

Run a free background check

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Your online business is everyone’s business, like it or not. How can you check what the internet’s got on you? Here’s a quick and easy way:

• Head to Google and type in your first and last name in quotes. See what pops up. People are usually interested in the organizations you're affiliated with, your social profiles and any photos of you floating around the web.
• Next up, your credit score. You can get a free credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion once a year. Go here to get yours online. Check the fourth credit bureau, Innovis, too.
• What about family tree sites? They can be fun and informative … and incredibly invasive. Look yourself up at FamilyTreeNow.com. You’ll be shocked.

Find out who your neighbor is

Go introduce yourself. If that’s not possible, you can find out online in most cases through a county’s assessor site. These government-run sites use data from assessors to estimate the value of real property within a county, city, town or village.

A close-up of the hands of a person using a laptop.  (iStock)

Once you get there, you can see where your person of interest lives, get details on their home or any other properties they own, and much more. You can even view signed documents, like the deed to their home. Yes, really.

The easiest way to find your county assessor’s site is a quick Google search. Just type in the county you’re looking for, along with "assessor." You can also go to Publicrecords.netronline.com. This directory includes official state and county websites you can search for by ZIP code. 

Every county assessor’s site works a little differently, but here’s an overview of how to search on the Maricopa County site here in Arizona.

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Click on the Go to Data Online button next to the County Assessor option, then search by name or address. Click the magnifying glass icon to search and you’ll see the address, owner, parcel number and other information. Then click on the parcel number and to get even more detailed information and access any related documents.

PRIVACY 101:How to get photos of your home off Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com

A picture is worth a thousand words

Words and profiles are one thing, but what about pictures of you? All these sites are

worth checking to see what pops up.

• Pimeyes: This site allows you to upload an image of yourself (or anyone) to find that image across the internet. This is particularly useful for tracking down where your photos appear online. Beware: You may get back blurred-out images from adult content.
• TinEye: Another excellent reverse image search tool that may turn up additional results.

Google Maps is pictured on a phone. (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

RELATED: Think of Google Lens as the smarter version of Google Images.

Go down memory lane

Not all online sleuthing is of the sneaky variety. This one is fun to try with all the places you’ve lived or a home you’re considering buying.

Pop into old Street View photos on Google Maps. You’re able to see what a place looked like going back as long as Google has captured photos there. I’ve spotted pictures going back over a decade. Talk about a hit of virtual nostalgia.

• Open Google Maps on a browser, type in an address and click the photo that pops up.
• Choose See more dates to scroll through the photos.

Now, share this article and impress your friends with your tech savvy — or save them from falling for a scam. Either way, you’ll look like the smartest person in the room. 

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