There are quite a few ways that you can find out more information on just about anyone. Though asking around is okay, you can find out much more if you look for them through the Internet. There are many ways you can find information, and many things you can learn. You just have to know where to start and how to search. It's easy, and you may find what you need very quickly.
One of the first places to look for someone is to look through a search engine. Use any and all that you can think of, and use any options like news, image, and blog for more results. Use the name that you have, and put it in quotes to make sure your results are targeted rather than random. You can also put a plus sign between the name, with no spaces, to see if that also brings up some pretty relevant results.
You can also find some information by doing reverse phone searches, if you have a phone number, and you can see if someone has a criminal past with a criminal background search. Don't forget to see if you can find any other types of background searches that can help you learn even a few small clues that can help you find out what you need to know about someone. You may find some limited information through social security number, if that is something that you have access too.
Don't forget the goldmine of information that you can get from social and professional networking sites. You can usually search for someone by name, and then view their profile, if they have chosen to make the profile public. What you can find through these sites depends on what someone has chosen to share. You can see pictures, read blogs, and see who their friends are from personal life.
Depending on what information you want, the free criminal background checks are probably the ones that are going to give you the most information. Be careful that you have a right to this before you do it, and also be careful with what you find through such a search.