VentureBeat - Latest Comments in The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Keith Tarina — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 01:11:30 -0000

I've been using WhitePages for office use and personal contacts as well. This one is better then any other else indeed.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

San Diego — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:41:09 -0000

Basically, you could search for the phone number at places like public whitepages, search engines, name databases, social networks, etc. However these data could be somewhat inaccurate since anyone can create/modify them(as these are public databases). Also there is no guarantee that you will be able to find the specific phone number just because it may be unlisted. Nevertheless, if you have a lot of extra time then you might give this method a try.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

photo invitations — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 22:52:07 -0000

I am not really favor of paying anything online to get data results because I am not really sure of receiving correct data. But I have heard my friends telling me they have received incorrect data from Whitepages and I know it's really scam.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

court records — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 05:58:42 -0000

I had some issues with wrong data results in Whitepages and thought that it's just a scam. I have not also tried paying anything and I would never try it. They are just deceiving us to search for fee but wants us to pay back for the results.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

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Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

noname — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:10:25 -0000

http://community.seattletim...

corrected link

thanks for writing the article, I came here finding the info I wanted concerning that basically whitepages is a scam too. After looking up a number I find that I *69'd I find that they want me to enter my cellphone number so they can text me back info on the number that called.

Hmmm Cough cough let me make this clear. Why would anyone want them to have your cellphone number and then a name attached to it, or better yet your creditcard number. I feel that giving them any information is just something they will sell. Join their database of people to be solicited too?

And dittos that Jain guy is questionable. The stuff he got away with at infospace
Jain looks like a scamer by his former actions and the sec was probably looking at porn instead of him. I would never enter any data or use my credit card on whitepages or any other stupid people finding service. I would need to have a business card that cannot be traced back to me personally.

the fact that they want you to enter your cellphone number so they can text you will probably only lead to more questions such as name. Plus they have it to start with to sell to other useless people to call you or text you.

look at what inellius founder was doing all day at Ricks nightclub please!
http://seattletimes.nwsourc...
can't blame him for lying he'd rather stay alive.

Lots of money sucking out of suckers typing in their personal identifying info can pay for a lot of anything.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Tenant Verification Miami — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:38:04 -0000

I agree with the poster above.. i am in his same situation.. Intellus is just outmarketing everyone, but that doesnt mean their services are more accurate.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Jennifer Albright — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:04:26 -0000

Intelius no doubt has outmarketed everyone but that doesn't mean they offer the best background report available. In fact, far from it. How do I know? Because I offer tenant screening and background checks at http://tenantscreeningbackg... and I am aware of ALL of the sources of data and I can tell you that we are attracting a lot of customers because our data is much more current and comprehensive. As private investigators, we are able to offer each proprietary and custom report to those seeking a really high quality background check that includes extensive information such as a very accurate address history, other household members, real estate values and median income for each residence, mortgage amounts, lender, buyer/seller, neighbors, relative, business and personal associates (including address and phone number), judgments, UCC Liens, DBA's and corporations owned, complete criminal history, etc. And all reports are nationwide and date back 25 years.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

anon — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:33:39 -0000

Who gave Intellius the right to hi-jack Google? Does Google care? How much do they get kicked-back ?!!

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Anon — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:31:26 -0000

Reservations Rewards is owned by Web Loyalty, a company just like Vertrue/Adaptive, and it is Web Loyalty's agreement with US Search that is the issue here. Web Loyalty pays US Search a certain amount of money for each US Search customer that enrolls in the Web Loyalty program. Problem is, the majority of US Search customers who enroll in Reservation Rewards are doing so without their knowledge. A lot of money is being made from these post-transaction offers -- and their success is causing them to spread like wildfire.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Dare — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:01:50 -0000

If you guys say this is shady practice then you haven't seen the real shady stuff in the people search business. I have been there analyzing and comparing sites for over 2 years and I've seen everything. Scam sites like gov-resources selling "unlimited" access to records (which is not true)...lots of companies who hide and whose address can't be found even via Whois...

I am really happy for whoever does background check and decides to deal with Intelius and USSearch because they seem to be the most legitimate companies around (but as you said, their "legitimness" can be improved.)

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Poster — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:30:17 -0000

http://classactionblog.mdpc...

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Poster — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:17:02 -0000

Vertrue.com and AdaptiveMarketing.com (Reservation Rewards) out of Connecticut is behind the scenes on all of the Intellius marketing practices, and probably contributes 25-40% of Intellius' top line revenue for the last couple years. They are the real ones you should be looking at and writing about.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Max Bardon and John Lusk — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:11:30 -0000

Max Bardon, President, and John Lusk, VP of Marketing at WhitePages here.

Customer feedback has been and will continue to be a critical driver of improvements we’re always seeking to make at WhitePages. While we may not agree with everything in previous comments, we do strongly believe they will help us improve our service. Check out our newly-launched site (http://www.whitepages.com/?... to see this in action. For example, we’ve made it easier to identify ads and determine where WhitePages ends and services offered by our advertisers begin.

To be clear, WhitePages is not in the post-transaction marketing business, and there are a few other things in this blog post which we feel are inaccurate. Advertisers allow us to offer our services for free and US Search is just one of many advertisers who find value in WhitePages.

