Skip Tracing
Skip tracing is the process of locating current contact information for individuals or business owners — including phone numbers, addresses, and emails — by cross-referencing multiple data sources to find people whose contact details have changed or gone stale.
Why This Matters
Skip tracing is foundational data hygiene for MCA list-building. Owner phone numbers churn at 5-15% annually as people change devices and carriers. Business addresses change with relocations. Email addresses go stale as employees transition. Skip-tracing services combine public records, credit headers, social signals, and proprietary databases to refresh contact information for stale leads. Skip tracing converts dead lead lists back into dialable inventory at typically $0.10-$2 per record refreshed, returning ROI on aged data investments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What skip-tracing services do MCA shops use?
TLO, IDI, BeenVerified Pro, IDI Connect, and Tracers for individual lookups. For batch processing, services like LeadSherpa, Lex Nexis Risk Solutions, and TransUnion offer bulk-traced enriched files. Skip-tracing is regulated under FCRA when consumer credit data is used; permissible-purpose obligations apply.
How accurate is skip-traced data?
70-90% phone accuracy on recently traced records. Accuracy decays with age — re-trace every 6-12 months for active inventory. Verification call campaigns (auto-dial + answer-rate measurement) provide ground-truth accuracy validation against vendor claims.