I recently discovered that, despite a previous letter to MyLife asking them not to publish my personal information, my details were still being given out. In fact, my sister was receiving a solicitation to join MyLife based on their ability to "find" me. She was NOT looking for me; they simply volunteered my information without any request from her. They then gave my age and town as teasers.

I really don't want random people to be "teased" with my name and home town.

I wrote and called to protest, and here's what I got in return:

RE: No Subject‏
From: support@peoplefinders.com
You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as junk
Sent: Mon 11/23/09 3:51 PM
To: maryturzillo
Dear Sir or Madam ,

There is no permanent fix. Anytime you do something that is considered public record information your information is subjected to updating not just on our site but any and all public records websites.

Public records, by law, must be available from the official public records office to anyone who requests them. Our database accurately reflects the underlying public records, and provides them in an online database. Our databases are extracted from public records compiled from existing databases all over the United States. We do not actually create the records; we simply give you the ability to search them.

Peoplefinders.com values your privacy and upon written request, can block your records from being shown in many, but not all, of our search results. To do so, you should contact us by writing a letter giving us your:

First name
Middle initial
Last name
Aliases and A.K.A.'s
Complete current address
Complete former addresses going back 15 years
Date of birth - including month, day, and year

It is also very helpful to include a printout of the records you wish to have suppressed.
Send this letter to:

Opt-Out/Peoplefinders.com
1821 Q Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

** This information will be kept confidential and is used only to ensure the complete suppression of your records. **


Sincerely,
Customer Care
Peoplefinders.com
CustomerCare@Peoplefinders.com
(800) 718-8997

(LS)

Notice the sentences "Public records, by law, must be available from the official public records office to anyone who requests them. Our database accurately reflects the underlying public records, and provides them in an online database." In other words, these people regard themselves as functionaries of the government, facilitating location of public records that might otherwise be difficult to access. I call this an example of a private corporation attempting to take over governmental functions: corporate totalitarianism.

Incidentally, I have already sent the letter they ask for, but it does no good. They still write and tell my sister they have "found" me.

This is really infuriating. Last summer, after I had served on a criminal case involving violent criminals, the lawyer of one of the other defendants came to my front door wanting to find out why I had cast my vote as I had. When I contacted the court, the judge told me most likely the lawyer had used PeopleFinders to locate my home address. My phone number is unlisted, and I have managed to opt out of most invasive search sites.

If you have an unlisted phone number, I suggest you go to MyLife and search yourself. You'll be surprised what anybody, with good intent or ill, can find out about you with almost no knowledge of computer search.