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.:: Exploring Information-America ::.
Issues:
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Current issue : #37 | Release date : 1992-03-01 | Editor : Dispater
| Introduction | Dispater |
| Phrack Loopback | Phrack Staff |
| Pirate's Cove | Rambone |
| Exploring Information-America | White Knight & The Omega |
| Beating The Radar Rap Part 1 of 2 | Dispater |
| Card-O-Rama: Magnetic Stripe Technology and Beyond | Count Zero |
| Users Guide to VAX/VMS Part 2 of 3 | Black Kat |
| Basic Commands for the VOS System | Dr. No-Good |
| The CompuServe Case | EFF |
| PWN Special Report VI on WeenieFest '92 | Count Zero |
| PWN/Part 1 | Spirit Walker |
| PWN/Part 2 | Spirit Walker |
| PWN/Part 3 | Spirit Walker |
| PWN/Part 4 | Spirit Walker |
Title : Exploring Information-America
Author : White Knight & The Omega
:===:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:===:
:== ==:
:== Exploring Information-America ==:
:== :=============================: ==:
:== by ==:
:== The Omega White Knight ==:
:== Restricted Data Transmissions (RDT) Cult of the Dead Cow (-cDc-) ==:
:== ==:
:== ==:
:== "Truth Is Cheap, But Information Costs!" ==:
:== ==:
:== ------------------------ ==:
:== ==:
:== "Textfiles: We're in it for the girlies and the money." ==:
:== ==:
:== Monkey-Boyz! 1/24/92 ==:
:===:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:===:
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Information Era has only recently come of age; powerful database
technology has become more affordable to implement (witness MCI's ability to
maintain a database of the people you most frequently call for participation in
its Friends & Family program), and parallel to it, information gathering has
become more extensive and more scrutinizing. After weapons manufacturing, and
drug running, "information gathering" is probably one of the most profitable
enterprises in America.
Over the past two decades, credit bureaus, telephone companies and direct
marketers have collectively amassed complete consumer profiles on over 150
million Americans. But for the most part, this information has been used only
to predict consumers' future buying habits, or worse: to influence them. For
billing and marketing purposes, up-to-date address and telephone information,
as well as information about your household has been incidentally maintained.
But, until recently, none of this information was COMMERCIALLY available
IN A SINGLE DATABASE, specifically with law enforcement, private-investigators,
bounty-hunters and lawyers in mind. To our knowledge, Information America is
the first accessible service to make use of previously collected data for the
expressed purpose of providing the up-to-date whereabouts, personal profiles
and information regarding legal entanglements (i.e., bankruptcy filings,
lawsuits, etc.) of as many Americans as possible.
Information America
~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
"Whether you are conducting a background check, looking for a witness,
skip tracing, or gathering information for court, [Info America] gives
you a quick, easy method for gathering information on individuals across
the country... at the touch of a key."
Information America (IA) provides a single service whose databases cross-
index the Postal Service's National Change of Address file (NCOA), major
publisher and direct marketing companies' client information, birth records,
driver's license records, phone books, voter registrations, various
governmental records, and more. IA boasts that over 111 million names, 80
million households and 61 million telephone numbers are maintained (as
reasonably up-to-date as possible) on-line.
Together with IA's access to additional databases, such as Dun &
Bradstreet, Secretary of State records and records from up to 49 government
agencies, you can:
* Locate a missing defendant or witness and obtain a neighbor listing for
further investigation.
* Locate corporate officers, share-holders, or missing heirs.
* Locate individuals for collection purposes.
* Locate a fugitive parent who's kidnapped his child from the other parent
during a custody battle.
* Identify the corporate affiliations of an individual.
* Examine bankruptcy, lawsuit, liens and judgement records on individuals
and businesses.
* Examine Securities and Exchange Commission filings and business news
compiled from major newswires.
* Gather information about a company's officers, ownership, financial
status and parent/subsidiary relationships.
* Determine if a foreign corporation has a resident agent for local
service of process (i.e., for serving a lawsuit).
Logging onto IA
~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~
Access to Information America is provided through your local Tymnet dialup
(7-E-1); use a terminal identifier of 'a', and type "infoam" at the "please log
in:" prompt. IA will prompt you with the familiar VAX 'USERNAME' and
'PASSWORD' prompts. Usernames of the form "BIDAxxxx" (where x is a digit) are
recognizable to the VAX as IA accounts and cause it to execute the script that
provides the interactive database environment once the correct password is
supplied. Accounts which bypass the interactive environment and provide you
with the normal VAX shell-access must exist, but neither White Knight nor I
have explored that avenue.
In any event, once you log on, you are greeted with something similar to:
----------------------------[ Title Screen ]----------------------------
Welcome to VAX/VMS version V5.4-2 on node ALAMO
Last interactive login on Thursday, 17-SEP-1991 12:47
COMPUTER EQUIPMENT SELECTION MENU
What type of computer equipment or software are you using?
