From: Jim Byrd <byrd@ACM.ORG>
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 06:14:11 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: SSN database scam?
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19960918181651.00706174@super.zippo.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


One thing people forget is that Lexis-Nexis is hardly the first company to
offer this kind of service.  Several years ago, there was a controversy when
Lotus planned to offer this kind of information on CD-ROM.

The main competition of Lexis-Nexis, West Publishing Company ("Westlaw"),
offered this kind of service before Lexis did.  The last I heard, it was
possible to get SSNs via Westlaw.  I don't know if this is still true.

I checked with a friend of mine, and got this response: "Westlaw offers
access to several databases (including its PEOPLE-CB and INFOAM databases).
They provide a person's "Credit Bureau Header," which contains social
security number, previous address(s), telephone number(s), spouse name, date
of birth, related names/aliases, and the date the report was filed."

I happen to work for Lexis-Nexis, but I don't speak for the company.  I work
in a very different part of the company, and don't know the people involved
with P-Trak.