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Other Red Flags

a. Individuals or organizations that have received an unusual number of complaints against them. (Contact your local BBB and the BBB where the company is located).

b. Small companies that have been sued often for breach of contract, misrepresentation or fraud. (Call the state and superior courts in the surrounding counties).

c. Firms or individuals that have been disciplined by their state licensing boards or the government. (Contact applicable licensing agencies and your Secretary Of State ).

d. Firms ending in "Co.", Inc. or "Corp." that haven't registered or qualified with the Secretary Of State and Business Licensing/Tax Division.  

e. Firms that are unlicensed or seriously late in paying incorporation fees, business license dues or other fees required by law. (Ask this information from each of the agencies above).

f. Firm Owners with a bad reputation. Look for lawsuits, prison records, and complaints against them by their licensing boards.

g. Businesses/Business Owners with a PO Box for an address or list a physical address that is really just a disguised a PO box or mail drop. Most people have street addresses.  Scamsters often won't.

h. The only # You're Given Turns Out To Be A Cell Phone.

i. Any other claim that is shown to be false or unsubstantiated. 

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Finding People With Common Names

Don't use this guide until you first read How To find People Through The Internet Step By Step.

A common name such as John Smith, can get you thousands of multiple listings.  Obviously going through every one of them would take an eternity. But don't despair. Your "John Smith" can still be found.  All you have to do, is cross reference things unique about him  to narrow your leads.  Once you know your subject's age, middle name or living patterns, it's easy to find your mark.

For example: California may have ten thousand John Smith's.  But how many were Harvard grads from 1977, have a wife named Mora and now live in West Hampton? Not too many I bet.  And of these John Smiths, how many are 47 years old and have lived in Sacramento, Boston and Austin?  Even fewer no doubt.

Yes. With cross referencing, you can find the people who match your subject's age, middle name, travel patterns, profession, education,  etc.  And from there the search can be narrowed to the one person who fits the bill. Here's How:

1. First, find out all you can about them through special search engines, obituaries, bios (if famous) newspaper stories, etc.
   Then write it all down. Include their name, age, city or state they once lived in, last known address, hobbies, interests, profession, name of relatives or spouse(s), colleges, etc. For An Overview, See Using A Bio To Background Someone.
    

2. Search for the subject's first and last Name on Google or ussearch.com. Write down any new information you learn and don't forget to look them up by their possible nicknames. (Use "Control F" to search for names within the nickname website.)
   
   Note: if you find your mark, stop here and do a typical background search.  Still not sure you have the right subject? Then see the next step below.
    

3. Narrow your findings to those people about the same age as your subject (as indicated by their bio, college graduation date, newspaper summaries, ussearch, obituaries or other sources).
    

4. See Find People By Their Photos.
    

5. Narrow findings to those who live or once lived near any place mentioned in step 1. This information can be quickly obtained from age websites that list the subject's city, state or Zip Code. Ussearch and Intelius are great for confirming ages and list the city and state where the subject lived. (To get city and state through reverse Zip Code lookup, click Here.
    

6. Narrow findings even further to those who work or once worked near any place listed in step 1. (i.e. same state and/or nearby city). Note: People tend to work close to where they live.  Simply narrow your search to those subjects who lived near where your target works or has previously worked. For An Overview, See Using A Bio To Background Someone.
    

7. Narrow findings to those who have spouses with the same name and living patterns as your subject's. This can be a two step process. First, repeat all prior steps but now use the name of their spouse. Second, if your search turns up multiple listings, simply cross reference the places where these two people lived together. For example, The "Mora J Smith" found in Sacramento, Boston and Austin is likely the wife of the "John P Smith" who lived in Sacramento, Boston and Austin.
   
   See Cross Referencing Spouses To Get A Hit
    

8. Search for one of their-easier-to-find friends or relatives who can tell you more about your subject, i.e. phone #, last address, etc.
    

9. Once you are almost certain of your target, do a Google search. Put the name in quotes (try with and without middle name).  Get too many hits? Then Refine Your Search. A Google search may tell you even more about your target or confirm you've got a hit.
    

10. Then look up the person in the Internet White Pages or do a typical background search.
    For An Overview, See Using A Bio To Background Someone.
    

11. Search Pipl or other social agregators, by email address, username, phone # or an address they once had. The goal here is to pull up the exact person connected with this information, and not just a list of people with the same name. Doing it in reverse like this can get you the exact John Smith that once had that phone number along with any new contact information. With Pipl you can also click on their relatives and background them as well. You may even want to do a Pipl name search starting with a relative (if they don't have a common name) and then click on your subject when they appear as a relative.
    

Using A Bio To Background Someone
The Bio (Highlighting Names, Ages and Places)
Cross Referencing Spouses To Get A Hit
Piecing It All Together

See Also
Finding People With Common Last Names
Finding People On The Internet-Step By Step

Bio Of Francis Comerforl (CEO Found on A Media Network Website)

Color Key

Formerly the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the PBC Television Stations Division, Frank Comerforl was named President and General Manager of WPBC, effective July 12, 2002.

Comerforl has led the station group to record sales -- a major achievement in the recent challenging ad market.

Comerforl, a 23-year TV veteran, has been overseeing sales and marketing for PBC's owned-and-operated stations since 1999. Previously, he had served as head of sales for WPBC since 1994. Under his leadership, PNBC broke numerous sales records and surpassed the competition as the top billing television station in the New York marketplace. Under his watch, WPBC supported numerous community based campaigns, launching "Wednesday's Child," one of the most successful programs in the nation to help place foster children in permanent homes.

Comerforl joined PBC from Storer Broadcasting Company, where he held a variety of sales management positions, culminating as General Sales Manager at WSBK-TV in Boston.

Honored as "Volunteer of the Year" by the Friends of RSVP, Inc. (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of the Community Service Society), Comerforl has been proud of his work as a GE/PBC Elfun Society volunteer at the Manhattan School of Science and Math.

Comerforl graduated Georgetown University in 1977, and holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration and Finance.

A native New Yorker, Comerforl and his wife Maura currently maintain residence in both Brooklyn and Long Island.

See Using A Bio To Background Someone

See Using A Bio To Background Someone

See Also Finding People With Common Last Names