Trust is core to our business. It’s why we’re transparent about who we are, it’s why we engage in online communities and why we provide many ways for people to interact with us on our own sites. We welcome any and all feedback. Just send your questions and/or comments to support@whitepages.com or feel free to engage us at blog.whitepages.com.

Max and John

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Bryce — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:42:56 -0000

Totally agree: you guys should be ashamed of your names. This weekend, while you're visiting with your mothers for Mother's Day, take a moment to let her know how disgusted you are with your straight name. Then change it to something gayer, like Nicki or Marco. www.ubersite.com/m/91024

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Elliot Spitzer — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:20:16 -0000

Matt props to you. Best post of the week across the blogs I read.

Bottom line is as follows. THEY ARE SHADY!

These companies are so shady and deceptive that my knees buckle when I read about them in the media.

Your point "...In other words, despite customer complaints by a minority, the vast majority of people seem to be putting up with these practices."

Is completely wrong. How many thousands of people just don't report this to the BBB.

Look these guys have absolutely no shame scamming the public. What's laughable to me is Naveen Jain is attempting to take www.Intelius.com public. I am willing to bet this will be the biggest pump and dump in modern history when it hits the public markets. Actually, I don't think it will go public at all and hence why Jain is engaging with his comments - no quiet period for him.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Seth Godin — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:53:02 -0000

The qulaity of data on Intelius' AT&T application isn't nearly up to par with WhitePages' MSN site on this "free" search. I wonder if the data is intentionally dumbed down to drive traffic to the paid services...? Or maybe the product just isn't as good.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Intelius — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:06:36 -0000

There are a couple of important points to note regarding Alex's (whitepages.com CEO) comments. First, according to both ComScore and Hitwise, a substantially large portion of all users who visit Whitepages.com end up going to USSearch. In addition, over 70% of all USSearch's users come from the Whitepages.com. USSearch is completely dependent on Whitepages.com for its survival and vice versa. Whitepages.com is simply trying to hide behind another company to do its dirty work but is collecting all the rewards. USSearch has been an exclusive provider for whitepages.com to provide these deceptive services for several years. Any which way you look at it, these companies are joined at the hip like Bonnie and Clyde.

One has to agree completely agree with the personal observation that John Cook, Editor of TechFlash made that WhitePages' post transaction marketing offers just keep coming and coming, making it nearly impossible to get to those records requests. He is also not alone when he said that he was left wondering why anyone would use this service.

The fact that the majority of Intelius revenue comes from its repeat customers proves that Intelius provides valuable services and our customers find our advertising clear and transparent. All advertising on Intelius is reviewed and approved by our privacy and Consumer protection committee to make sure that it meets the highest standards.

We invite everyone to try out Intelius free service that we offer to our partner AT&T (http://www.yellowpages.com/... and compare it with the service that Whitepages.com provides to MSN (shown above). You should try to go through the system end-to-end when you find no results to see how the two services compare. You will come to the same conclusion as everyone else that Intelius partners get substantially superior service.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Stown — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:43:53 -0000

Good post here, and thanks for detailing out the 'slick' side of Whitepages' business. My problem with Whitepages USSearch relationship is that it's completely designed around playing the odds of a customer making a mistake. At it's best this is an inconsiderate business practice towards Whitepages' customers, and the fact that it is such a visible and well-promoted piece of their site doesn't give Whitepages any right to throw up their hands and say they can't control what their advertisers do.

Here's hoping, as you mentioned, that the lure of better products (like their Blackberry app) can ween WP off of this shady relationship. But knowing Alex, I doubt it.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Fact-Check — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:34:48 -0000

USsearch.com's sole purpose of existence is to serve and do the dirty work for whitepages.com. Almost all of the users that visit ussearch come from whitepages.com. Alex's comments are so far from the truth and reality. He is essentially saying that we are not doing anything bad because we outsource all the dirty work to someone else eventhough we collect all the money from them anyway for the dirty work. It's so nice to see truth finally coming out on whitepages's scammy practices.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Finally — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:29:51 -0000

It's nice to see Whitepages.com getting exposed for their scam, Here is a company that wanted to make all the money from the deception and now that the scam is exposed they are left with shifting the blame to someone else. I think it's time to fess up to the crime when they are caught with your hands in the cookie jar.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Matt Marshall — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:58:32 -0000

who'd have thunk? :)

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Ben — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:44:43 -0000

LOL - reasonable critique = conspiracy.

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

David — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:39:53 -0000

Yes, I guess the "sponsored" attribution notice is deceptive and far out of left field. I mean, Google has only been doing that for years ("sponsored links" on search results). You should visit Google sometime...it is a really neat site. Who would have thought of placing targeted advertisements on search results and calling them "sponsored links"

Re: The background-check scams: Is WhitePages really better than Intelius?

Nobody — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:59:35 -0000

I agreee that you can;t hold websites responsible for random ads that appear, especially since many sites use Ad networks and have little control over what appears in the ad space.

The US Search ad, however, isn't quite the same situation. WP.com has maintained a special relationship with US Search for 5-8 years now and has deliberately designed/structured that ad to blend in with their no results page. That's very different than randomly showing a remnant ad on your site.

WP will likely deny this, but again and again, WP employees, partners, and customers pointed out that these ads were deceptive and "tricked" users into US Search's arms, but WP Sr. management (including Alex A) refused to give up the heroin-like revenue stream from US Search.