# Google Phone #'s



## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

Please read the below info. I was aware of the "new" Google map feature which actually may have a picture of your HOUSE in it (for real, check it out). This is actually a pretty cool feature BUT I wasn't aware that someone could type in your Phone # and find a pic of your street & house. This is a TOTAL privacy infrigement, IMO. I just filled out the online form to have my phone # blocked. Please read on--

Google has implemented a new feature which enables you to type a telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and you will be given the person's name and address. If you then hit Map you will get a map to the person's house.. Everyone should be aware of this! It's a nationwide reverse telephone book. 

If a child gives out his/her phone number, someone can now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The safety issues are obvious, and alarming!!! 

Note that you can have your phone number removed or blocked. I tried my number and it came up along with the mapquest and directions straight to our house. I did fill out the removal form for myself, and encourage all of you to do the same. Quite scary! 

Please look up your own number.

In order to test whether your phone number is mapped, go to: Google ( http://www.google.com/ ) Type your phone number in the search bar (i.e. 555-555-1212) and hit enter. If you want to BLOCK Google from divulging your private information, simply click on your telephone number and then click on the Removal Form. Removal takes 48-hours. 

Check your own number and (although this may not apply to you if you have an unlisted number or cell phone as primary contact). 

You may know someone else who needs to know this.


----------



## CocosMom (May 7, 2007)

That's good to know. Thanks. I tried my phone number in there and it showed me the previous owner of that number (but different address.) It was interesting to see who had previously had my phone number :huh:


----------



## Bubbaviny (Sep 20, 2007)

I heard about it before. It's really scary. We rent a place where we live right now. But we 're finishing our new house, so we'll need to take care of it as soon as we get a phone number there.


----------



## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

Didn't work for me. I typed in my phone #,hit enter & it said there was no matches.


----------



## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Yikes! I was there!

Thanks for telling us about this, Pam. I requested a removal.


----------



## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Thanks for telling us about this. Mine didn't show up either. I wonder if it's because my address isn't listed in the phone directory. I had our address removed from the phone directory when I was volunteering at a prison.


----------



## Julie718 (Feb 17, 2006)

Ugh! We were in there! I think when we changed our phone service from AT&T to Comcast they made us listed when we are suppose to be unlisted! I requested us to be removed. That's really scary.


----------



## MickeysMom (Jun 16, 2006)

Thanks for the warning. 

Why on Earth would they do this?!?


----------



## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

I believe if you are listed (telephone directory) with complete information, then it will show that same information.

There are actually many sites you can get this same information by entering a phone number, including yellowpages.com.


----------



## belibaby14 (Mar 21, 2007)

Wow, I tried my house telephone # and it showed my mom's name and our city and state. :w00t:


----------



## Lennabella (Mar 29, 2007)

> I believe if you are listed (telephone directory) with complete information, then it will show that same information.
> 
> There are actually many sites you can get this same information by entering a phone number, including yellowpages.com.[/B]


You're right Deb ... an even scarier one is Zaba search ..
It lists all the homes you've owned ..

If you put my name in - it shows the house I owned in Michigan, our investment rental in San Diego along with our house we now live in ...

www.zabasearch.com and it's all legal apparently ... this was is the worst IMO

Ohhhhhhhhh and the worst nighmare for people - your year and month of birth .. :new_shocked:


----------



## belibaby14 (Mar 21, 2007)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=498066
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Omg, I tried my mom's name and it worked! :new_shocked: I tried my dad, but it didn't find him.


----------



## Lennabella (Mar 29, 2007)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=498072
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am wondering if the house was under your mom's name ?
I think they go by homeownership


----------



## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

> There are actually many sites you can get this same information by entering a phone number, including yellowpages.com.[/B]


Yes, I knew that BUT...Google maps gives an actual picture of your street and house. Did you see that? I read an article recently--Google reps actually canvas entire towns and cities taking video and photo footage of EVERY street and EVERY house. Now, I will say that if you go to the Google map when you enter my phone number it showed my street, but not my exact house--it was a few houses down. But anyway, yeah, I'm aware that there's lots of online directories out there where you put in your # and someone can get your address, but there's something about SEEING a pic of my HOUSE there that freaks me out!


