~~think you have privacy? think again~~

[+ glutes]

http://www.zabasearch.com

[CT Dick]

Whew! At least they don't know how old I am. :7

 

Dick

[+ deej]

They probably do. I gave name and birth year and I was on the list that showed up. (A list containing several hundred just in CA.)

[DelawareGuy]

This is information culled from public records; phone directories, property sales, etc. It was always possible to get it before the Internet, just not as easily.

[OneFinger]

I typed in my partial name and it immediately found the addresses (not exactly accurate) of my last 3 homes. It also had a variation of my first name listed with the address of my sister (who doesn't share my same last name). The various listings also showed my correct date of birth (I didn't provide it) and a couple incorrect phone numbers. x(

 

I then did a Google search of my name and found it linked to a list of attendees at a conference. That also provided my employers name, my job title, and work address.

 

I take lots of steps to try and keep my info private such as unlisted phone, Do Not Call List, credit bureau "opt out", credit card statements sent to a P.O Box, etc. It really gets my shorts in a bunch when I still can't ensure my privacy.

[Guest ReturnOfS]

All the information about me was 3 to 4 years old and way out of date.

[+ deej]

As DelawareGuy says, this is collected from publicly available data sources.

 

(I used to work for a company that did this. So I'm familiar with the processes and technologies involved.)

 

You can defeat them easily by not being financially active. No credit cards. No real estate. No phone bills. No utility bills. Live like a hermit in a shack on squatted land in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise, they'll have you "in there".

 

These days, the only thing an unlisted phone number does is make sure friends and familiy can't find you if they lose your number. :-(

 

(I forwarded this URL to some people I know in privacy enforcement. This site breaks a few regulations. They'll probably find their data source dried up when it's discovered how badly they've violated their license agreement.)

[seaboy4hire]

Mines too. Now how is my babies daddies gonna find me so they can send me monies for pampers and formula?

 

Hugs,

Greg

Greg Seattle Wa seaboy4hire@yahoo.com

http://www.male4malescorts.com/reviews/gregseattle.html

http://seaboy4hire.tripod.com

[OneFinger]

deej, I hope the site gets shut down!!

 

But, I "think" I figured out how my name got associated with my sister's address. Back in 2002 I owned my primary residence in Utah, owned a second home in Colorado (where I was employed and usually worked), but was physically located on a job site in California. During that time my Utah and Colorado mail was forwarded to my sister's address.

 

I can't believe that info provided to the U.S. Postal Service is considered public information. x(

[+ deej]

>I can't believe that info provided to the U.S. Postal Service

>is considered public information. x(

 

The USPS sells databases of zip codes and street addresses for mailing list "cleanup" and de-duping.

 

They also sell the quarterly NCOA database (Change of address) among other data products.

 

Addresses are not considered personally identifiable information. Does 1515 Church Street exist? That's public record, and therefore available to anyone.

 

The fact that someone with your name may have lived there is a little more murky, but still not personally identifiable information. Matching YOU to an address requires a huge data repository coming from many sources and there are only a few companies in the country that have that sort of repository and the resources to do the cross-matching. They control their data and its use rigidly. (Which is why this site surprised me.)

 

They sit on the ultimate Catch-22. As one example, they have enough data (and the means to search it) to chase down "Deadbeat Dads" who have disappeared, but it's illegal for them to use it for that.

 

As I said, I've turned it in. I'll probably never hear what comes of it. But the data is out there. And just like publishing pictures on the internet, once it's out it's always out there. The only way to fully opt-out is to resign from society.

[twinkboylover28]

I found Bill O'Reilly's home phone number and address, and also David Letterman from that website.

[+ glutes]

I was thinking about typing in Dubyas' name, but it would probably set off alarm bells.

[+ deej]

>All the information about me was 3 to 4 years old and way out

>of date.

 

For me, they have current data but nothing from as recent as 3 years ago. Sporadic accuracy means the data is coming from one of the 2nd tier providers.

[RM]

Darn - they have my year of birth wrong. But my twin brother's year is correct.

[+ glutes]

zaba gets scarier

 

It's impressive, scary to see what a Zaba search can do

 

David Lazarus, SF Chronicle

 

Friday, April 15, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

Everything that's great and everything that's frightening about the Internet can be summed up in a single word.

 

Zaba.