1. PERSONAL COMPUTER (or 100% IBM compatible)
2. PERSONAL COMPUTER with WESTMATE SOFTWARE
3. WESTLAW TERMINAL
4. OTHER EQUIPMENT
5. NETWORK SYSTEM (TTY)
99. EXIT OFF SYSTEM
Please call Information America's Client Support at 1-(800) 235-4008
if you would like assistance.
Please specify number: 1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
* W E L C O M E T O T H E *
* *
* I N F O R M A T I O N A M E R I C A N E T W O R K *
* *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For details select menu option 75 on the beginning IA Menu
* Information America Expands California Lawsuits!
* Global Real Property Asset Locator Now Online!
* Cover All the Bases...Using the NEW, IMPROVED CORPORATE GLOBAL Service!
Enter your name (last name first): public, john
----------------------------[ Title Screen ]----------------------------
In most cases, IA's clients use IBMs or compatibles to connect. However,
option 1 (PERSONAL COMPUTER (or 100% IBM compatible)) works well enough for
anyone who can emulate VT-100.
The "Enter your name (last name first)" prompt is purely for your own
internal billing purposes so that you, as a legitimate account holder, can
track account use by separate members of your corporation. Hypothetically
speaking, if someone were interested in accessing the system without a valid
account of their own, the most likely way to alleviate suspicion would be to
use the name of someone who actually works at the account holder's organization
-- the account holder himself, for instance.
At some point, IA will prompt you to enter a Client Billing Code. Again,
this information is purely for the account holder's own internal billing
purposes. IA is an expensive service; on top of the $95 per month fee, there
are hourly connect charges, per-item charges and several hidden costs. If only
for that reason alone, IA's clients tend to be very anal about cross-checking
their itemized bills. If possible, provide a Client Billing Code which is
consistent with the account holder's organization's billing code scheme.
Information America: Main Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~
There are 19 main search-options available through IA, which fall into
three categories:
- Corporate, UCC, & Related Records
- Nationwide Services
- County & Court Records
------------------------------[ Main Menu ]-----------------------------
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK 1
I N F O R M A T I O N A M E R I C A B E G I N N I N G M E N U
(Copyright 1991, Information America, Inc.)
CORPORATE, UCC, & RELATED RECORDS
1. Corporate Global (CGL)
2. Corporate & Limited Partnership Records (COR)
3. State & County UCCs, Liens & Judgments (ULJ)
4. State UCC & Lien Filings (UCC)
5. Sleuth (SL) 6. Litigation Prep (LP)
NATIONWIDE SERVICES COUNTY & COURT RECORDS
7. People Finder (PF) 15. County Records (COU)
8. Executive Affiliation (EA) 16. Bankruptcy Records (BNK)
9. Business Finder (BF) 17. Lawsuits (LS)
10. Business News (BN) 18. Real Property Asset Locator (RP)
11. SEC Filings (SEC) 19. Real Prop, Liens & Judgments (RLJ)
12. Duns Business Records Plus (DB)
13. Name Availability/Reservation (NAR) 75. Help Line (HL)
14. Document Ordering eXpress (DOX) 99. Exit the System (OFF)
Enter the menu number or abbreviation of your choice:
------------------------------[ Main Menu ]-----------------------------
Of the three categories, options under NATIONWIDE SERVICES are the most
interesting. Information America is easy to use, completely menu-driven and
features extensive on-line Help. That having been said, White Knight and I
will cover only a few of IA's features and leave exploration of the more
obscure ones to the reader.
PEOPLE FINDER
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
The power of People Finder lies not only in its ability to tap various
large store-houses of data, but in its flexibility of search criteria. (NOTE:
People Finder is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to midnight, Eastern
Standard time. Holidays are excluded.)
People Finder is made up of four services: SKIP TRACER, TELEPHONE TRACKER,
PERSON LOCATOR, and PEOPLE FINDER MULTITRACK.
Depending on the information available, a People Finder profile may
include current address, telephone number, residence type, length of residence,
gender, date of birth, up to four household members and their dates of birth
and a neighbor listing.
SKIP TRACER traces a person's moves or verifies the current address when all
you have is an old address. You will enter the person's name, street number,
street name, and either the Zip Code or city/state. If your subject is in IA's
files, a profile will display that includes the address he moved to (or current
address), phone number, length of residence, and more. You may also request a
list of 10 of the person's neighbors. A profile on the current resident at
your subject's old address and up to 10 neighbors there may also be available.
This gives you several contacts to help you find your subject.
TELEPHONE TRACKER tracks down the owner of a telephone number. You must enter
the phone number and either the area code or the city/state. If a match is
found, you may look at a profile of that individual/residence and a listing of
up to 10 neighbors.
PERSON LOCATOR helps you locate a person when specific address information is
unavailable. Enter the person's name and indicate whether you wish to conduct
a search by city, state(s), zip or nationwide* PERSON LOCATOR will compile a
list of names (up to 300 names for nationwide and up to 100 names for
individual state searches) that match the information entered. When you find
the right name, you may request a profile and neighbor listing for that
individual.
PEOPLE FINDER MULTITRACK helps you locate multiple people during one search.
