Google phone search

Got an email from a friend about the google.com search engine. Said if you entered your area code and phone number it would show your phone listing, name, address. Also had a link to map quest and map finder showing your location. Sure enough it worked when I entered my number + area code. It really bothered me that anyone with access to a pc could get directions right to my front door. But there is hope. When you pull up all this info there is an icon that looks like a telephone you can click and takes you to a page that allows you to block the listing from showing.

Ah, the information age, gotta love it [!?].

Are you listed in the phone book? I'm unlisted and I'm not in there... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dan

I just did it and it found me. Kind of scary. I'm going to block it.

Thanks.

A friend sent me the same email about the Google phone number search, and I emailed her back telling her how unfounded her paranoia is. So I don't have to type it all in again, here is what I wrote back to her:

.......Actually this kind of information has been available for many years. Most libraries have something called a criss-cross manual (we used to use one where I worked for marketing purposes) which lists local phone numbers in
order, and lists the address and name with each phone number. Just removing your phone number from the google database won't do much, there are at least a dozen more similar search engines on the internet specifically for looking up addresses and names from a phone number. I've used them on occasion to verify an address or phone number when purchasing things from individuals on the internet, so I don't get ripped off. The only way to remove your name,
address, and phone numbers from lists like these is to have an unlisted phone number.......

Actually our new local phone book that we just got over the weekend has a reverse look up section in it for the whole county. If the google phone search makes you paranoid, you should hole up in a cabin in Montana, because there is a lot more info available to anyone who knows a little about the internet.

-Keith

I read about this at Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/google.htm

Big Brother is watching ...

My number from when I lived in Georgia nearly 2 years ago is still listed as mine. My new TX one is still hidden...for now..(muhahahah)

-Jason

[ QUOTE ]
flownosaj said:
My number from when I lived in Georgia nearly 2 years ago is still listed as mine. My new TX one is still hidden...for now..(muhahahah)

-Jason

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, the phone number databases they use are a little out of date. We have lived at our current address for over a year and a half, yet our current number is still listed as belonging to whoever had the number before us.

-Keith

Long before people had the internet these directories were available on paper. If your number is listed, it can be searched forwards and backwards. There are even real-estate directories that list names and numbers by address. If it's unlisted, it can still be distributed by companies you give it to. That hasn't changed in 40 years.

Holy crap!!! They list not only my number, but my street address too. Not that it's a bad idea for me since I have my name & address on some of my web pages; but that could be bad news for other people who value their privacy.

I have yet to find a successful way to find email addresses. It seems impossible.

Is it?

Brightnorm

If the person has their number listed in the phone book, then this isn't anything (extra) for them to worry about. It's already out there. When I put my name into google, it's like the second thing to pop up, my address, adn I think my number. It's taken from the list of Washington state registered voters. Apparently that's public information. If you want a list of about a million people, just get the phone books for NYC.
If you're that concerned about your privacy, start off with getting an unlisted number. That's pretty much how google gets this information.

There is one more option to consider. I do not have an unlisted number (it actually costs extra to have an unlisted number, by the way) but I do have an unlisted ADDRRESS (that is free). I don't mind having a listed number. If somebody wants to call me, that's fine. If someone wants my address they can call and ask for it. However, I don't want somebody with a grudge against me or an obsession with my wife showing up at my house. That information is private. I know it is probably easy to get with a little knowledge of the web or public records, but at least it is not listed in the local phone book where any idiot can easily find it. It also doesn't show up on the Google search. So if all I am doing is screening out the total idiots, well, that's probably a significant fraction of the population.

I find it kind'a despicable that I have to actually PAY SBC (well, technically, former Pacific Bell) something like $1.50 a month for them NOT to publish my number in the phone book. And this was some time ago as well...

It's almost like paying to prevent blackmail.

Only the telephone company is required to honor the "unlisted" number arrangement. Other directories don't have to, and don't if it's known. Most public libraries have community cross-reference directories that are sorted by name, street and address, and phone. They don't just get their information from the phone company, but receive input from several sources including utility companies, DMV in some states, voter registration, and even door to door canvassing. In door-to-door, people are also asked about their neighbors. If you've got a relatively new unlisted number, you're probably okay. If you've had one for some time and given it out in regard to anything, you're probably listed.

My phone service was with pacific bell, and having an unlisted number was about $0.30 a month. Now that I'm moving back to Cali, I set up my phone service with SBC, and it was under $0.30. I don't remember the specific prices though.
But I agree that it should be free.

The charge for "Non-Listed" and "Non-Published" numbers is a holdover from when Directory Assistance was a free service.

The argument was that having one's name/number NOT appear in the white pages generated more (often fruitless) calls to Directory Assistance, and that was a way to recover the (considerable) expense of repeatedly tying up a Directory Assistance Operator (and her lines/equipment).

Initially the charge was a "break even" amount that was watched by the regulators and tightly controlled to not generate an appreciable profit or loss.

Since the break-up of AT&T in January 1984, and the un-bundling and de-regulation of many services, "Information" services are now pay-as-you-go. Thing is, the small charge to cover the excessive calls to Directory Assistance caused by numbers not in the directory has stayed, even though the rationale for it is no longer viable.

The regulating agencies have just let a LOT of things like that slide rather than demand the strict accounting and justifications they did when they closely regulated every aspect of the telecommunications industry.

(25 years as a Telco engineer/engineering manager/project manager makes a person say things like this ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif There's no known cure ... )



-= MICROSOFT FREE ZONE =-

shankus, as nice as it is--your avitar gif is about 100k which means that pages take forever to download for our members on Dialup.

[ QUOTE ]
Bill.H said:
...There are even real-estate directories that list names and numbers by address....

[/ QUOTE ]

The name and address of a land owner is considered public information in NJ (and probably in most other states, I would guess).

The value of the land, the value of your house, and the property tax are all considered public information and can be looked up on-line or in town hall.

When my wife and I went shopping for our house we looked up the information on Lexis/Nexis to see what the neighborhood was REALLY worth. The data includes the amount of each home's mortgage and the name of the bank.---Marc

Go to www.people-data.com

You can buy a background check on anyone listed for $10.00.

Nice eh?