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From: rogue@cellar.UUCP (Rachel K. McGregor)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Private Investigator's claims
Message-ID: <N1m124w164w@cellar.UUCP>
Date: 16 May 91 01:22:46 GMT
References: <14826@encore.Encore.COM>
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Organization: The Cellar BBS and public access system
Lines: 36

eggimann@maxzilla.encore.com (Scott Eggimann) writes:

> A friend of mine is a private investigator who tends to make up
> stories a lot.  He tells me that for $58.00/month he can dial into 
> some information data base and get personal information on anybody in
> this country.  I told him he was crazy.
> 
> This information includes:
> 
> Police records (the biggest problem in his story)
> Credit records
> Bank balances (checking and savings)
> Places you've lived since you were born
> 
> And a couple of others that I cannot remember.  I told him that a lot
> of this stuff is personal/confidential information that he cannot
> access.  So you tell me.  Can he access this information?

Actually, police records are the easiest things on his list.  Because they 
are a government agency, all police records not explicitly sealed (or 
"misplaced") are a matter of public record.  Montgomery County, Pa., has a 
dial-up database with court records which include criminal trials.

Databases of previous addresses are not difficult, either, provided that the 
person being searched has filed change of address forms with the Post Office. 
The USPS sells these lists to marketers and other organizations.  I learned 
of this fact when I received mail addressed to me from Acme Supermarkets 
addressed, in my name, to me as a "new neighbor" of one of their markets.

Credit records are also easy to obtain; bank balances, however, should be 
expected not to be on such a system.

Rogue Winter       | "The truth knocks on the door and you say, 
rogue@cellar.uucp  | "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so
uunet!cellar!rogue | it goes away.  Puzzling."
Cellar 215/3369503 |  -Robert Pirsig (quoted in Zen_To_Go, Jon Winokur)