Search results are available the following business day. For each of your
subjects, enter the name and indicate the geographic area you wish to search --
nationwide*, multi state, state, city or zip. You may enter up to 25 names per
search. Sign off the system and let Information America do the work for you.
The following business day, log on to Information America and access the People
Finder Menu by entering PF at the Information America Beginning Menu. From the
People Finder Menu, you may view the results of People Finder MultiTrack by
entering RR (Review People Finder MultiTrack).
REVIEW PEOPLE FINDER MULTITRACK allows you to review the status of each of the
searches you requested. You may choose to view the results of each completed
search at this time. Search results will be stored for seven days from the day
you requested the search. You may review the search results at any time during
the seven-day time period through the Review People Finder MultiTrack option.
Search results include a summary listing of names that match the information
entered (up to 300 names for nationwide and up to 100 names for individual
state searches). From the summary, you may select individual profiles and
neighbor listings.
* Nationwide search is not available for specific common surnames. For a list
of these surnames, enter #92 View Common Names (VC), from the People Finder
Menu.
-------------------------[ People Finder Menu ]-------------------------
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK
P E O P L E F I N D E R
(Copyright 1991, Information America, Inc.)
Client Billing Code: 123456
1. Person Locator (PL) (Search by name & location)
2. Skip Tracer (ST) (Search by name & last known address)
3. Telephone Tracker (TT) (Search by telephone number)
4. People Finder MultiTrack (PX) (Multiple searches by name & location
with results available next business day)
5. Review People Finder MultiTrack Results (RR)
70. Revise Client Billing Code (BC)
75. Help Screen (?)
92. View Common Names (VC)
95. Description of Service (DES)
99. Go to Beginning Menu (BEG)
OFF Exit off the System (OFF)
-------------------------[ People Finder Menu ]-------------------------
If People Finder locates your subject, a profile containing the following
information can be displayed:
Name Usually first and last name of head of household.
Address Street or route, city, state, and ZIP.
* The following fields will display only if the information is available. *
Phone Number Current phone number, if listed in the phone book.
Approx. Birth Date Birth date of the individual listed in the Name field.
(May be an approximation.)
Gender (FEMALE, MALE, UNKNOWN) Refers to person in Name field.
Length of Residence Number of consecutive years this person has appeared at
this address.
Residence Type Number of last names found at this address. (Useful in
identifying multi-family residences.) Can be single,
double, triple, quad, 5-9 units, 10-19 units, 20-49
units, 50-100 units, 100+ units.
Additional Household Names and approximate birth dates of up to 4
Members individuals residing at this address and having the
same last name as person listed in Name field.
(Usually taken from birth records.)
People Finder: A Sample Search
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
------------------------[ People Finder Search ]------------------------
Last Name: public First Name: jane
Enter City or ZIP code.
City: ANYTOWN ZIP Code: 90210
Searching...
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--PEOPLE FINDER
Name Searched: PUBLIC JANE
PERSON LOCATOR
Last Name Summary
No. First Name Street City/State ZIP Phone No.
--- ------------ ---------------------- ---------------- ----- ------------
1 JANE 27 AVENIDA AVE ANYTOWN CA 90210 213-727-8023
* 2 JOHN 69 CALLE DE LOS PUTOS ANYTOWN CA 90211 213-000-0000
* PUBLIC JANE has been found as an additional household member.
Searching...
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--PEOPLE FINDER - Detail
Name Searched: PUBLIC JANE
PERSON LOCATOR
Resident Profile
Name: JANE PUBLIC
Address: 27 AVENIDA AVE
ANYTOWN, CA 90210
Approximate Date of Birth: 10/66
Gender: FEMALE
Length of Residence: 3 YEARS
Residence Type: SINGLE
**** Additional Household Names ****
Name Approximate Date of Birth
MICHAEL 04/68
Searching...
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--PEOPLE FINDER - Detail
Name Searched: PUBLIC JANE
PERSON LOCATOR
Neighbor Listing
Resident: JANE PUBLIC
Address: 27 AVENIDA AVE
ANYTOWN, CA 90210
Residence
Name Phone# Address Length(yrs)/Type
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WILLIAM PRESTON (818) 727-8125 12 BOGUS AVE 12 SINGLE
THEODORE LOGAN (818) 725-8643 17 BOGUS AVE 04 DOUBLE
KRIS APPLEGATE (818) 685-2112 19 BOGUS AVE 03 TRIPLE
MARTIN MCFLY (818) 727-0353 26 BOGUS AVE 23 SINGLE
STAN CISNEROS (818) 727-4973 30 BOGUS AVE 16 SINGLE
LUCY BYRNE (818) 727-8765 33 BOGUS AVE 10 SINGLE
JONATHAN DEPP (818) 725-2012 35 BOGUS AVE 06 SINGLE
------------------------[ People Finder Search ]------------------------
Notes on People Finder
~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
IA is only as accurate as public records reflect. People who move
frequently or move from apartment to apartment (students, for instance) are
either not likely to be found in IA, or the information IA provides is likely
to be out-dated. In one search we performed, IA concluded that our subject had
lived at his residence for 3 years when, in fact, the subject had been living
there for over 15 years.
