Putting the cyber background
check to the test

Check out what they’ve got on you

By David Swann, Star-Bulletin

By Dawn Sagario
Star-Bulletin

To test the power of a background check, I had Linda Alexander of WhoisShe.Com and WhoisHe.Com run one on yours truly. What could she find out about Dawn Sagario? Not too much, I hoped.

With nothing but my name as a lead, the first piece of information printed at the top of her report, to my surprise, was my social security number. I immediately felt violated, as if now my whole personal life was in danger of being exposed with this one discovery.

Had I been wrong to assume all this time that this identifier, key to my existence in the federal government databank, was a private code that few had access to?

"Social security numbers are not as private as people may think," Alexander said. "They're on many public documents." She listed credit card applications, utility bills, driver's licenses, court reports and property information as sources for the numbers.

What followed were addresses associated with me. Here, I found my permanent address, along with a dormitory location that was 2 years old. The report then listed all the people who had used these same addresses. It continued to go into even more detail, taking those who were associated with my permanent address and listing each of their past residences.

Eight individuals were listed, all with their social security numbers and the dates they were issued, plus their birthdays. I recognized all of them -- they had either been past tenants on my family's property or relatives/acquaintances of those tenants.

The report also included a listing of my neighbors at both residences. Twenty on each list.

A person's full name and state of residence is the minimum information Alexander needs to conduct a search. For common names, more information is needed, such as age or birth date.

The amount of information given in the report looked pretty impressive and all-too thorough.

But according to Roy Niles of Honolulu's Niles Agency, the long list of names and addresses isn't of much help in finding out about any of your new cyber buddies.

"There's some value if you go to the neighbors and talk to them. There needs to be a follow-up," he said. For instance, there's nothing to stop a person from giving you another individual's name.

Niles added interpreting public records correctly involves skill. "If you don't go to a professional, you're just shortchanging yourself," he said. "Cross-references in a public records database is not done that well. Sometimes it's just a phone number and a name, or a name and a social security number."

Niles has access to DCS-Information Systems and CDB Infotek, extensive databases available only to private investigators.

DCS is unique in that it can begin a search with entering just a first or last name. Information is cross-referenced to provide addresses and phone numbers, he explained. Social security numbers, driver's license information, date of birth, current address and other individuals sharing that address (i.e. children, spouse) can be accessed through this program.

In one case involving this database, a mother was alarmed when a man her daughter had met on the Internet came to visit her in Hawaii. Alvin (not his name), claimed to be an FBI agent and began making arrangements for the woman to move in with him.

The only information Niles had on Alvin was his first name and the general location of residence. Niles was able to locate and identify the man, who turned out to be a married postal worker.

Almost every adult in the United States is listed in DCS, Niles said, which is something you can't find on the Internet. Those who are really knowledgeable on the 'Net can find and combine information, but search strategies are needed to be successful.

CDB Infotek goes a little further than DCS by giving you court judgments and tax liens.

Nevertheless, I was disturbed that all of the information Alexander found about me had been obtainable through public record. What else is floating around out there that I don't know about?

Paranoia kicked in and I am still debating how much information I would be willing to provide the next time I fill out a typical application form.

Niles says, though, that to do business and have credit, "you need to let the world know where you are." Unless a person is in a special situation, like being harassed by a stalker, he said, there's no reason to keep the information private. Data that could really hurt people if made accessible to the public, such as medical records, are already restricted.

One solution toward making records more private, Niles said, is to have tighter regulations restricting information to licensed individuals such as attorneys and private investigators.

An example of this is the background data on credit applications, called credit headers, available on the Internet. Niles says that this type of information should not be available online.

But he warns nothing is foolproof. With tighter restrictions on information, records will funnel through legal channels only, providing the public with some protection. Right now, all people can do is hope for the best.

"There's no foolproof way you can keep something secret," Niles said. "If someone really wants the information, and they've got the money, they'll pay to get it."

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