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A Background of a 'Background Checker'
Posted by
Hemos
on Mon Dec 06, 2004 11:00 AM
from the or-dirt-digger dept.
from the or-dirt-digger dept.
pamri writes "The Times of India profiles Jay Patel, of Abika, a firm that specializes in background checks, personality profiles, satellite or aerial Photos of any location besides other services in the US. It is now venturing into other countries including Canada and India.
Abika is already facing protests from Canadian Privacy groups for breaching the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act"
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Personality profile? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Personality profile? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Personality profile? (Score:5, Interesting)
I know one guy on IRC that interviewed with a company and they spent a good amount of time passing around the link to his gallery (mostly pertaining to the pictures of the large gauges in his ears).
One interviewer checked my site before I came in (and I knew it) and he said that they didn't hire pot smokers. He assumed I was a pot smoker because I was a Grateful Dead fan.
Just remember that you may or may not be hired due to interpretations of your "web presence" regardless of whether or not it's actually how you live your life.
Parent
Re:Personality profile? (Score:4, Insightful)
I've never had anything *remotely* like that happen, and usually they want me to supply links to work I've done, not go and waste their time and money searching for it themselves.
Parent
Re:Personality profile? (Score:3, Funny)
Did you respond that it was fine since you never work for people who beat their wives anyway?
-ben
Re:Personality profile? (Score:5, Interesting)
I can never find myself on Google, even with my full name. Sometimes not even with the city I'm in.
All those years bemoaning the mundanity of my name, and it turns out it may someday become my greatest defense against the All-Seeing Eye of Google
Parent
Re:Personality profile? (Score:2, Interesting)
Actual conversation:
"Dad, did you write something about masturbation on the web a long time ago?"
"What? No! Waitaminute, yes. Not on the web, on a newsgroup. But it was just a metaphor! It was about intellectual masturbation."
"My friends think you're so cool!"
Who knew when we were writing that stuff 15 years ago that it would be around FO
Permanent record (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Personality profile? (Score:5, Funny)
Hi! Remember me? Remember when we robbed the local 24hr garage? I still think about the blood pouring from that blind old aged pensioner in the wheelchair. I thought her head was going to pop when you stamped on it for the third time!
Did you ever get away with the drug smuggling operation you were running? I told the police that you were the lowest on the ladder - I think they bought it. I didn't read any newspaper stories so I'm guessing you're OK..?
Who would have thought that, after all these years, I'd find you through Google.
How's the job hunting going?
Parent
Re:Personality profile? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Personality profile? (Score:3, Funny)
My Fortress of Solitude (Score:4, Funny)
(Iraq is 51st
Re:My Fortress of Solitude (Score:2)
Re:My Fortress of Solitude (Score:4, Insightful)
Imagine another blue state with the population of California. I doubt that the present administration would want that.
Parent
Recourse (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Recourse (Score:2, Informative)
All font point sizes must exceed size -1...
Outsourcing Privacy. (Score:3, Interesting)
So in other words. Privacy (getting around) is being outsourced.
Welcome to the Brave New World. Hope everyone brought an antacid?
Re:Outsourcing Privacy. (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Outsourcing Privacy. (Score:3, Informative)
This was bound to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This was bound to happen (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:This was bound to happen (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:This was bound to happen (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:This was bound to happen (Score:4, Informative)
That said, with respect, you're very wrong.
As a matter of law, you can always bring a claim against a foreign defendant in your own jurisdiction. The threshold issue will be whether your jurisdiction is the appropriate venue to pursue the claim.
Incidentally, I don't think the problem is so much PIPEDA as defamation. If someone publishes inaccurate and defamatory information about me, I can sue their pants off, whether I'm in Canada or the US. But I'd probably want to do it in Canada, since US libel laws are pretty defendant-friendly.
If you succeed, however, you'd have to enforce the judgment in the defendant's jurisdiction, which could be problematic.
Incidentally, although the Times of India is profiling this fellow, the company is based in Wyoming (or so claims their WHOIS record). One would go after the corporate person, I would think, so at the very least, people can sue the corp under Wyoming/US law.