Unlisted telephone numbers are frequently available through IA if, for
example, your subject's unlisted number has appeared in a City Directory.
Curiously, information seems to be disappearing from IA, in some cases. A year
ago, White Knight and I looked up a celebrity's address and telephone number,
both of which IA correctly found. When we performed the same search recently,
IA failed to find the celebrity in its records. Searches on other individuals
which once listed their unlisted telephone numbers now yield "000-0000". We
have no explanation for why this seems to have happened.
Overview of IA's other options
~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
SLEUTH
======
By creating a list of affiliated names -- "clues" -- Sleuth helps you
uncover relationships between businesses and individuals. Enter a name and
check official records from up to 49 government agencies.
CONTENTS: Over 100 searches* combined in one... from these services:
State UCC/lien filings in: CA,CO,IL,IA,MD,MA,MO,NE,NC,PA,SC,TX
Corp/LP records in above states, PLUS: AZ,CT,DE,GA,IN,MI,NV,OK,OR,UT,WI
Sales and Use Tax information in: CA, TX
County Assumed/Fictitious Names from: Los Angeles, San Francisco (CA)
Dallas, Harris (TX)
County UCC filings from: Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett (GA)
Dallas, Harris (TX)
LITIGATION PREP
========== ====
CONTENTS: State Corporate & Limited Partnership Information from:
Arizona*, California, Colorado, Connecticut*, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Illinois*, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North
Carolina*, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin (* indicates Limited
Partnership information is not available from these states).
Searches include the following, where available:
Business Names, Owner Names, Prior Names, Assumed Names,
Fictitious Owner Names, Trade Names, DBA Names, and Merged
Out/Consolidated Names
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Litigation Prep allows you to simultaneously search state
corporate and limited partnership information and county-filed fictitious
business and assumed names, to assist you in obtaining the details you need to
begin preparing a lawsuit.
HOW THIS SERVICE WILL HELP YOU: Litigation Prep is designed to help litigation
professionals when gathering information to file a lawsuit. This service
provides the researcher with valuable pieces of information, such as business
name, agent name and address, principal address, type and status. Good
Standing/Existence Status is also available in the following states:
AZ, CT, DE, GA, IL, IN, IA, MA, MI, MO, NE, NC, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA,
and WI.
CONTENTS/SOURCES: Below, you will find the informational contents searched
in each state. Inactive records are included for informational purposes.
Unless otherwise specified, files are updated weekly.
HOURS: Litigation Prep is available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to
12:00 AM Eastern Time. The FLORIDA component of the service is only available
>from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
CORPORATE GLOBAL, CORPORATE & LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS
========= ====== ========= = ======= ============
CONTENTS: State Corporate & Limited Partnership Records from:
AZ*, CA, CO, CT*, DE, FL, GA, IL*, IN, IA, MD, MA, MI, MO, NE,
NV, NC*, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA, and WI
(* indicates Limited Partnership Records are not available
from these states).
States included in the Officer/Partner Name search:
CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, MA, MI, MO, NV, OR, PA, TX, and UT.
State Corporate and Limited Partnership Records are available in many key
states. A complete listing of states and the information provided by state is
available on the following screens. Records are accessible one state at a
time or all at once (CORPORATE GLOBAL). When you conduct a CORPORATE GLOBAL
name search, an Index screen will list in which states matches have been found.
You can either review all matches, or select specific states to view.
From the CORPORATE GLOBAL menu, you have the following search capabilities:
Business Name - Includes all entities available in the online state
corporate & limited partnership files.
Officer/Partner Name - Information varies by state, but may include officers,
directors, incorporators and partners.
Note: Individual states offer additional options such as a search by
Corporate ID (Charter) Number or Registered Agent Name.
SOURCE & UPDATE INFORMATION:
State Corporate & Limited Partnership files are obtained from the official
state agency. Records searched vary from state to state. For the exact types
searched by state, see the following screens. Inactive records are included
for informational purposes. Files are updated weekly unless noted in each
specific state description.
In California and Texas, there is a unique search option called BUSINESS
LOCATOR.
In California, this option searches the Board of Equalization (BOE),
Licensing and Taxation Information which is the official governing source of
California Sales and Use Tax permit holders. This information is available
only from the California menu and is not included in the Global service. The
file is updated monthly.
In Texas, this option searches the Sales & Use Tax Taxpayer Information
file, which is comprised of the official record of the Office of the
Comptroller of Public Accounts. As in California, this information is
available only from the Texas menu and is not included in the Global service.
The file is updated by Information America weekly.
STATE & COUNTY UCCs
===== = ====== ====
CONTENTS: State UCC and lien filings from:
California*, Colorado*, Florida, Illinois, Iowa*,
Maryland, Massachusetts*, Missouri, Nebraska*,
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas*.
