Sometimes it seems like writing blog posts and doing research is just about data and these huge companies possibly gaining too much information about you or an ISP tracking you. So I decided to put things into perspective and describe a scenario that doesn't involve two massive companies or some obscure government body.
A recent interview with a private investigator presented by Yahoo! News and cnet News discusses just how easy it is for him to gather information for his clients in this modern era. With the increased use of the Internet, his preferred tool, and social networking sites, Steven Rambam is able to learn everything possible about a person without ever having to meet them.
Privacy decreases with every blog post, every MySpace bulletin, and every photo posted. Mr. Rambam states, "Anything you put on the Internet will be grabbed, indexed, cataloged, and out of your control before you know it...The genie is out of the bottle. Data doesn't stay in one location. It migrates to hundreds of places." This has helped his job, basically by making it easier to find out anything he needs while building a case for a client.
He starts off by using social networking sites to find out what the person looks like. From there he can also gather other information such as: occupation, hometown, age, etc. He evens compiles a list of friends and family to interview. He says that he used to have to pay the police to get a driver's license photo...now all he has to do is find their MySpace page. He also uses job search engines to find resumes with personal information, and even uses the dreaded marketing companies that compile our data on us.
He also discusses the various ways technology has benefited his business, while hurting our privacy. Cell phones, referred to as the 24/7 "snitch," since data can be cross-referenced to see who you talked to and where you were. This along with the increased use of cameras, such as in New York City subways, to monitor and control the population.
Mr. Rambam conducted an experiment...he had someone agree to go into hiding for a year and see how many times he could be found. The answer: 9. Nine times the person who was attempting and trying to hide their identity was found. Through various methods, mostly Internet-based, he was able to track down his target.
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