----------



## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

all this is sick. they shouldn't be able to give out your address. phone numbers can be changed, but where you live is permanent if you own your home. that's asinine. and the photos....that's down right ridiculous. 

here i try my damnedest to keep my kids safe and any sex offender can find my child's home for a nominal fee. my number is UNLISTED, but i found my current addy on that abasearch. turns my stomach. that kind of crap should be illegal.


----------



## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Something else which was very creepy for me was I e-mailed a company for some information a couple of weeks ago and in no time they called me back instead of e-mailing me back. They said they did some type of reverse search to get my telephone number from my e-mail address.


----------



## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> Something else which was very creepy for me was I e-mailed a company for some information a couple of weeks ago and in no time they called me back instead of e-mailing me back. They said they did some type of reverse search to get my telephone number from my e-mail address.[/B]


 :shocked:


----------



## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

I think if you request a removal that is a confirmation for them that they have the information correct and they will probably sell it to another site for more money.


----------



## belibaby14 (Mar 21, 2007)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=498077
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Omg, I tried my mom's name and it worked! :new_shocked: I tried my dad, but it didn't find him.
[/B][/QUOTE]

I am wondering if the house was under your mom's name ?
I think they go by homeownership
[/B][/QUOTE]


Strange because my dad is the owner of the house....not my mom. But the telephone bill is in my mom's name so maybe.


----------



## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

My no. did come up on zaba search along with everybody who's ever lived with us the last 20 yrs & got mail at our address. :shocked: Everybody except me, now that's really weird.


----------



## beckybc03 (Jul 6, 2006)

All of this information has been available for a long time but technology has just made it more readily accessible. It has always been true that homeownership is on public record. Anyone can go to city hall and ask for the owner information for a specific address, parcel number, etc. Reverse phone lookup has been around for years and the only thing Google has recently added is the pictures of the homes. You have been able to type in a phone number and have the name and address come up right under it for at least 4 years. This only obviously works with listed landlines but all you need is the telephone number. Google for awhile has had the satellite images of the earth and now they are just cutting out a step of having someone lookup the phone number to get the address and then go to the satellite images and put in the address you just got from the phone number. I don't really know how I feel about all of it, I don't really have strong feelings one way or another. Part of that might be due to the fact that I live in a big city and I don't have a landline or any no children so it is pretty easy for me to be anonymous. I guess growing up more or less in this age of information this doesn't bother me as much and there are benefits to having the huge amount of information that is available to us through the Internet. 

Pam I do know what you are talking about where they walked around with video camers, that just recently launched in Boston. San Francisco was the only city they had the footage for until recently. I believe what they did was drive up and down all of the streets with a video camera out of a car because the picture is definitely blury and the angle of my house looks like it was taken from that perspective. It is pretty crazy, you can see decently well. There were people walking in front of my building whenever they took it but you can't tell who they are. I actually had a lot of fun playing around with it.


----------



## Carla (Aug 30, 2005)

> I believe if you are listed (telephone directory) with complete information, then it will show that same information.
> 
> There are actually many sites you can get this same information by entering a phone number, including yellowpages.com.[/B]





> All of this information has been available for a long time but technology has just made it more readily accessible. It has always been true that homeownership is on public record. Anyone can go to city hall and ask for the owner information for a specific address, parcel number, etc. Reverse phone lookup has been around for years and the only thing Google has recently added is the pictures of the homes. You have been able to type in a phone number and have the name and address come up right under it for at least 4 years. This only obviously works with listed landlines but all you need is the telephone number. Google for awhile has had the satellite images of the earth and now they are just cutting out a step of having someone lookup the phone number to get the address and then go to the satellite images and put in the address you just got from the phone number. I don't really know how I feel about all of it, I don't really have strong feelings one way or another. Part of that might be due to the fact that I live in a big city and I don't have a landline or any no children so it is pretty easy for me to be anonymous. I guess growing up more or less in this age of information this doesn't bother me as much and there are benefits to having the huge amount of information that is available to us through the Internet.
> 
> Pam I do know what you are talking about where they walked around with video camers, that just recently launched in Boston. San Francisco was the only city they had the footage for until recently. I believe what they did was drive up and down all of the streets with a video camera out of a car because the picture is definitely blury and the angle of my house looks like it was taken from that perspective. It is pretty crazy, you can see decently well. There were people walking in front of my building whenever they took it but you can't tell who they are. I actually had a lot of fun playing around with it.[/B]


