3 Ways Defendant Use of Social Media Can Help Process Servers

No one wants to be served with a lawsuit, and sometimes the fear of going to court can lead defendants to actively avoid process servers. From not answering the door when we knock to concealing their current address, it can be difficult to track down someone who doesn’t want to be found. However, thanks to the use of social media, our jobs as process servers can be a little easier just by scrolling through Facebook. Here are 3 ways a defendant’s use of social media can help process servers do their jobs.

Posting Their Whereabouts

So much of our lives is posted online. We screenshot when we get tickets to a concert we’ve been looking for, or we “check in” at that new restaurant we’ve been wanting to try. And even if a location isn’t explicitly tagged in a post, the places we take photos may not be that difficult to figure out with some careful observation.

Because of this, a defendant’s social media accounts can be a goldmine for a process server.

We look through posts and photos, screening for identifiable locations where the individual could potentially be served. Depending on how recent a post with a known location is, a defendant’s posts may lead to us being able to quickly serve process, surprising the defendant.

Friends Giving Clues

Just as an individual’s social media accounts can give clues to their movements, so can the accounts of their friends and acquaintances.

Say the defendant takes a vacation with a few friends and doesn’t post anything on their own accounts. But one of those friends does, offering up the restaurants they visited, the attractions they saw, and even the airport they flew out of.

Our process servers can comb through a defendant’s social media accounts, looking for people who have tagged them or with whom they interact regularly (making them the most likely candidates to be friends). Then, we look through those individuals’ social media accounts for clues to the whereabouts of the defendant.

Help From Social Listening Tools

Businesses use social listening tools to help them keep tabs on what’s being said about their brand on social media. However, process servers can use these tools to keep tabs on individuals.

We simply add a defendant’s known social media handles to the tool, and receive alerts when they are mentioned or are active online. This helps us gather information about a defendant without having to actively conduct research all the time.

Skilled Nationwide Process Servers

At Torri’s Legal Services, we’ve got years of experience tracking down evasive defendants and making sure they get served. Whether you need someone served across town or across the country, our team can get it done. Contact us today for a quote!