real estate site publishing private info without permission

1. 0

   cosetteposted 14 years ago

   a business associate sent me a picture of my car, parked in front of my house. he said is this your car?
   
   i asked him how he did that, since he didn't know my address or what kind of car i drive and he said he Googled my name and middle initial and the city i live in and boom this real estate site is the first link and it shows my full name, address and a picture of my car parked right in front of my house! the pictures are from GoogleMap's street views.
   
   i sent the girl who handles this an email on Friday and asked her to delete my listing. she wouldn't, saying it's a matter of public record.
   
   i knew she would say that.
   
   so what if it's a matter of public record? someone would have to physically go down to the government office that handles that, fill out a form and pay a fee to get that info, all of which they provide with a simple Google query.
   
   i replied to her and told her i want it removed and asked her if they have permission to use Google's copyrighted images.
   
   does anyone else have any suggestions?
   
   i am not letting this go.
   
   thank you. p.s. i bet if you Google your name and city, you will find your personal info on it too, e.g.
   
   "John J Doe Phoenix"

   replyreport
   1. 68

      Jeffrey Nealposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think that's the case everywhere.  In my neck of the woods county property tax data is online and accessible to anyone.  Many government bodies are putting databases of information up online.
      
      I'm afraid I don't have any advice for you...it's a sign of the times.  It is absolutely sick what you can find out on G.  Was having a chat on a local forum, and one fellow tagged a post with his first name. Since his handle looked like a first initial last name thing I looked him up just for fun since I was enjoying our debate.  Within seconds I found a LinkedIn profile, his University faculty profile where he teaches, a website where he and his two children do theater in a troupe, and several other pages.  It took all of five minutes to learn a lot about him, and the cool thing is it helped me see things from his point of view.
      
      I am glad though that when I google my name, the only thing I get is the LinkedIn and Twitter, but if someone knows the tax assessor's website, they can get more info on me.  And I'm using a pen name on here for you googlers!   This one is fun, though: http://www.123people.com/s/jeffrey+neal
      
      Sorry for my long-winded, unhelpful reply

      replyreport
2. 0

   Poppa Bluesposted 14 years ago

   Welcome to the brave new world! Privacy no longer exists!

   replyreport
   1. 79

      kirstenblogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Priva...what?

      replyreport
   2. 75

      advisor4qbposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I know!  I heard you can even buy Social Security Numbers online now!

      replyreport
3. 60

   chambersgirl21posted 14 years ago

   Yeah doesnt it make you mad knowing that someone is making money off of your own personal information.

   replyreport