(* indicates Lien filings available from these states)
County UCC, lien, and judgment filings from:
California: Los Angeles and San Francisco counties
Georgia: Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties
Texas: Dallas Metroplex and Harris county
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: State & County UCCs, Liens and Judgments allows you to
search state UCC and lien filings, plus county UCC, lien and judgment filings.
HOW THIS SERVICE WILL HELP YOU: State & County UCCs, Liens and Judgments may
be used by anyone who is looking for information on outstanding UCCs, liens or
judgments on an individual or business, as well as assets or financial
obligations. For example, litigators, real estate specialists, and merger and
acquisition specialists may use this service to assist them in the following
ways:
Litigators:
** Obtain financial information on prospective clients
** Help determine the outstanding obligations of the opposing party which
could impact the client's ability to seize assets
** Help determine the financial relationships between the opposing party
and other entities
** Help determine if the debts and obligations of the opposing party are a
possible motive for filing suit
Real Estate Specialists:
** Conduct a cursory look at the beginning of the transaction to help
determine the existence of filings which could cloud title
** Help determine if the seller has outstanding tax liens filed against
him/her
** Help determine whether any personal property involved with the
transaction has a prior security interest
Merger and Acquisition Specialists:
** Help determine financial standing of a firm or a principal of the firm
and identify outstanding obligations
** Help determine the financial relationships the firm or principal has
with other entities
** Determine personal property owned by the firm or principal that is being
used to secure loans
** Conduct a final check before closing to help confirm that no new matters
have been filed which could adversely affect the transaction
SEARCH RESULTS: Searches by Name will retrieve matches of the name searched in
the following:
From the state UCC and lien files - debtor names
From the county UCC, lien and judgment files -
California: grantors
Georgia: grantors, taxpayers, debtors, and defendants
Texas: all parties (in Dallas Metroplex); grantors and grantees
(from Abstracts of Judgment only), and debtors (in Harris
County)
PLEASE NOTE: Searches of debtors in Florida will retrieve only active filings.
The option to view Florida's inactive files is offered, at no additional
charge, when you select either E (=Exit) or N (=New Search) from the summary
screen or last page of a detail report.
HOURS: State & County UCCs, Liens and Judgments is available Monday through
Friday, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM EST. The FLORIDA component of the service is
only available from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday.
STATE UCC & LIEN FILINGS
===== === = ==== =======
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: STATE UCC & LIEN FILINGS allows you to simultaneously
search UCC and lien filings in all of the states that Information America has
on-line or you may search filings in a specific state.
Our UCC service includes documents filed under the Uniform Commercial Code in
the following states:
California Colorado Florida
Illinois Iowa Maryland
Massachusetts Missouri Nebraska
North Carolina Pennsylvania South Carolina
Texas
Additionally, the following liens are included:
California: Federal and state tax liens, attachment liens
and judgment liens.
Colorado: Federal tax liens and judgment liens.
Iowa: Federal tax liens, Verified liens
and Thresherman's liens.
Massachusetts: State tax liens and child support liens.
Nebraska: Agricultural input liens, consumer liens, and
statutory liens.
Texas: Federal tax liens, utility security instruments,
and farm filings.
SOURCE: Data is obtained directly from the official state sources: The
Secretary of State in California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas; the Department
of State in both Florida and Pennsylvania; and the Maryland Department of
Assessments and Taxation.
SEARCH RESULTS: Unless indicated otherwise, a debtor name search will reveal
listings of active and inactive debtors that match the name being searched. A
secured party/assignee search will result in a list of matching active and
inactive secured parties and assignees. Instrument numbers can be searched
only in an individual state.
In FLORIDA, a debtor or secured party search will reveal only active
filings. The option to search Florida's inactive files is offered, at no
additional charge, at the end of a detail report for an active Florida UCC.
In MASSACHUSETTS, a secured party search will locate secured parties
and, if the UCC has been assigned, assignors; it will not locate assignees
since they are not included in the database.
HOURS: STATE UCC & LIEN FILINGS is available Monday through Friday, from
8:00 AM to 12:00 AM EST. The FLORIDA component of the service is only available
>from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday.
COUNTY COURT RECORDS
====== ===== =======
Information America provides online access to local court records from
four states.
California - Records are available from Los Angeles, Orange and San
Francisco counties. Real Property Asset Locator is available for the entire
state.
Georgia - The Atlanta metro area is online. It includes Cobb, DeKalb,
Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.
Pennsylvania - Records are available for Philadelphia county.
Texas - Records are available for the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area, which
includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties. Records are also
available for Harris County (Houston).
Records vary from county to county, but may include Abstracts of Judgment,
Assumed Names, Civil Suits, County UCCs, General Execution Dockets, Limited
Partnerships, Lis Pendens, Probate and Domestic Suits, Real Property Filings,
Tax Liens and Trade Name Index. The Court Record menus specify the records
available in each county.
