West Virginia Criminal Records - Beware of These Vendor Tricks

West Virginia criminal records on government websites are rather limited compared to records from other states. This is the reason why you should be careful that you do not get tricked by a third-party vendor. If it isn't available through the government, it is unlikely that a third-party vendor can provide you the data without breaking the law (e.g., those infamous websites that claim to have access to the FBI database).

West Virginia criminal records are best accessed through government websites. Aside from the fact that third-party vendor websites charge more for the same data sold (or worse, given to the public free of charge) at government websites, the competition has also made some vendors rather unscrupulous. Some will, in their desire to lure you to buy West Virginia criminal records from them, misrepresent what they have to offer.

WV Criminal Records - Vendor Tricks to Avoid

Repeat after me: If the government can't provide it, a vendor can't! It must be the volume of competition, but some public vendor sites really are the limit!

How can some two-bit website, for instance, sell you access to FBI records when only criminal justice agencies are allowed by law to access these? If they did hack their way in somehow, do you really want to risk transacting business with such people?

Hacking into websites that are deemed critical to national security carries stiff penalties and you do NOT want your name associated with criminals.

Another trick unscrupulous vendors use is to try and sell you a statewide criminal records search where none exists. What they will actually give you is an INMATE search, which you can probably get FREE from the state correctional website.

While some states update online records of prisoners who have been put on probation or parole, most do not unless the prisoner was convicted of a sex-related crime. So if an inmate was released, your will be informed that no record exists, which means money spent on something totally useless!

You may be better off paying $.08 per page at the WV District Courts website, where you can get the name of the offender and the judgment or sentence meted out by the court.

And the West Virginia State Police website may not be very sophisticated and can offer you, at best, a PDF form to fill out if you want to request West Virginia criminal records but at least you won't be scammed.

Useful West Virginia Criminal Records Links:

West Virginia State Police
West Virginia District Courts
Northern District Court
Southern District Court

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West Virginia criminal records can be very powerful tools of information. So if you ever want to conduct a criminal check on someone, do so in the most time-efficient and hassle-free way; check out our unbiased reviews of today's leading online criminal records search service providers!