In part one, I wrote a brief introduction to email search, explained the difference between email search and reverse lookup, and mentioned some of the problems that you may encounter when starting your search. In this article, I’ll be listing a few top email search services, both free and premium, talking about email search directories, and warning against email lookup services that turn out to be scams.
Email lookup sites can be divided into three groups: free search services, premium email lookup services, and email directories. A wise area to start when you’re beginning your search is in the email directories.
Opt-In Email Directories
Email directories, also called “email registries”, are opt-in databases where individuals have voluntarily provided information in case someone wishes to find them. These directories also help people link old email addresses to a more current address. Email directories are free to search and can save you a lot of time, but only if you’re looking for someone who wants to be found.
FreshAddress – This free site, started in 1999, hosts a database of old and new email addresses, searchable by name or reverse-lookup, and requires you to sign up to access the directory. An optional security setting allows you to grant access, on a case-by-case basis, to your email information, which might help you preserve some anonymity if you find yourself on the other end of an email search.
EmailChange – Started in 1996, EmailChange.com is the original change-of-address email registry. The site is simple, free, and you don’t have to sign in to start your search.
Plaxo – Over 20 million users strong, this free opt-in email registry requires you to sign up before accessing their database.
Free Email Search Websites
It costs money to access the large databases that law enforcement and private investigators use to find people, so many free email and reverse-lookup search services rely on social networking sites and web results to provide their information. Many sites masquerading as free are pure bait-and-switch or simply redirect you to premium email search sites, but during my research I found a few genuine free services that work.
Wink – Wink scours social networking sites for its search results. It’s free and you can search by name, email address, or phone number.
Yahoo People Finder – Many search engines include a people-finding option. While Yahoo doesn’t allow you to do a reverse-lookup, it does the best of all the search engines I’ve tried when it comes to searching by name.
Yasni – This people-finding service searches through many social networking databases and even does an extensive web search. If you can’t find the person you’re searching for, you can easily create a “missing person” ad. Yasni is free, comprehensive, and I highly recommend it.
Premium Email Search Services
Spokeo ($2.95/month) – Spokeo provides a thorough reverse lookup service that provides basic results for free and also gives users the option to pay for access to more comprehensive reports which includes alternative email addresses, photos and information posted on social networking sites, and IP addresses.
ProfileSpy ($1.95/search) – Using ProfileSpy to track down an email address may be akin to performing surgery with a chainsaw instead of a scalpel, but you can’t argue with results. Searches can be made by name, email address, or phone number and the premium service gets you a profile, contact information, recent addresses, social network information, neighbors, family members, and even searches missing person databases, criminal records, and adoption records, which may be more information than you wanted to know.
EmailFinder ($1.95/month) – Hailed by many as the gold standard when it comes to email search, EmailFinder uses partnerships with several large database services (including public records, opt-in databases, and regional phone directories) to provide search results. They offer a money-back guarantee and unlimited searches with membership.
The biggest issue you will face when trying to choose an email search service is not knowing what services are legitimate and which are scams. To give you an idea of the ratio out there, for roughly every one legitimate email lookup service I came across, I found two that had a history of fraud associated with them. Many of the free email search resources not mentioned above funneled data into premium search websites, which, after a little research, turned out to be scams that either didn’t provide accurate information at all or have been reported as charging more to credit cards than is authorized. As with anything involving credit cards and the internet, I advise exercising caution when choosing an email lookup service and encourage users to exhaust free alternatives before resorting to paid services.
Check back here soon for my concluding article in this series, where I’ll be providing a list of email search alternatives and tips to get the most out of free search services.
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