Skiptracing is the process of locating a person's whereabouts for any number of purposes. A skiptracer is someone who performs this task. The term "skip" refers to the person being searched for, and is derived from the idiomatic expression "to skip town", meaning to depart perhaps leaving minimal clues behind to "trace" the "skip" to a new location.
Skip tracing tactics may be employed to locate a subject whose contact information is not immediately known.
Skiptracing is done by collecting as much information as possible about the subject. The information is then analyzed, reduced, and verified.
Obtaining new and correct points of contact is key. Sometimes the subject's current whereabouts are in the data, but are obfuscated by the sheer amount of information or disinformation. More often the data will be used to identify third parties that might be able to assist the process. This is where the job becomes more than mere research since one must often employ methods to discreetly acquire information without compromising the situation.