TE
TechEcho
Home24h TopNewestBestAskShowJobs
GitHubTwitter
Home

TechEcho

A tech news platform built with Next.js, providing global tech news and discussions.

GitHubTwitter

Home

HomeNewestBestAskShowJobs

Resources

HackerNews APIOriginal HackerNewsNext.js

© 2025 TechEcho. All rights reserved.

Ask HN: How do background check sites get their data?

3 pointsby ashishkabout 16 years ago
I went on one and it had my address and email (both accurate). Even worse, a reverse lookup on my cell looked pretty accurate too.<p>*Note I only saw the preview pages...but the asteriked details looked accurate

1 comment

grandalfabout 16 years ago
Credit rating agencies (experian, equifax, trans union) collect all the data whenever you apply for a credit card, and then re-sell it to other businesses -- this is the data that experian sells with many of its demographic products, for example. They also have metrics for your income, purchasing history, etc. Someone can buy a list of email addresses of people with income &#62; $x who have purchased a car in the past 6 months, etc.<p>There is also a way that they obtain data via public records, etc., simply by requesting it from each municipality.