Is Instant Checkmate Legit?

Whether you’re researching online sellers, going on a date, or just meeting someone new, it sure would be nice to have some extra information.

For instance, it would be useful to know if they have a criminal record, or whether they’ve filed for bankruptcy.

That’s where Instant Checkmate comes in. But, is this background check tool legit? Read on to find out.

Is It Legit?

The answer depends on what you mean by “legit.” If you’re wondering if the information is factual, yes, it is.

At least, the information it can show you appears as it is in the public records. If there is an error or a gap in the public record, it will show up in the Instant Checkmate report. If the question refers to the breadth of data Instant Checkmate has access to, it’s quite extensive.

We’ll cover everything you can learn from them a little further down. It may not be everything you want to find out, but it will give you leads to follow if you’re screening someone you want to buy property from.

In some cases, people have reported not finding the information they need or want. However, those reviews are few and far between.

Additionally, the website can’t display information for people who choose to opt-out of it. If someone asks them to exclude their personal information from reports, Instant Checkmate is obligated to comply.

Now, if by legit you want to know if it’s a legit service, the answer is yes. Instant Checkmate has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2014.

They have an A+ rating from the BBB, and they’re headquartered in San Diego, California. They also have a combined 70,000+ reviews from various rating services.

What Instant Checkmate Can Show You

A background check report from Instant Checkmate starts with basic information. You’ll learn the search subject’s name, known aliases, and date of birth.

Their criminal record is a big selling point, and the report has it prominently displayed. It will include offenses, dates, location, jail time, and other information about the events.

The service also crawls and compiles data from social media websites, so they’ll provide possible image matches for the person as well. At that point, you can be sure that the person you’re searching for matches the report.

The report then shows you the person’s employment history complete with job titles and dates of employment, if they’re available.

Then, you’ll see their educational history, including the school and field of study. Possible relatives are also in the report, along with ages and locations.

From there, the information gets more granular, and includes some or all of the following:

Phone number, along with the carrier and line type
Related news stories
Dating profiles
Location history
Possible relationships
Corporate filings
Licenses
Weapons permits
Assets
Properties owned
Liens
Top places visited

With all that information, you can start putting together a complete picture of who the person is. If nothing else, you will have a lot of threads to pull on to discover more things about them.

But, there’s a caveat. Instant Checkmate is not a consumer reporting agency. That means you can’t use it for some purposes that require a consumer reporting license.

What You Can’t Use Instant Checkmate for

Using Instant Checkmate for some purposes is not just discouraged; it’s forbidden by law. Here’s a list of things you shouldn’t use Instant Checkmate for:

Tenant screening. Assigning or terminating leases, rentals, or sale of commercial space because of Instant Checkmate reports isn’t legal.
Employment screening. It’s also forbidden to use it for pre-employment background checks or promotion, demotion, or termination of an employee.
Assessing financial services. People offering professional services such as coaching, personal training, and tutoring, can’t be screened with Instant Checkmate.
Decisions about credit or insurance credibility. It is forbidden to assess existing credit obligations using Instant Checkmate.
Educational and scholarship merit determinations. You can’t use an Instant Checkmate background to grant or deny scholarships, grants, financial aid, or access to an educational program.

If you suspect that Instant Checkmate was used on you in one of these situations, notify their customer support.

The More You Know

So, is Instant Checkmate legit? Yes, it does what it claims to do. But you should be aware of a few things.

They can’t show information that someone asks them not to show. If you’re not finding what you hoped to, that might be the case, or there might not be anything to discover.

And, it’s critical to remember that you shouldn’t use it for specific purposes as that could constitute a criminal act.