LAWSUITS
========
LAWSUITS EFFECTIVE DATE INFORMATION
File Source Begin Through
------------------------- --------------------- --------- --------
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles County County Clerk 01-01-80 12-31-91
Civil (Superior)
Domestic (Superior)
Probate (Superior)
Criminal (Superior) 01-01-80 12-31-91
Orange County County Clerk 01-01-85 12-13-91
Civil (Superior)
Family Law (Superior)
San Mateo County County Clerk 01-01-84 11-09-91
Civil (Superior)
CALIFORNIA
Santa Clara County County Clerk 01-01-85 12-04-91
Civil (Superior &
Municipal)
Probate (Superior)
Criminal (Superior)
Family Law (Superior)
Contra Costa County County Clerk 01-02-80 11-30-91
Civil (Superior)
Probate (Superior)
Family Law (Superior)
Wills 01-02-90 11-30-91
San Diego County County Clerk 06-18-74 01-16-92
Civil (Superior)
GEORGIA
Cobb Civil (Superior) County Clerk 1982 01-17-92
DeKalb Civil (Superior) County Clerk 1981 01-15-92
Fulton Civil (Superior) County Clerk 1980 12-26-91
Gwinnett Civil (Sup/State) County Clerk 1990 01-18-92
ILLINOIS
Cook Civil Law Division Clerk of Circuit Court 01-01-75 12-16-91
All Districts (Circuit)
Cook Civil Municipal Clerk of Circuit Court 01-01-85 12-16-91
Division 1st District-
Chicago- (Circuit)
NEW JERSEY*
Civil Law Division Clerk of Superior Court 01-01-88 SEE BELOW
Atlantic 12-09-91 Bergen 11-19-91 Burlington 12-03-91
Camden 11-20-91 Cape May 12-05-91 Cumberland 10-18-91
Essex 12-04-91 Gloucester 12-09-91 Hudson 12-06-91
Hunterdon 12-10-91 Mercer 10-17-91 Middlesex 12-06-91
Monmouth 11-08-91 Morris 12-05-91 Ocean 12-04-91
Passaic 12-04-91 Salem 12-09-91 Somerset 11-22-91
Sussex 11-25-91 Union 12-02-91 Warren 12-02-91
*New Jersey Superior Court Civil Lawsuit information is collected for
Information America. Extreme care is exercised in gathering this information.
However, it is not the official legal reporting organ of the New Jersey
Superior Court. Information pertaining to civil action arising from
automobile accident claims, forfeiture, condemnation and name change
litigation is not collected and is not contained in this file.
NEW YORK
New York (Supreme) & Office of Court *** 01-13-92
Suffolk County (County) Administration
*** The beginning dates for New York County's Supreme Civil Court and Suffolk
County Civil Court cases vary from county to county and are listed below.
The "Current Through" date represents the date the Office of Court
Administration last compiled the information for Information America.
Bronx 11-1985 Nassau 02-1978 Queens 12-1985
Dutchess 08-1985 New York 11-1985 Rockland 09-1985
Erie 11-1985 Orange 08-1985 Suffolk 03-1983
Kings 11-1985 Putnam 08-1985 Westchester 01-1981
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Civil Office of Prothonotary 01-1982 01-11-92
(Common Pleas)
TEXAS
Dallas Civil (District) County District Court 01-01-70 01-10-92
REAL PROPERTY ASSET LOCATOR
==== ======== ===== =======
Real Property Asset Locator integrates information from several sources to
help users identify and estimate the value of real assets or identify the owner
of a particular piece of property.
The information, which is collected for Information America, is comprised
of the tax assessor's official roll in each county. Additional information is
obtained from private source databases to enhance tax roll information.
Real Property Asset Locator provides four ways to search.
1. Asset Locator -- Discover the property owned by an individual or business
by entering the name. You may conduct a global, statewide, metro area,
county or city (where taxes are assessed at municipal level) search.
2. Ownership Locator -- Discover the identity of the property owner by
entering the address of the property in question.
3. Property of Comparable Value -- Estimate value of real property based on
sales of similar real property in the given geographic area.
4. Assessor's Parcel Number -- Discover the identity of the property owner by
entering the Assessor's Parcel Number of the property in question.
Real Property Asset Locator is available in Arizona, California,
Washington DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and
Virginia.
REAL PROPERTY ASSET TRANSFERS
==== ======== ===== =========
Real Property Asset Transfers integrates information from several sources
to help you identify recent real property ownership transfers.
Use Real Property Asset Transfers to help confirm that your party still
owns a particular piece of property or has recently acquired new property.
Real Property Asset Transfers provides two ways to search.
1. Asset Transfers--Discover the property acquired or sold by an individual or
business by entering the name. You may conduct a statewide, metro area or
county search.
2. Ownership Transfers--Discover the identity of the seller and buyer of a
particular piece of real property by entering the address of the property
in question.
Real Property Asset Transfers information, which is collected for
Information America, is derived from deed transfers maintained by county
recorders' offices in each county. However, it is not the official legal
reporting organ of the county recorders' offices.
Real Property Asset Transfers is available in select counties in Arizona,
California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.
EXECUTIVE AFFILIATION
========= ===========
CONTENTS: Over 30 million executives nationwide. One search will display
companies nationwide where an individual is listed as an executive.