If, for any reason, you think I'm full of it, then note that Americans regularly sue Canadians in American courts. Right now there's a great case about a junkyard owner in Virginia suing CIBC (one of Canada's largest banks) in negligence for mistakenly sending faxes containing the bank's customers' information to his business.
However, IANAL. None of the foregoing is legal advice.
Parent
Re:This was bound to happen (Score:3, Interesting)
When a sensitive issue of diplomacy is involved, the local state department or equivalent may file briefs with the court to address these issues as well. Once a judgement is ma
Re:This was bound to happen (Score:3, Insightful)
Suppose somebody from Sealand travels to Canada and kills somebody. Then they fly back to Sealand before the crime is discovered.
Clearly the broke Canadian law. However, the fact is that the Canadians can't do anything about it except invade Sealand, impose sanctions of some sort on the entire country, or hope the guy flys back to Canada so that they can arrest him at Immigration.
The company in question gets lots of money from Canadians, but probably never
Re:This was bound to happen (Score:3, Insightful)
You forgot extradition. So Canada does not have an extradition treaty with Sealand, then just wait until the alledged criminal travels to a country with an extradition treaty with Canada.
Extradition does work fairly well for capital crimes, as long as s
Video (Score:2, Interesting)
he just doesn't get it (Score:4, Insightful)
Perhaps the reason why we know so little about each other is that people feel the need to sneak around and dig up dirt on others and then use that information against them? If you truly wanted to know more about someone, then open your mouth and ask that someone.
Re:he just doesn't get it (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, intra-bus cultural nuances get complicated once you extrapolate them to the Internet and get professional about all this snooping.
Parent
how much longer (Score:5, Insightful)
I hate to be the one running around with a tin foil hat here, but I don't like this idea one bit. Although some see huge privacy implications in this, my personal reasons are more religious.
How long until each entry has an X, Y, and Z associated with it?
will it be run on mysql? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
not bound by laws? eh? (Score:5, Interesting)
This guy hates privacy (Score:5, Insightful)
Name one that would be solved this way.
Besides, why try and hide things, when it is becoming harder and harder to do so?
Because I don't wan't everyone knowing a lot about me. I like people not knowing stuff about me. Particularly things like my income (why should anyone care buy me and the IRS), ex-wives, speeding tickets, where I live when I don't know them, who I talk to and a whole host of other things. If I choose to tell someone or post something on the internet that is fine by me. But I don't want them finding out info any other way.
At least when I submit to a government background check I have to give them permision first.
Re:This guy hates privacy (Score:3, Funny)
Females.
Different Juristictions (Score:2, Interesting)
Lawson believes Canadian privacy law should apply to Abika since it is selling Canadians' information about themselves, but there are hurdles because the firm is based in the United States.
In the UK we have strong data protection laws as well. However, many companies that take our data make us waive the right by saying that we are aware that the data may be moved outside the UK (Bank call centres in India?) and our rights do
Expectation of Privacy, Revisited the 1000th Time (Score:4, Interesting)
Okay, so let me get this straight. A company is searching through and compiling publicly available information, and then making some TheSpark-style random conjectures based on these data?
Where is the expectation of privacy here? Do I have a (reasonable) expectation that data about me on the internet are private? Even my grandmother can tell you that that's ridiculous. This is the cyberspace equivalent of looking through my garbage, not breaking into my house. I hope this action falls on its face, because people providing information aggregation of all kinds are a very valuable, growing part of the coolness the internet has to offer and I want to encourage them in any way possible, even if it does mean that someone might know I bought a USB Christmas tree off ThinkGeek.
Two qualifications, though:
you don't get it (Score:4, Insightful)
For example, borrowing a good example used here earlier, if you are a big Grateful Dead fan who goes to all their concerts and runs a website dedicated to them, you are a pot smoker.
