You are not paranoid--be very afraid

[Felinity]

I just received this email from a friend. If you think it is important for others to be aware of, please K&R. (And yes, I found my own name on this database, no problem. I think one source of their information is Yahoo, because when I clicked on the email address, it went to my 3 day old Yahoo account.


"I thought you might want to delete your Name from this. Or not.. Either way I thought you'd like to know. My name and information was on the web site, so yours might be also.


Beginning ((( May 2006 ))) a new database was made available to the General Public, free of charge that displays your personal information (Names, Addresses, phone numbers, birth
Dates). (YOUR Soc. Sec. Is available for a Price.) The database is found at
http://www.zabasearch.com/

Just type in your name and check...you'll be SHOCKED as I was! I urge You to forward this email to family and friends. Check to see if your Name and Information is in their database. If so and you want it removed, send them an e-mail at [e-mail] to request it be removed. I do not know how our names got there, but I checked my own and a few other random ones and they are all in this database!

After opting out by email, check back after a few days to make certain your information has been removed. If It has not been removed then file a complaint with your State Attorney General."

[Warpy]

1. I've known about this site for a very long time

However, quite a bit of the info about me is inaccurate.

They were very flattering when it came to my age.

[Zensea]

4. Same here

They've got a lot of addresses for me, the most recent one being from 5 years ago and they've also got me listed at several of my mother's different addresses -- none of which I have ever lived at. Plus a bunch of entries have my birthdate wrong.
This was the case when I looked at it 6 months ago also.
I think that one way to keep yourself off this list is to not have a land line, since the last address they've got for me is from when before I went to using a cell phone exclusively.
This means they are not tied into the government, because the government knows my current address through income tax filings and the state knows my current address through DMV (so I'm not so sure this is based on DMV records -- one of the correct addresses for me the DMV never knew).

[Truthiness Inspector]

2. Has anyone here removed their info?

I've wondered if asking to be removed could serve as a confirmation that the info is correct, and it will then be further misused. :scared:

I hope to hear that some here have successfully had their information removed, and that was the end of it.

[China_cat]

3. A lot of their information

comes from DMV records which are up for sale to anyone with the money to buy. That includes ALL the info on your driver's license or non-driver's ID, including your SS#. Stop your state from selling them and it would help. But I hope you have better luck than we had here in SC. The governor decided that the income was more important than our privacy.

[patcox2]

14. Federal law prohibits state DMVs from revealing SS numbers.

Law is several years old now.

[China_cat]

15. Tell that to SC DMV

When they sell the records, they sell the WHOLE record...every piece of info. Including SS#. The instructions allowing you to opt out of your information being sold is so small that nobody can find it unless they know it's there...and even then, if you don't opt out the very first time you get a license or ID, they consider it implied consent for any subsequent renewals, even if you try to block it.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=98-1464

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. GEORGE ALLEN 4296 NEITZEY PL ALEXANDRIA, VA

He lives on Nazi Place. How appropriate is that?

[mike_c]

6. well that was interesting, but not very surprising....

This is the sort of thing that background check services have done for years-- now it's just on the web. I was gratified to see that my Vonage phone still doesn't show up in the data base, i.e. they have my current address, along with several old addresses (and inexplicably, my ex mother-in-law's address!), but they list only old, no longer active phone numbers. I've had Vonage for 2.5 years now and have had a grand total of TWO unsolicited phone calls during that time-- one from Vonage itself, and one from Moveon.org (I must have put my phone number on a form).

[Finder]

7. It is all from public records...

as someone else stated. Here is the snopes scoop.

http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/zabasearch.asp

[WePurrsevere]

8. Thanks, will pass the word along. Have run across others but not this one.

n/t

[dipsydoodle]

9. I notice that it's USA only

I'm guessing that's a similar site here in Europe would fall seriously foul of our data protection laws in which case they'd just be shut down.

[Downtown Hound]

10. Address and phone number is one thing

But social security number? That's going to far. With a person's SSN they could do a lot of damage. Not okay that they sell this stuff to just anyone.

[slackmaster]

11. I don't see why anyone would find this surprising

They have my name and address, but the wrong date of birth. I have owned my home for over 11 years. County assessor and recorder data is available to the public, and has been since the 1970s.

Many years ago I took the precaution of putting my phone number listing under an assumed name. At the time my only intent was to be unlisted without paying an extra fee for an unlisted number, but it's payed off handsomely. If someone calls asking for my non-existent roomate, I know right away they are probably a solicitor.

Having your name removed from zabasearch won't do any lasting good unless you have been very careful to keep your real name out of government data. If you own property, doing so involves setting up a trust.

[Phx_Dem]

12. Know anyone in Maricopa cty AZ?

check out this link, try typing in some "famous" Arizonans.

http://recorder.maricopa.gov/recdocdata/GetRecDataSelect.asp?mcrs=1

[SheilaT]

13. Big deal.

There's nothing in there that's not a matter of public record and easily findable in other places. I didn't see my SSN there. I will not let my SSN be my Driver's license number.