Two types of reports may be available: the Executive Profile and the
Executive Brief.
The Executive Profile is derived from information gathered by
American Business Information, Inc (ABI). ABI compiles business
listings from the yellow pages of 5,000 telephone directories.
Telephone calls to every business are then conducted to collect
the executive name and title.
The Executive Brief is derived from Corporate and Limited
Partnership Records filed in the following states: AZ,CA,CO,CT,FL,
GA,IL,IN,IA,MD,MA,MI,MO,NE,NV,NC,OK,OR,PA,SC,TX,UT,WA,WI.
NOTE: Delaware Records are not included.
Executive Affiliation is invaluable when you need to know the business
affiliations of an adverse party. When you enter an executive's name, reports
on over 30 million executives nationwide are searched. You will receive a
Summary Screen with a concise listing of where your selected individual is
listed as an executive. The detail report for each affiliation will be either
an Executive Brief or an Executive Profile.
The Executive Profile is derived from yellow page listings of 5,000
telephone directories nationwide. The listings are individually verified to
collect the name of the top executive at that location and their title. The
information report may include this information in addition to the business
address, telephone number, SIC code, and type of business. The titles for
which an Executive Profile may be available include: President, Vice President,
Chairman of the Board, Owner, Executive Director, Manager, Administrator,
Principal, Publisher, Pastor, and Rabbi.
The Executive Brief is derived from Corporate and Limited Partnership
Records filed in the following states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, MD,
MA, MI, MO, NE, NC, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA, & WI.
(NOTE: Delaware Records are not included. Florida Records are available
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST.) The second line in the
detail heading will list from which state Corporate/LP Record the information
is obtained. The information report may include executive name, title,
address, business name and address, as well as other executives' names,
titles, and addresses associated with that business. Executive Briefs may be
available for Officers, Partners, Agents, and Incorporators.
USE EXECUTIVE AFFILIATION TO:
* Learn about an adverse party's business affiliations as part of
background checking.
* Verify names and addresses for pleadings and depositions.
* Uncover an executive's involvement in different businesses throughout
the country to determine possible transfer of assets, or other companies
to be named in a suit.
* Obtain background information on an executive as a crucial part of
performing due diligence.
* Explore possible conflicts of interest by looking for an executive's
involvement with other companies.
* Check on the business affiliations of a prospective client.
BUSINESS FINDER
======== ======
SOURCE: American Business Information, Inc.
CONTENTS: Over 14 million U.S. and 1.7 million Canadian business
listings compiled from the yellow pages of nearly 5,000
telephone directories. Contains over 9.5 million separate
companies and 2 million professionals.
UPDATES: ABI continuously revises the information in the file, and
updates the data from available telephone directories
within six months after publication of the directory.
Information America receives quarterly updates from ABI.
BUSINESS NEWS
======== ====
SOURCE: Comtex Scientific Corporation
CONTENTS: News stories from major national and international
newswires, such as UPI, Kyodo, and TASS, press
releases, and other various sources.
Stories are available from November 1989.
UPDATES: Twice Daily
Business News allows you to gather articles from major national and
international newswires either by name, ticker symbol, industry or topic.
Business News industry categories include:
1. Advertising (AD) 19. Electronics (EL) 37. Photography (PO)
2. Aerospace (AE) 20. Entertainment (EN) 38. Plastics (PL)
3. Agriculture (AG) 21. Environmental Srv (ES) 39. Prec Metals (PM)
4. Autos (AU) 22. Financial Srv (FS) 40. Publishing (PB)
5. Aviation (AV) 23. Food (FD) 41. Railroads (RR)
6. Banking (BK) 24. Forestry Prod (FP) 42. Real Estate (RE)
7. Beverages (BV) 25. Freight (FR) 43. Restaurant (RT)
8. Biotechnology (BI) 26. Health Care (HC) 44. Retail (RL)
9. Broadcasting (BR) 27. Industrial Prod (IP) 45. Rubber (RB)
10. Bldg Materials (BM) 28. Insurance (IN) 46. Ship Building (SB)
11. Business Srv (BS) 29. Machinery (MA) 47. Telecommun (TL)
12. Chemicals (CH) 30. Metals (ME) 48. Textiles (TX)
13. Computers (CM) 31. Mining (MI) 49. Tobacco (TB)
14. Construction (CN) 32. Nuclear Energy (NE) 50. Toys (TY)
15. Consumer Prod (CP) 33. Office Equipment (OE) 51. Travel Srv (TR)
16. Defense Contrt (DC) 34. Personal Care (PC) 52. Trucks (TK)
17. Education Srv (ED) 35. Petroleum Prod (PT) 53. Utilities (UT)
18. Electronic Publ (EP) 36. Pharmaceuticals (PH)
BANKRUPTCY RECORDS
========== =======
SOURCE: The Bankruptcy Records are compiled for Information America
from the official records at the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.
These records contain all publicly available cases filed in
the following states: California, Georgia - Northern District
(Atlanta and Gainesville only), New Jersey, Pennsylvania -
Eastern District, and Texas.
