Google Reveals Name & Address From Phone No.

[pendragon]

Google has enhanced it’s search engine such that it now allows one to obtain any person’s name and address by entering their phone number (2102221234) Additional information may also be available depending on what is in the Google database.

Cell phone numbers may likewise be in the Google database. Apparently this varies with the service provider.

While this “feature” may have positive benefits, it could also allow adverse parties to locate home address, etc.

To remove yourself from the Google database:
1. Enter your number in the Google search field and enter
2. A status window will then appear with the search results detail
3. Click on the blue telephone icon that appears (top-left) in this window
4. Another window will appear with a paragraph titled “PhoneBook.”
5. The last sentence in this paragraph says: “To have your residential or business phone and address information removed from the Google PhoneBook, click here.”
6. Click as directed and follow the screen prompts.

Harv

[kelly]

Wow Harv. I thought this was late April Fools. Not.    

Don't know if there's a real reason for paranoia though.

All it does is provide public knowledge.

You have as much right to be paranoid about the phone book.

[Bernie]

Double      Thanks Harv.  Hi ya Kelly    
Change the " Lost in Cyberspace " Member  If you can

[Paddy]

If you're listed in the phone book, you can be found online! Face it - you can run, but you can't hide!    Even if you remove yourself from the Google lookup, you can be found in several other reverse lookups, at least one of which seems to have no provision for removing your information (InfoSpace) The Google feature is essentially the same as reverse lookup - which has been available for years. This is just easier - no intermediate steps.

Another neat Google feature: if you put the person's name in the search field in quotes, and then add the town, Google will pull up the name, address and phone number. (in small type at the top of the results page)

EG: "fred flintsone" + Bedrock

Very handy, when you've lost that little piece of paper...

Neither of those features work at Google.ca (the Canadian version) for those of you north of the border. InfoSpace does have reverse lookup for Canada though.

[tacit]

Yep, Paddy's right.

You've been able to do this for years. It's really no big deal; Google just saves you two mouse clicks, that's it.

If you have a telephone, you can be found.the same information is available in an everyday phone book, and the phone company has had the ability to offer reverse number lookups for decades--it's just that not many people knew about it. (A phone company reverse lookup is called a "CNA," for "customer Name/Address"--you just call the operator and say "I want a CNA for 813-555-1234" and the operator will charge you a dollar and give you the name and address of the owner of that number.)

[pendragon]

While I have been aware of this capability for years now, I am continually amazed at what “personal information” is available on the web and how easily it is accessed. In Maryland, most records filed with the state or county are available for all to see, e.g., the cost of my home, the amount of the first trust, mortgage holder, appraised value, etc.

Ah, the benefits of information mining.

Harv

[tacit]

That's not just Maryland. In all states I've ever lived in, information about deeds, titles, mortgages, and values of any real estate (not just homes, but commercial and agricultural properties as well) is considered public information. You've always been able to walk into the county courthouse and ask to see information about leinholders, titles, and mortgages for any address; indeed, even housing blueprints must be files with the government, and you can see the blueprints for any building on any property.

You can also see information about the general contractor responsible for the building on any property, financial information about whatever bank financed the construction, and so on.