CLPS Skip Tracing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes 'social engineering' in skip tracing?
- Using automated bots to scrape social media
- Manipulating people into revealing information through psychological tactics (Correct answer)
- Posting on social media to attract the subject's attention
- Building a social network map of the subject's contacts
Correct answer: Manipulating people into revealing information through psychological tactics
Social engineering exploits human psychology to extract information, and process servers must be cautious about its legal and ethical limits.
Question 2: Under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), which entity is permitted to access DMV records for process serving purposes?
- Any member of the public upon request
- Only law enforcement agencies
- Licensed process servers with a legitimate legal purpose (Correct answer)
- Credit reporting agencies only
Correct answer: Licensed process servers with a legitimate legal purpose
The DPPA allows access to DMV records for legal process serving as a permissible purpose under the statute.
Question 3: Which type of database aggregates data from multiple public and private sources to create a comprehensive profile of an individual?
- Single-source database
- Proprietary litigation database
- People-search or data aggregator database (Correct answer)
- Criminal history repository
Correct answer: People-search or data aggregator database
Data aggregator databases compile records from court filings, utility bills, credit headers, and other sources into unified subject profiles.
Question 4: A subject's last known address shows up as a commercial mailbox service. What does this most likely indicate?
- The subject is a business owner with no personal residence
- The subject may be deliberately obscuring their home address (Correct answer)
- The subject has an invalid service address under law
- The server should immediately request substituted service
Correct answer: The subject may be deliberately obscuring their home address
Commercial mailbox services are often used by individuals who want to keep their home address private, signaling evasion.
Question 5: When skip tracing reveals multiple addresses for a subject, what is the recommended approach for prioritizing service attempts?
- Serve at all addresses simultaneously
- Start with the most recent address and work chronologically backward (Correct answer)
- Begin with the address closest to the courthouse
- Choose the address with the highest likelihood of the subject being employed
Correct answer: Start with the most recent address and work chronologically backward
Starting with the most recent address maximizes the chance of finding the subject since they are most likely to be at their current location.
Question 6: What is 'credit header data' and how is it used in skip tracing?
- Header metadata from email communications between creditors
- Non-protected identifying information (name, address, SSN) from credit files used to locate individuals (Correct answer)
- A court-ordered credit freeze notation used to track debtors
- Data showing a subject's credit score history over time
Correct answer: Non-protected identifying information (name, address, SSN) from credit files used to locate individuals
Credit header data includes name, address, and SSN fields from credit applications, which aggregators may legally use to help locate individuals.
Question 7: A skip tracer finds the subject's Instagram account with recent posts geotagged at a specific neighborhood. What is the most appropriate next step?
- Contact Instagram directly for the subject's IP address
- Conduct physical surveillance in that neighborhood to confirm the subject's presence (Correct answer)
- Post a comment asking the subject to contact the process server
- File for alternative service immediately based on the geotag alone
Correct answer: Conduct physical surveillance in that neighborhood to confirm the subject's presence
Confirming a subject's presence through observation is more reliable before attempting service at a location identified through social media.
CLPS Skip Tracing 3
Which of the following best describes 'social engineering' in skip tracing?