 

That's Zaba as in ZabaSearch.com, a so-called people search site that allows you to quickly track down the whereabouts of just about anyone, free of charge.

 

There are already numerous people search resources online, varying widely in reliability and fees.

 

(There's also an interesting story about the people behind ZabaSearch and the notorious mass suicide in Southern California involving the Heaven's Gate cult. But we'll get back to that.)

 

What makes ZabaSearch great is that, at no cost, it quickly and comprehensively places a remarkable amount of data about people right at your fingertips.

 

What makes ZabaSearch frightening is that, at no cost, it quickly and comprehensively places a remarkable amount of data about people right at your fingertips.

 

"It's extremely troubling," said Gail Hillebrand, a staff attorney with Consumers Union in San Francisco.

 

"It's a fundamental invasion of privacy because they've put all these records together and give them away for nothing instead of keeping them separate and making people pay to get them."

 

Robert Zakari, ZabaSearch's president, told me the service was quietly unveiled on Feb. 28 without any marketing or publicity. All traffic since then has been exclusively through word of mouth.

 

Once people discover the site, Zakari said, they typically begin hunting for old girlfriends or boyfriends, former classmates or military pals.

 

"It's all about making contact," he said. "It's addictive."

 

It's also in the eyes of some a threat to people's privacy and safety.

 

"Think what this could mean for anyone with a stalker problem or a restraining-order issue," said Hillebrand at Consumers Union.

 

But Zakari countered that ZabaSearch represents only "a natural evolution of technology."

 

"I don't discount the concern some people might have about this," he said. "But people should be aware of what's out there about them."

 

ZabaSearch certainly helps with this. You enter a name and, if you know which one, a state. ZabaSearch rapidly combs through a mix of public records - - it won't specify which ones -- and comes up with lists of exact and close matches.

 

If you enter Zakari's name and California, you'll learn that he was born in 1970 and lives at 23453 Park Colombo in Calabasas (Los Angeles County). His current phone number is unavailable.

 

Clicking on Zakari's name takes you to a new page where you can run additional searches using other search engines.

 

Clicking on his address takes you to a page where you can access a map and satellite photo of Zakari's house, as well as a five-day weather forecast for his neighborhood.

 

A free Yahoo People Search, by contrast, turns up only a former residence and phone number for Zakari. But Yahoo links to a separate search service, Intelius, that'll tell you his actual whereabouts for $7.95.

 

"The most basic thing you can do on the Internet is contact other people, " Zakari said. "Why does that have to cost something like $10? We're giving it away. It's an experiment, an amazing experiment."

 

Maybe so. But it's also a business. ZabaSearch buys and gives away basic personal data as a loss leader to induce visitors to purchase more comprehensive background checks for $20 each.

 

The company charges $100 for even more in-depth searches, with a money- back guarantee if the person sought doesn't turn up.

 

It also carries a paid link to Experian, the credit-reporting agency, to obtain a free credit report. (This will automatically sign you up as well for Experian's credit-monitoring program, which will cost $9.95 a month unless you opt out after a 30-day trial period.)

 

At this point, Zakari said ZabaSearch is surviving month to month.

 

The site tells visitors: "If you have enjoyed use of this very valuable database, we ask that you submit a voluntary payment in order to keep ZabaSearch.com online so you and others can continue to benefit from this great free service."

 

It adds that ZabaSearch's resources were donated by another search provider, PeopleData.com, which "has agreed to provide unlimited guaranteed access to the ZabaSearch database through Dec. 31, 2005, to anyone who submits a payment to support ZabaSearch.com."

 

That's misleading. It turns out that Zakari is president of both ZabaSearch and PeopleData. His business partner, Nicholas Matzorkis, a dot-com millionaire, serves as chairman of both companies.

 

Moreover, ZabaSearch and PeopleData share the same address, ostensibly a suite in a Simi Valley (Ventura County) office building. The address, however, is actually a mailbox at a postal company called Advanced Mail and Parcel Services.

 

Zakari insisted that ZabaSearch and PeopleData are separate entities, so there's nothing inappropriate about soliciting payments from visitors to support the "donated" technology.

 

He also said use of a post office box is common for businesses that receive a lot of correspondence, which he said is the case with both ZabaSearch and PeopleData.

 

Meanwhile, there's the Heaven's Gate connection.