CONTENTS: Bankruptcy records for both individuals and businesses are
available. The records include debtor names, case number,
location and date of filing, chapter number and more.
UPDATED: Weekly (California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas)
Bi-weekly (New Jersey)
You may select bankruptcy records by debtor name, social security/FEIN
number or by case number.
SEC FILINGS
=== =======
SOURCE: SEC Online, Inc.
CONTENTS: Full text documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission by public companies traded on the New York and
American Stock Exchanges as well as selected National Market
System companies from NASDAQ. The documents available
online - 10-Ks, 10-Qs, Annual Reports, Proxy Statements, and
foreign company 20-Fs - contain all footnotes and selected
exhibits. A Company Profile is also included that
summarizes basic corporate information.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Information current from 07-01-1987.
UPDATES: Information America receives updates weekly from SEC Online.
Searches may be performed by company name or ticker symbol.
Notes on Information America
~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
We mentioned that usernames beginning with "BIDA" are recognizable to the
IA system as IA accounts (as opposed to shell accounts). More than likely,
other usernames are also valid as IA accounts.
As with most systems, IA passwords are often easy to guess. Initial
passwords, which are assigned when an account is first created, are usually
composed of the account holder's first name, or first name plus a middle or
last initial. In some cases, the password is made up of the digits in the
username plus the first name of the account holder. In other cases, the
password is two random letters plus a two-digit number (ex: PG13). If users
are ever encouraged to change their password from its initial value, they
rarely seem to do so.
You've probably noticed that IA has specific operating times (Eastern
Standard Time). Most of IA's functions are inoperable during weekends and
holidays and outside those specific operating hours. Occasionally on weekends,
IA itself is down. Or more interestingly -- particularly on weekends -- the IA
interactive environment will malfunction, dropping you into the VAX shell.
IA's clients are mostly lawyers and paralegals working at legal firms, but
the FBI is also a major IA client. Television programs in the 60s and 70s
which depicted an FBI "Big Brother" computer system scared the public enough so
that it and the Congress have continually resisted efforts by the FBI to
implement such a system. In the mid 80s, for example, Congress voted against
the implementation of an FBI computer system which would allow them to monitor
telephone calls. Information America is the perfect solution for the FBI's
bureaucratic quandary.
IA has existed for at least two and a half years, but has remained
relatively unknown to the Telecom community until last year when MoD began
using IA's People Finder to locate and terrorize people. IA's low profile
isn't surprising; public backlash against Lotus' "MarketPlace" CD ROM --
which contained marketing information on only a few million people at most --
forced Lotus to abandon its project altogether after having invested tens of
thousands of dollars in advertising alone, just as it was about to release
MarketPlace. What Lotus was doing wasn't unusual; large direct marketing
firms, like National Demographics & Lifestyles (NDL) have been somewhat
covertly marketing consumer names and information on CD ROM for years (with
information such as how many telephones you have; the approximate ages of your
household's members; the gender of the household head; the number and type of
cars your household has; what the mortgage value on your house is; estimated
incomes for the heads of the household, etc...). The difference was that
Lotus was offering their CD ROM commercially so that anybody could, as the
public claimed, have the power of "Big Brother" at their fingertips. If the
public knew about Information America, knew that anyone could tap its eye-spy
capabilities, the outrage would be tremendous.
To market its database services, IA seems to have adopted a grass-roots
kind of approach. IA employs liaisons in major metropolitan cities whose
job it is to research and contact prospective clients -- lawyers, for example.
We are unaware of any advertising in specialized journals.
We take for granted the existence of government-run databases which
contain even more detailed information on Americans than IA possesses. Even
so, those databases are considerably smaller, and what's more, they're
well-regulated: the agencies that run them accountable by Law. The potential
for abuse by a system like Information America -- devoid of any checks and
balances -- is spectacular. MoD has already demonstrated this to a small
extent. The same technology advances which were supposed to make at-home
shopping a convenience and tailor marketing to your needs have now made
surveilling you cost-effective, accurate and as easy as touching a key.
One of the least reported items to come to light out of the Iran/Contra
proceedings was that, as head of the Federal Emergency Management
Administration (FEMA) -- the organization which coordinates relief efforts
across the United States during natural disasters -- Oliver North had drawn up
FEMA contingency plans of a different sort: in the event of war in Central
America, the Constitution was to be suspended and FEMA was to round up aliens
(particularly Hispanics) and US Citizens considered "subversive," and
interrogate them in Manzanar-like camps. Databases like Information America
would no doubt have been employed in locating the whereabouts of these people.
The importance of Information America isn't what it can do for you;
rather, what can be done with it to you.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
White Knight and I can be reached at WKnight@ATDT.ORG and Omega@ATDT.ORG,
respectively. Additionally, we may be reached on Demon Roach Underground or
Pure Nihilism. We welcome any questions or comments you may have -- especially
any new information you may be able to add. Please do not contact us asking
for accounts or passwords.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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