I didn't come up on google but I did on zappa, only it was my previous address. Zappa said it had been updated 4/2006 but we moved well before then. 

All of us can get this info about anyone that has a phone, address, or email address. Just go to any online search directory and pay their fee. It's often under $20.00 a year. This has been around for a few years.

What google is doing is just taking a video of the front of your home. I could do this too by looking up your name and address in the phone book and then driving to your address. 

We're just as safe now as we were a couple years ago. If someone truly wants to find you, they can, with or without a video of the front of your home. JMHO

Carla & Shotzi


----------



## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

Yes, we are there. I can see where all these sites tie together, ie anywho.com, peoplesearch.com, whitepages.com, etc. even MapQuest. It is a little scary.


----------



## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

> All of this information has been available for a long time but technology has just made it more readily accessible. It has always been true that homeownership is on public record. Anyone can go to city hall and ask for the owner information for a specific address, parcel number, etc. Reverse phone lookup has been around for years and the only thing Google has recently added is the pictures of the homes. You have been able to type in a phone number and have the name and address come up right under it for at least 4 years. This only obviously works with listed landlines but all you need is the telephone number. Google for awhile has had the satellite images of the earth and now they are just cutting out a step of having someone lookup the phone number to get the address and then go to the satellite images and put in the address you just got from the phone number. I don't really know how I feel about all of it, I don't really have strong feelings one way or another. Part of that might be due to the fact that I live in a big city and I don't have a landline or any no children so it is pretty easy for me to be anonymous. I guess growing up more or less in this age of information this doesn't bother me as much and there are benefits to having the huge amount of information that is available to us through the Internet.
> 
> Pam I do know what you are talking about where they walked around with video camers, that just recently launched in Boston. San Francisco was the only city they had the footage for until recently. I believe what they did was drive up and down all of the streets with a video camera out of a car because the picture is definitely blury and the angle of my house looks like it was taken from that perspective. It is pretty crazy, you can see decently well. There were people walking in front of my building whenever they took it but you can't tell who they are. I actually had a lot of fun playing around with it.[/B]


Becky, I was messing around with it one day and zoomed in on a street in Somerville and there was a guy parked in front of a liquor store loading alcohol into the trunk of his car--I got a good chuckle out of that one.

Like I said, I'm just creeped out by seeing my house. It's weird--I have to sign a waiver through my kid's schools to grant them permission to show my children in publication or online, but nobody asks permission to show a pic of my house. To me it's just as shocking as seeing my kid's faces online and I had no idea they were there. It's just creepy.


----------



## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

> If someone truly wants to find you, they can, with or without a video of the front of your home. JMHO
> 
> Carla & Shotzi[/B]


Of course that's true. But I do think it crosses a line showing a photo online. There is a lot of controversey circulating about it, so I know I'm not alone in my feelings...


----------



## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

it shows RELATIVES on the zabasearch search site.... and they are NOT related to me! WTH?!


----------



## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

There is also Google Earth which will take you to their house and show you the outside structures.


----------



## Carla (Aug 30, 2005)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=498253
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Pam, I'm sorry if I invalidated your feelings about this. That wasn't my intention at all. I only meant to provide a little calmness about this subject. I can certainly understand your point of view when you have children in the home.