 

You remember Heaven's Gate. Thirty-nine members of the Southern California cult committed suicide together in 1997. They apparently believed this would allow them to rendezvous with a UFO hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet.

 

The bodies of the cultists, who had funded their activities with computer work, were discovered in a mansion near San Diego by a former Heaven's Gate member, Richard Ford, who'd been sent a videotape by cult leaders explaining their rationale for mass suicide.

 

At the time, Ford was working as a Web designer for a Beverly Hills computer company owned by ZabaSearch's Matzorkis. About a dozen cult members reportedly had worked for Matzorkis at various times.

 

Matzorkis couldn't be reached for comment by e-mail or through Zakari.

 

But according to news reports, he drove Ford to the mansion to check on the cult's circumstances. He reportedly waited in the car while Ford went inside.

 

"They did it," Newsweek quoted Ford as saying as he returned to the car.

 

"Did it smell?" Matzorkis was quoted as replying.

 

It was Matzorkis who subsequently insisted that the San Diego Sheriff's Department be notified.

 

Zakari, who was working with Matzorkis at the time, served as Ford's lawyer after the bodies were found.

 

Neither Matzorkis nor Zakari was a Heaven's Gate member.

 

Nevertheless, Matzorkis quickly negotiated a deal for ABC to make a TV movie about Heaven's Gate. It never got off the ground. He also gave numerous interviews to reporters about finding the bodies.

 

According to press reports, Matzorkis was briefly jailed a few weeks after the Heaven's Gate story broke when Ohio authorities recognized him on TV.

 

He was on probation for a 1989 auto theft outside Cleveland, to which he had pleaded no contest. Matzorkis allegedly had failed to check in with a probation officer in California and hadn't completed his court-ordered community service.

 

Zakari told me that it was all a misunderstanding and that Matzorkis later had the conviction expunged -- a legal process whereby an individual's records are sealed from public scrutiny.

 

Mark Lime, director of the criminal division of Ohio's Cuyahoga County court clerk's office, was unable to find any record of Matzorkis' conviction, indicating that the files had indeed been expunged.

 

But he said this doesn't mean the conviction was overturned or in any way reversed.

 

"All it means is that this was likely a first-time offender who qualified for sealing his record," Lime said. "You still have the conviction, but nobody can know about it."

 

Zakari called the Heaven's Gate episode "one of the greatest, weirdest and most interesting times of our lives." But he said Matzorkis' role in the matter was exaggerated by the media.

 

"He did a favor for an employee and ended up on CNN," Zakari said. "That's all it was."

 

As for ZabaSearch, he said the service will soon undergo changes. He declined to detail what those changes will include.

 

"We will become a destination site for people interested in data," Zakari offered. "But I'm not going to give away our business model."

 

ZabaSearch says people can have their info removed from the company's database by e-mailing their name, birth date, address and phone number to info@zabasearch.com.

 

However, the company also says in its terms and conditions that it "does not guarantee that the information will not be available again in the future from other sources or ZabaSearch itself," thus making the opt-out process virtually meaningless.

 

Like I say, everything that's great and frightening about the Internet. Right there.

[+ glutes]

Before you go to Kinkos...

 

A United States congressman sent a letter today to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to investigate the potential identity theft risks associated with copy machines' hard drives.

 

Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), wrote the letter asking the FTC to look into the matter and take the necessary measures to inform consumers about the potential privacy risks after a CBS News investigation earlier this month reported on the wealth of personally identifiable information that is saved and never erased from most copy machines built since 2002.

 

Perhaps the biggest risk comes from the fact that used copiers often go back into the market and can be purchased -- along with all their valuable stored information -- for a relatively low price.

 

The CBS news team purchased a number of used copiers and found thousands of records on sex offenders and drug investigations from the police department in Buffalo, N.Y., and countless medical records belonging to the clients of a New York insurance company.

 

"Thousands of Americans make copies of sensitive information every day, completely unaware that the data is stored on a copy machine hard drive and then often never cleared when the machine is resold or disposed of," Markey said in a statement. "Just as you wouldn't leave a paper copy of your bank statement sitting on top of the office copy machine, a digital copy should not remain inside of it."

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?entry_id=62515#ixzz0mXrJe567

[+ glutes]

https://www.inquirer.com/news/nation-world/monsignor-jeffrey-burrill-resigns-grindr-20210720.html

 

Edited July 21, 2021 by glutes