He could be looking up your info!
There’s a database out there with your name on it. (In it, but on it sounded better.) Intelius collects information like your cellphone number, how much your house worth and so forth and then stuffs it all into a database. This information is gathered from public records. The database can be used by anyone, provided they pony up at least $8, though the most in-depth report costs $50. Privacy advocates and the people who love them aren’t too keen on the database, saying it’s an invasion of privacy. Verizon Wireless doesn’t like it either and says it’s prepared to go to litigation to prevent its customers’ numbers from getting out.
I did a quick search on our well-muscled leader John Biggs and found out some interesting things. Did you know his middle name begins with a “D” and he once lived in Farifax, Virginia? I didn’t pay for the rest of the report because I’m poor and live in Queens, but you’re all more than welcome to try it out for yourself. Search for yourself, search for your friends, search for celebrities. Have fun!
Man, this is evil! We really need a national tech-savvy dialog to highlight the very very important differences between Privacy and Security… In my mind, there’s a very important difference between giving your contact information to a business in order to recieve a product or service (see Pizza delivery) and the assumption that giving them your contact info is a tacit consent for the business to share and resell your information!
Though I was one of the first people I knew on facebook back in the day, I’ve since significantly reduced my usage of social networks for fears of privacy and portability of my personal networks. My relationships should be MINE to own, MINE to create, MINE to destroy, and MINE to take with me if the company supporting the social network infrastructure turns out to be evil and starts selling my contact information.
Privacy for digital information is exponentially more important than physical privacy because of the danger of accidentally or maliciously copying or releasing information that would normally be private if it existed in physical form.
If social networks are to succeed they must uphold the user’s assumption that they own the data about themselves!
I notice the article stated that you can opt out by faxing them a request along with some sort of identification…like your license. Yeah, that’ll be a smart thing to do, give those bastards more info to profit from. Screw them.
Intelius Revealed as a scam
It turns out that the facts are in and there is no question that Intelius is a scam. What they do is outright theft from consumers. For all of the details, see the excellent blog at: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/29/naveen-jains-intelius-prepares-to-go-public-how-much-of-their-revenue-is-a-scam/
Many people on blogs and comments have said they felt that these guys at Intelius deserve to be in jail. Read the TechCrunch story and the various comments and decide for yourself. There are also numerous web site where consumers have complained about these guys.
They got me too … looking at real estate values on line in North Myrtle Beach, SC … purchased ONE report…they grabbed my number and automatically sign ed me up for theft protection @ $20.00 per month … didn’t discover it until just today, after 3 months of charges … largely my fault for not checking, but this is illegal … is there any recourse against them
Intelius is a huge scam, they did the same thing to me as they did to hvygee . Problem is also after you notice the unauthorized charges, it takes you days to get in touch with these people. Their phone number is hidden deep in the site and they do not respond to e-mails. Once you find the number you are left on hold for 45 minutes until you talk to some customer service rep who sounds like they did not graduate 4th grade and could care less about your problems. (most likely due to the fact they deal with the same complaints all day long) I don’t know how this company still conducts business.
This is prime bait for a class action suit. Intelius is the most insidious scam on the internet, yet they boast credentialing that if real, throws even more value into a class action.
I have already sent them a list of demands for information about their organization and it’s methodologies employed when compiling their database.
Have you noticed the threatening nature of thier initial contact with you? We have.
If you feel that your privacy has been violated by Intelius, contact ML Smith, Class Action at smthmort@gmail.com
I have concluded that virtually no one cares about Intelius one way or another. I received a total of one reply, from someone who had been contactedby them and apparently this individual felt strongly that something should be done.
Without more support, nothing can be done and Intelius will continue to harass innocent victims.
They have yet to respond to my inquiries and complaint – evidently their policy precludes any response of any kind to persons who complain.
Good business practice, huh?
ML Smith
Coincidentally, shortly after my comments appeared here, my e-mail address was hijacked and I receive spam from my own address, carrying headers that are clearly meant to intimidate or threaten.
Interestingly, Google knowingly supports this hijacker by continuing to deliver his mail. Amazing, isn’t it? And Google cannot be contacted – they have no known address or phone number. However, in order to open a GMail account you must provide them with everything from the color of the underwear you use to the size of your grandmother’s orthopedic shoes. (no rhyme intended)
Something smells rotten…Intelius, Google…what’s next? I’ll tell you what I know for a fact. If you value your privacy, stay off the internet.
I, too have been scammed by Intelius. After forking over $20 for a worthless background check, I find myself being billed for additional 19.95 a month for some sort of ID Protection I knew nothing about. When I try to speak to an Intelius rep, I am told they are experiencing a huge amount of calls at this time and I could experience a 45 minute wait. I called my credit card company and argued for 10 minutes over my “authorizing” Intelius to charge my card.
Stay away from these people. Unethical and the “detailed” reports can be obtained by a bit more work on the Internet by myself.
Find another company to do your searches.
What I don’t understand is why people aren’t upset about their private information, including one’s UNLISTED telephone number, complete address, etc. being listed on their creepy site.
I pay for an unlisted number why in hades should I have to fax ANYTHING to these lowlives to get my private information off their site?
I hope someone sues their collective butts off.
I hope they get sued too. I had a stalker that threatened to harm me. I changed my number etc. but he found out where I lived through Intelius. How is this allowed?!!!!!