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DIY Exploring Public Records
 

Anyone know of any free source online to share just to dive and get some basic information? I would like something a little more compact than spending amount of time trying to gather useless information from Google. If they are public records there has to be a free resource somewhere online amongst all these paid services which just make me sick with all their gayness. I would be interested to know who eBay is "contracting" as well.. The information given for the quizzes seems so random that for any normal user it can be almost impossible to complete, not to mention us.

I think we can all agree it's a totally retarded and questionable quiz. Most of the time you won't know who the hell they're talking about. The only way to go look for it is to take a dive into the public records and figure out what the hell they are talking about for yourself.. So, I'm currently on that quest to find the resources to do so. Knowlege is power.

I have taken the quiz many times... It is very random... I was even asked what the height was listed on my drivers license!!! They get information that is not even listed with these pay for background info websites... Usually there is questions in regards to the address.i.e. Property, Car Loan/lease and something off the wall.

Wow, talk about up close and personal. The questions I've gotten seem like they are quite answer-able if I just have the right info by searching around.. It was all family record related things; names, dates, birthdays, residence.. stuff I could search around Google if I had the time. I find this quite ridiculous.

eBay is going through some very shady territory for "security concerns," I would've thought that they've realized by now how much negativity their service is giving. eBay has forgotten behind all the "security" excuses they give that they can peer into a persons' life so easily, almost screams "identity theft" to anyone who works there. I honestly don't know how much longer they can stay in business.

But exactly. Questions about addresses, property, residence, relatives, ages; from what I know all can be answered from what I see with some research. Something like a drivers license and car loan may not, BUT it's definitely a start in the right direction. I'm pretty sure if a corporation like them can get it, a company like mine can get it as well for "employee verification." After all, if these aren't true "public records," that the public is supposed to have access to, it wouldn't exactly be legal for eBay to have that information would it?

eBay accesses some information from credit databases that we cannot access. Information about loans, leases, etc.

And some of the questions asked are MEANT to not have a correct answer. That works in our favor since you cannot prove a negative.

Other than accessing stuff like the Whie Pages and other databases individually, I don't know of any site that pieces together data for free and lays it all out for you.

And if using such a service, you must be VERY CAREFUL in what information you use and how you use it. You don't want to cross the line into committing identity theft. That is punishable by up to 30 years in jail. Hardly worth it for a stealth account.

Most decent services that we can legally access charge $20 per month for unlimited lookups. Of course, you get what you pay for. Generally speaking, more money paid out = better data returned.

I appreciate the concern but I doubt the user should be concerned about jailtime. If eBay states it is "public records," then their policy states the information is what it is.. no need to scare anyone. I think I would be more concerned if eBay was using it improperly, as they are VERY large and have a history of not managing their resources correctly.. including stealing patents which are reflected in their payment system.

As businesses we have valid reasons obtaining information for employee verification; I do not see this as any different to what eBay is doing and probably wouldn't fall under identity theft because of how randomized the information is. Using information like that (even though while it may be disclosed as public) still carries penalties if it is used improperly; even by eBay, but so does any name. I'm sure someone will catch them at this someday and sue them because if you have a stealth name their questionnaires reveal almost TOO MUCH about surrounding family history. I was quite surprised that the member above pointed out their willingness to display personal driver license details.

However, if most of the questions are purposely "None of the above," then most of the information gathered is just in fact a ⊗⊗⊗⊗ ploy of sorts.