Carla & Shotzi


----------



## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=498307
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Carla--no hard feelings, hon. I apologize for being blunt and void of being personal in that last post. I go absolutely bonkers about privacy stuff when it comes to my kids. I think most moms do--it's the momma bear instinct. "I" know a lot about protecting my privacy and am aware that there are a lot means out there where people can track us down, etc., but an innocent child...these SICKOS out there--it just seems like the internet is making it easier and easier for them. Yes, the sickos have always been out there for centuries, but the internet has not. It sure does make it easier. I think in some ways it can make it easier to catch them too, I guess.


----------



## Carla (Aug 30, 2005)

Hi Pam,

I didn't think you were being anymore blunt than I was. It's just that sometimes I've unintentionally hurt someones feelings. We've all seen it happen on this forum where people have a difference of opinion that escalates into a nasty argument. I wanted to avoid that. 

Thank you for being so sweet and understanding. :grouphug: 

Carla & Shotzi


----------



## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> Carla--no hard feelings, hon. I apologize for being blunt and void of being personal in that last post. I go absolutely bonkers about privacy stuff when it comes to my kids. I think most moms do--it's the momma bear instinct. "I" know a lot about protecting my privacy and am aware that there are a lot means out there where people can track us down, etc., but an innocent child...these SICKOS out there--it just seems like the internet is making it easier and easier for them. Yes, the sickos have always been out there for centuries, but the internet has not. It sure does make it easier. I think in some ways it can make it easier to catch them too, I guess.[/B]


i'm with you 100% about the mama bear instinct. that's my first and main concern. it's outrageous; the info you can find.


----------



## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

:smheat: I searched for our phone numbers in google, our names in the site that Lina postedm but couldn't find our addresses

I wonder why....


----------



## Lennabella (Mar 29, 2007)

> :smheat: I searched for our phone numbers in google, our names in the site that Lina postedm but couldn't find our addresses
> 
> I wonder why....[/B]



Hey Kat - it could be just for the USA ... I never found my parents in there either


----------



## May468 (Dec 5, 2006)

doesn't apply here, we are unlisted

But I see what your saying, I wouldn't like it if it did show up.


----------



## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

We have an unlisted phone # so that didn't show, but because our phone company took the liberty, against our wishes to put our fax # in the book here in town, guess what???? that did show and all our address details uggggggg so I filled out the form, but my guess is it's a total waste of time because there are so many sites that give out our info we would spend weeks tracking them all down.
I do agree that where children are involved there should be a privacy act in place to protect them better on the internet, but that is going to be very difficult to impliment.
One good thing is with Google Earth our house doesn't show at all, you just cannot zoom right in on our town at all, but you can on a good many others and see houses very clearly if you know the address you want to google.


----------



## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

> Hey Kat - it could be just for the USA ... I never found my parents in there either [/B]



:aktion033: I'm so very happy to hear that :biggrin:


----------



## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=498576
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Carrie, once one of my girls got invived to a b-day party and instead of gifts the family asked for contributions to habit to humanity. We contributed BUT lo and behold these bozos (the parents) put her on the habitat for humanity mailing list...you can guess what happened after that--habitat sold her name & addy to a ZILLION other places and the kid was getting mail EVERY DAY from every freaking organization under the planet. She was 6 at the time! omg I was SO FURIOUS to know that her name and addy were out there like that. Called Habitat and they took her name off but there's no way I could reach ALL the places that got it.

The momma bear instinct is fierce, and not always rational, lol. But definitely fierce.


----------



## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> Carrie, once one of my girls got invived to a b-day party and instead of gifts the family asked for contributions to habit to humanity. We contributed BUT lo and behold these bozos (the parents) put her on the habitat for humanity mailing list...you can guess what happened after that--habitat sold her name & addy to a ZILLION other places and the kid was getting mail EVERY DAY from every freaking organization under the planet. She was 6 at the time! omg I was SO FURIOUS to know that her name and addy were out there like that. Called Habitat and they took her name off but there's no way I could reach ALL the places that got it.
> 
> The momma bear instinct is fierce, and not always rational, lol. But definitely fierce.[/B]


omg, that's horrible! *shakes head in disgust* 
of course, the family was only trying to do a good thing, but the mailing list bull was uncalled for. :mellow:


----------