Parent
Wow (Score:5, Insightful)
Comprehensive Background Checks, typically return Subject's Name, Aliases, AKA's Age Month & year of birth Date and Location where SSN issued. Others associated with SSN 22 year address/phone history B&W Satellite Photo of current location Nationwide Bankruptcy Search - Nationwide Judgments, Liens Search Nationwide Real Property Search Property Assessments Others listed at subjects address Possible Associates Relatives summary, names & phone numbers Voter Registrations Records Current Neighbors, Names, addresses, phones Court cases involving subject FAA registrations Drug Enforcement Agency Search FAA Airmen, FAA Aircraft Social Security Death Index Professional Licenses Internet Domain Ownership Corporate affiliations UCC filings (Business Loans) Aircraft Ownership Vessels Ownership Motor Vehicles, Motorcycles, Boats Ownership (FL, ME, MN, MS, MP, NE, NC, OH, TX, WI) Drivers License Info (FL, ID, MN, MO, OH, TX, WI) Concealed Weapons Permit (AR, FL, IN, LA, ME, ND, VA) Hunting & Fishing Permits (AK, AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, MA, MS, MO, MT, ND, NV, NJ, NC, OH, OK, UT, VA, WI)
It looks like IT hasn't been the only victim of offshoring. Who would have thought that BIG BROTHER would be outsourced to India too..and you can have all that information AND a psychological profile based on past actions for $140. It's like a credit report of your ENTIRE LIFE. I'm almost tempted to get one just to see why I get hired/turned down for the jobs I apply to.
Some of their other services include.. (Score:5, Informative)
Basic Background Search (Public Records) (USA) $9.98
General Background Check (USA) $49.98
Comprehensive Background Check (USA) $69.98
Background Check including Psychological Profile (Includes Behavior History and more) (USA) $139.98
Background Search with Nationwide Criminal Record Search $99.98
Background Search with Statewide Criminal Record Search $79.98
Find / Locate this Person (Public records search only) $29.98
Verify Employment (each) $24.98
Verify Income $39.95
Property Search $24.98
Civil Court Records Search (each Court) $29.98
State Criminal Records Search (First Name, Last Name, DOB required) $39.98
County Criminal Records Search (each County) $29.98
Copies of Court Documents for criminal and civil court records $39.98
Police Reports, Accident Reports Search by County, City or License Plate Number $69.98
Search History of Employment (Public Records) (Searches Public Records and Work Databases) $49.98
Current Employment Search $149.98
Search / Verify Education & College Degrees $59.98
Find email or IM from physical address $49.95
Find Cell Phone Number, Address & Name from SSN $169.98
Search Date of Birth of this person $14.98
Search Possible Girlfriends/Boyfriends/Spouses/Roommates $99.95
Search Social Security Number $139.98
Search Utility Records (Trace person by searching Electric or Gas utility accounts) $79.98
Find Relatives (Through Public Records) $49.98
Search Family Tree Returns info on Ancestors $139.98
Physical Address from P.O.Box & Name $89.98
USA Nationwide Criminal Records Search (First Name, Last Name, DOB required) $59.98
Unconventional Behavior Search $89.98
Background Check for Canada (Please click on above link for info on this search) $119.98
Sex Offender Search (each state) $17.98
International Background Check (Each Country, Please click on above link for info on this search) $139.98
Medical Records $89.98
Statewide Marriage Records Search (CA, CO, KY, TX, ME, NV, FL) $24.98
Statewide Divorce Records Search $179.98
Statewide Marriage Records Search (Any other state except CA, CO, KY, TX, ME, NV, FL) $179.96
Find Person by their First Name & Age $39.98
Find Person by their Maiden Name $49.98
Sexual Orientation Search (Name, Address, DOB required) $49.98
Cheating Search (Relationships) (Name, Address, DOB required) $89.98
Verify Name, DOB from Picture (Checks if Name & DOB belongs to the person in the picture) $89.98
28 Hour Rush Delivery $39.95
Parent
During a television interview... (Score:5, Insightful)
Perhaps it would be possible to publish some of his family's private information on the web to test his conviction that privacy is stupid. Perhaps this could be done in the same way that folks published some facts from Poindexter's private life as a response to the Total Information Awareness initiative.
Also, Abika's business model depends upon privacy. In other words, in the upper right hand side of http://www.abika.com, there is a "private, confidential, guaranteed" logo, which makes sense as Abika's services would be far less attractive to customers without such a guarantee. If Jay Patel really believes that privacy is stupid, then I challenge him to publish on his website the results of all background checks. More importantly, I challenge Jay Patel to inform the targets of background checks when checks are being performed and also of the identity of the requesters of the checks. After all, the major credit reporting agencies such as TRW are now being forced to report such information to the targets of credit checks, so why should Abika be permitted to operate any differently?
