Obama Administration Wants to Track You Via Cell Phones

If you value your privacy, you might want to read an article published today on CNET.  It's titled, "Feds Push for Tracking Cell Phones".

As you know, most cell phones today have GPS chips in them which can allow emergency services and cell phone companies track your whereabouts.  These are sold to us as a good thing - for our own protection.  By having the GPS chip, emergency services can find us if we find ourselves in need of help.

There's also an ongoing battle between the ACLU, the government and law enforcement agencies on whether cell records can be used in tracking criminals. Again, on the surface, this seems like a valid reason to scare folks into giving up their privacy - for the good of society.

But here's the problem.  Often times, our definition of criminal activity is not the same as that of the government's or others.  Just look at how many convicted felons are currently serving in the Congress and Senate!

The liberal left went into a frenzy when Bush put the Patriot Act into motion ... and rightly so!  The Patriot Act is another example of how privacy violations are sold to the American public by playing on their fears.

But the Obama administration is taking it a step further.  The Patriot Act was set up to "monitor suspected terrorists phone calls" and now Obama wants to go further and track the whereabouts of American citizens via their cell phones.  This is Soviet-KGB like monitoring ... and it's definitely an invasion of your privacy!

Read the article, linked above.  No doubt, you'll find it very interesting.  

By the way, cell phones still emit a tracking signal when the phone is OFF.  The only way to prevent this is to remove the battery.  When the battery is removed, the tracking feature is disabled.  

People Search and Background Checks

In today's world, it's not uncommon to want to do a background check on somebody. There's many different reasons why you might want to check somebody out.

You may be:

• Considering hiring them (employee, nanny, caregiver, etc.)
  
• Considering renting a room or house to them
• Considering living with them (potential roommate)
• Dating them
• Suspicious about a neighbor or other person you have contact with

The list goes on. You might also just be looking for somebody you may have lost contact with - an old friend or relative.

In the old days, you'd spend hours digging through public records to find information on somebody or do a background check (or hire somebody to do it for you). Now, you can use an online database which keeps track of public records for you. These sites generally have a lot of information (most of which comes from public records) and charge a small fee to access it.

One of the bigger sites that I like is called Intelius. This site will let you search for people using a variety of variables (name, SSN, etc.). They'll also let you do instant background checks and criminal checks on people.

These sites are a huge time saver when you're looking for information. However, many us don't like having our public records easily available for anybody who wants them. And sadly, it's not always easy to have yourself removed from these databases.

Intelius does allow you to have your own records removed if you like. You just have to fax them valid proof of your identity (like a drivers license). However, after removal, you may find yourself back in the database as new public records are added to it. So, you'll either have to continually ask to be removed or have your public records sealed.

Technology is one of those double edged swords. While extremely helpful and valuable, modern technology has also resulted in a near total loss of privacy. Thanks to the Obama administration, even your medical records aren't private anymore.

For more information about background checks, click here.