Spokeo: Moral or Unethical?

[Becca3]

I have a question to pose here. What do you guys think of this site that supposedly finds people for you, www.spokeo.com? You can look up a name, email address, username, etc… Has anybody tried it?? Does it really work? Being Catholics, is that taking it too far?? To spy on someone we know. How trusting is too trusting?? But what if your boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse is cheating on you?? Would you rather not know? Would you want to know??

This should be an interesting thread.

 

[FrancisBenedict]

If you’re that worried, something needs healing.

 

[MJJean]

I used Spokeo to find my uncle. After my mothers death we lost touch and went years without speaking. I moved, divorced, changed my name, remarried, changed my name again… It would have been very difficult for him to find me and I knew it. So, I turned to the internet and found Spokeo and then found my uncle. Turns out, he had been looking, too!

 

[Becca3]

I used Spokeo to find my uncle. After my mothers death we lost touch and went years without speaking. I moved, divorced, changed my name, remarried, changed my name again… It would have been very difficult for him to find me and I knew it. So, I turned to the internet and found Spokeo and then found my uncle. Turns out, he had been looking, too!

Wow. Then that is a good thing! I am happy for you! Maybe I can find my sister that way too! I didn’t even think about that. It seems that Spokeo could use that to their advantage to promote something like Ancestry.com or just family history.

 

[JimG]

I haven’t used it, but I presume that it aggregates and uses publically available information. Once an IG inspector was visiting a government office where I worked, and in the course of conversation one of the employees mentioned that she had been trying to find a distant relative, but didn’t know where she was, or her SSN, or even her new married name. The guy said, “well just don’t tell anyone I did this for you,” got on the PC, and had all the data within a minute or so. And he was using a public system, not a government system. Maybe it was Spokeo, but I don’t know.

 

[Becca3]

I haven’t used it, but I presume that it aggregates and uses publically available information. Once an IG inspector was visiting a government office where I worked, and in the course of conversation one of the employees mentioned that she had been trying to find a distant relative, but didn’t know where she was, or her SSN, or even her new married name. The guy said, “well just don’t tell anyone I did this for you,” got on the PC, and had all the data within a minute or so. And he was using a public system, not a government system. Maybe it was Spokeo, but I don’t know.

That just shows you that yes, everything is public records nowadays. Nothing is private anymore. But there is a price to use Spokeo from what I have seen. Around $7/month. Not too bad.

 

[MJJean]

Wow. Then that is a good thing! I am happy for you! Maybe I can find my sister that way too! I didn’t even think about that. It seems that Spokeo could use that to their advantage to promote something like Ancestry.com or just family history.

Yes, use whatever means you can to find your sister. I lost my uncle for 16 years. When we connected I found out that he has been fighting cancer for the last 8 years. I wish I had done it sooner.

That just shows you that yes, everything is public records nowadays. Nothing is private anymore. But there is a price to use Spokeo from what I have seen. Around $7/month. Not too bad.

I don’t think the fee is too bad provided they allow you to cancel your subscription whenever you wish. There are a lot of public records sites people use to find friends and family or run a check on the new babysitter or a new romantic interest. I don’t think it’s immoral or unethical as long as it is just public records searches. I don’t think charging for the service is immoral or unethical, either, as long as their policy and terms are spelled out clearly.