Resources
What I actually use
Short list, honestly described. If something is not here it is because it is not worth what it costs.
Search
Start here
SkipLook
My own membership site. State-level political contributor databases the federal file does not cover, deeper people-search returns, batch skip tracing, and standing monitors on a subject. Free tools on there too — a phone number extractor that fires searches across several platforms at once, an advanced Google query builder, and a state-by-state criminal records table with current fees.
Go to SkipLook- Criminal Records by State (free) Thirty-six states with public statewide searches, current fees from $3 to $95, and direct links to the official database.
- Fast Phone Searches (free) Paste in a block of text, it pulls out every phone number and runs quoted searches. Free version covers Google and Bing; the paid version covers nine platforms including Facebook.
- Advanced Google Search Builder (free) Builds complex search strings across four bundles — government records, social and messaging, files and storage, people and employment.
Courses
All nine, in order of what I would learn first.
- How to Conduct a Bank Locate Investigation — $199.99 Three hours. The system I built after a thousand dollars of trial and error, because nobody would tell me how it was done. Accredited for 3 CE hours in Oklahoma and Tennessee.
- The Ultimate FOIA Course — $49.99 Police reports, dispatch logs, complaints to public bodies, and the parts of FOIA most investigators never use.
- PACER — An Investigator’s Dream — $49.99 Federal criminal, civil and bankruptcy files end to end, plus a bonus section on state and county searches.
- The Social Media Investigator’s Guide — $49.99 Verifying accounts, facial recognition strategies, and recovering deleted content.
- Google Power Searching for Investigators — $49.99 Operators that find people, assets and business links — and how to build your own investigative search engine.
- AI Essentials for Investigators — $49.99 Data sorting, pattern spotting, and image cleanup. Basic internet skills are all you need.
- Twitter OSINT: Unmask Hidden Accounts — $49.99 Bios, usernames, archives, breach data and language patterns, with redacted real case studies.
- Introduction to Investigation: Massachusetts — $49.99 Secretary of State data, professional licensing, unclaimed property, and state-specific compliance.
- Introduction to Investigation: Maine — $49.99 The same ground, for Maine.
Books
- Judgment Recovery: The Complete Enforcement Guide A judgment has been won, the court signed the order, and then nothing happened. Bank levies, garnishments, property liens, vehicle seizures, business asset enforcement, unclaimed funds, and state-by-state procedure. The money exists — this shows you where it is.
- The FOIA Advantage Crafting requests that survive bureaucratic resistance, beating delays and denials, appeal strategy, and a guide to public records law in every state. Free on Kindle.
- Investigator’s Case Logbook Paper case management for people running a dozen open files at once. Client details, subject data, leads, contacts and follow-ups in a fixed structure.
- Investigator’s Word Search Thirty-five puzzles on OSINT, surveillance tools, data vendors and forensics. For the waiting-room hours.