Instant Checkmate Review & 5-Day Free Trial: Legit or Scam? {2019 Update}

This is a June 2019 update of our Instant Checkmate review. Here, we aim to give you all you need to know about this background check and reverse phone lookup service. There's also a rumored 5-day free trial. We'll clarify that here.

Note: If you're in a hurry and don't have much time for reviews…

{Do not use this service for INVASION OF PRIVACY. Doing so is ILLEGAL. Your best option to know its legality is to consult a lawyer.}

Table of Contents

What Is Instant Checkmate?

1. Instant Checkmate Background Check

Instant Checkmate is just one of the dozens of background checkers today that promise ease of access to information like public records. What makes it unique is that it claims to consider over 30 different data points when gathering information about people. These include comprehensive arrest records, address history, contact information, licenses, and other relevant information.

On top of their regular background checker, it also offers a premium service wherein clients will have access to more data about the people they are researching. In this review, I'm going to look in-depth into the company's services. It's up to you to decide if it's the right background checking service for you.

2. Phone Instant Checkmate (Reverse Lookup)

This is their lesser known service. And as already mentioned, it's for phone number lookups. If you have a phone number instead and you want to know it's owner, then you should use this service. It's good to know who's calling for those unknown phone calls. It's even greater for catching prank callers!

The Main Features Of The Background Checker

You can request for an email report. As you should already know by now, a lot of people these days have their email addresses connected to their names, home addresses, professional networking information, social media accounts, and so on. With that said, a search for an email address can churn out a lot of important information about the owner of the address. It offers email reports as a service which means you just have to submit an email address to them and they'll scour their database for information associated with the address.
Unlimited reports and unlimited searches. As long as you have signed up as a member from their homepage (instantcheckmate.com), you can do as many searches and background checks as you want. Whether you signed up for a one-month membership or a six-month membership, the unlimited searches remain the same. However, you should keep in mind that there's a significant difference between the amount of information that you generate if you signed up with the company's premium service. The service costs more so naturally you will be provided with more detailed reports.
The company claims that they regularly update their database. In fact, they claim to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to keep their database accurate. Of course, this claim can't be independently corroborated unless the company publicly releases what exactly do they do to update their databases. But generally speaking, it's the responsibility of companies offering background checks as a service to update their information files.
The company offers customer service on a 24/7 basis. Although it's admirable that the company offers 24/7 customer support, you can only contact them through phone and email. They also address complaints through this channel. However, it would've been better if they offered a live chat option because this would be more suitable to the type of business they are involved in. The company also have profiles in popular social sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can use these to contact them for additional support.

How Much Does Instant Checkmate Cost?

Instant Checkmate's price is as follows.

Basically, they offer 5 pricing points. It's very important that you seriously consider these price points because checking backgrounds isn't something that you will be doing for years. For instance, if you are checking information about people you are going to hire, you are going to need a background checker for a month at most. Anyway, below is an overview of the company's service price points.

5-day trial offer: $1
1-month membership: $22.86 per month
3-month membership: $14.86 per month (that's a total of $44.58 for the 3-month period)
6-month membership: $9.86 per month (that's a total of $59.16 for the 6-month period)
Premium reports: $19.99 per report

As you can see, the cost of the company's services are lower if you avail of the 3-month and 6-month membership options. In addition, it's worth mentioning here that if you request for a PDF of the report you want, you will have to pay a one-time fee of $1.99 to cover the conversion.

How About An Instant Checkmate Free Trial?

Unfortunately, this does not exist. Up to date, we haven't found a free trial yet. The closest you can find is their 5-day trial offer which costs only $1.

Aside from that, they also have a case-to-case basis refund policy. However, you have to call their customer support staff by phone as to the details of this guarantee to know if you are qualified.

Is Instant Checkmate Legit, Safe To Use, Worth It, Or Just A Scam?

In all honesty, it is a more than decent background checker but its claim of accuracy seems a bit exaggerated. Some clients who have used the company's services have claimed that the information they get when they request for a report are not as comprehensive as they expected. However, if you are looking for basic information about people like criminal records (especially useful in finding s*x offenders), and addresses, Instant Checkmate does a satisfactory job.

The Verdict

The service has it own pros and cons just like every company out there. The bottom-line here is that when it comes to background checks, the company does a satisfactory job. This is not to mention the fact that their services are quite affordable and you can only subscribe for a month if you don't plan on using their services for an extended time. In conclusion, it is definitely worth the try!