Online background check services are fast and cheap — but they miss critical information. Here's what a professional investigator finds that a database search doesn't.
What Online Background Check Services Actually Do
Consumer background check services — the kind you can run for $30 online — aggregate data from public records databases. They pull from court records that have been digitized and made available to data brokers, address history from credit and utility records, and other information that has been compiled into searchable databases.
For a quick, low-stakes check, this can be useful. But the data has real limitations that matter when you are making a significant hiring decision, entering a business partnership, or trying to understand who you are dealing with in a personal matter.
The Coverage Problem
Not all court records are digitized, and not all digitized records are included in commercial databases. Oklahoma has 77 counties, each with its own court system. Some county records are well-indexed and available online; others are not. A database search may return a clean result for someone with a criminal history in a county whose records are not in the database.
Federal court records, tribal court records, and records from other states have similar gaps. A professional investigator pulls records from primary sources — including physical courthouse visits when necessary — rather than relying on a single aggregated database.
The Currency Problem
Database records lag behind reality. A conviction entered last month may not appear in a commercial database for weeks or months. A case that was dismissed or expunged may still appear in a database that hasn't been updated. An address history may reflect where someone lived two years ago, not where they live now.
For employment screening, this lag can mean hiring someone with a recent disqualifying conviction that didn't show up in the database check. For due diligence on a business partner, it can mean missing a recent judgment or bankruptcy filing.
The Identity Problem
Common names create false positives and false negatives. A database search for a common name in Oklahoma will return records for multiple people. Matching those records to the right individual requires verification — date of birth, Social Security number, address history — that a consumer database check may not do carefully. Misattributing someone else's criminal record to your candidate is a serious error with legal consequences under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
A professional investigator verifies identity before attributing records, and flags ambiguous matches rather than guessing.
What a Professional Investigation Adds
A professional background investigation goes beyond database searches. It includes verification of employment and education credentials directly with the institutions involved, civil litigation research at the county and federal level, professional license verification through licensing boards, and reference interviews when appropriate. For executive-level or high-stakes matters, it may also include media research, social media analysis, and interviews with people who have worked with the subject.
The result is a documented report with verified findings and identified sources — not a printout from a database that may or may not reflect reality.
When to Use a Professional Investigator
For low-stakes, routine screening where a quick check is sufficient and the consequences of a miss are manageable, a consumer database service may be adequate. For positions of trust, significant financial relationships, business partnerships, or personal matters where accuracy matters, a professional investigation is worth the additional cost.
Lowen Investigations conducts background investigations for employers, landlords, attorneys, and private clients across Tulsa and Oklahoma. If you have a matter where accuracy matters, contact us for a confidential consultation and a plain quote.