The inside scoop on "Jay Patel" (Score:3, Interesting)
1) Jay Patel is an alias for Sanjay Amin [google.com]. (More on this in a bit)
2) Sanjay Amin started out a company called Entropy Systems [archive.org], which offered a perpetual motion machine [wired.com] to paying customers. This was after he defaulted from school loans at the University of Minnesota. (He left the university and the state due to some disagreements with the university about his engine)
3) Using the millions of dollars he bilked out of various people and organizations primarily in the Yo
and another thing... (Score:5, Insightful)
What was it he dug up on her that made her marry a sneaky bastard like him in three short weeks? And how desperately did he need his Green Card? Or is that "none of our business?"
Globalization and communications (Score:3, Insightful)
What'll come next? Probably nations realizing that they're losing control that they thought they once had, and finally coming together. To globalize and equalize citizenship? Goodness, no
Data Rape (Score:5, Insightful)
This is wrong pure and simple.
I don't question someone's right to have access to "specific" data about me. i.e my GP needs to know my blood type, the taxman needs to know my income, the pizza delivery boys needs to know my address. But the wholesale collection and amalgamation of every possible facet of my life by people who have no business knowing anything about me, disgusts me to my very core. No doubt Mr Patel wets himself over the prospect of getting access to embedded RFID telemetry as well.
Stalking is a crime. When stalkers are caught with pictures, diaries and details of people's whereabouts and dealings, this is usually used against them in a court case. why shouldn't the same apply to Mt Patel and his kind?
This behaviour is inexcusable. Noone needs to know this much about anyone else and those that do should be prosecuted. Persons and Companies should have the minimum amount of data possible on any one person. Data is on a need to know basis, and they don't need to know.
Of course, these dirty data raping fiends will argue on grounds of civil liberty(which they threaten), free speech(which they help to chill) and of course they play the happy smiley, "Our motives are purely innocent, you have nothing to fear" PR card, that will fool so many people.(That whole three week marraige story is probobly just a PR stunt)
Well guess what. I have a right to dignity. And if some private company starts selling off every minutes detail about me, every action I have ever done, every rumour, everything I've said or been remotely involved in, be it happy, sad, embarrassing, glad, hopeful, disparing or just plain private, to every slobbering data hungry slimeball that comes looking for it, I consider that a pretty big dent in my personal dignity pal! See you in court!
This is only the warm up act (Score:5, Interesting)
This guy is doing it here, but as the off shore trend increases the information is going to become more available to potentially hostile foreign governments.
Manage it now or pay the price later. We're already paying the price with companies like this one cropping up. This is nothing less than domestic spying.
Identity theft made easy... (Score:4, Interesting)
Pay a couple bucks to this company, get complete background on someone, and then take over their life....you now know everything about them and their past, you don't even have to create things. This means that anything you say about your past can be verified as true.
The other thing that really got me going was this comment...
"Patel questions the need for restrictions on personal information, saying lack of data about people is what breeds fear and ignorance. "Most people don't care about privacy. It's the media that makes it a big hype.""
I'm sure that there are LOTS of people that care about privacy...why do you think we have curtains on our windows?
that data is available because we sent it there! (Score:3, Insightful)
I believe they can do this in India because we are sending all our information there for processing in the first place. Once it's there, it doesn't take too much to bribe someone to get those records.
There should be laws that prevent any company from sending US citizen's private information overseas (with a very broad definition of "private", to prevent abuse). This not only will stop this leak, it will also keep some jobs here (medical transcriptions, marketing and all "data mining" business as it relates to person's activity or credit).
Patel sounds like a Class-A citizen. (Score:4, Insightful)
The guy sounds like a real creep, and now he offers services like "Sexual Orientation Check." Truly disgusting.
Re:This wouldnt happen if you had a decent DPA... (Score:3, Interesting)
WTF are you talking about? It sounds pretty clear to me that there is money in this - industrial/commercial money. It's a service business that could relocate to any location where the laws permit it - taking its tax dollars along for the trip. A democracy s