Zabasearch.com is a website that searches for and collates disparate information regarding United States residents, including names, current and past addresses, phone numbers, and birth years, and then permits the user to query other search engines with this information to retrieve additional data, such as satellite photos of addresses and criminal background checks.
ZabaSearch was founded by Nick Matzorkis[1] and Robert Zakari.[2] The site claimed to have overtaken Yahoo! People Search as the highest-trafficked people search engine in May 2005.[3] Zabasearch was acquired by Intelius in December 2008.[4]
The website offers free searches for certain information, but requests for further information are directed to Intelius. Premium services, accessible by registering an email address and password at the site, or by signing in via Facebook, allow users to run a free Zabasearch background check or to search by phone number.[5] After a trial period, premium services are accessible via a monthly fee.[6]
As SFGates David Lazarus further discussed in 2005, regarding the site's free and paid services:[7]
ZabaSearch buys and gives away basic personal data as a loss leader to induce visitors to purchase more comprehensive background checks for $20 each. The company charges $100 for additional in-depth searches, with a money-back guarantee if the person sought doesn't turn up.
It also carries a paid link to Experian, to obtain a free credit report. (This will automatically sign you up as well for Experian's credit-monitoring program, which will cost $9.95 a month unless you opt out after a 30-day trial period.)
The company asserts that all of the information accessible on the site was already extant on the Internet on many government or corporate databases, the likes of which could (usually) already be accessed piecemeal by the general public. As such, they assert that the site fosters nothing new except the convenience of gathering the data automatically and is not suited for use by potential identity thieves.
In addition the site offers an email notification service to registered customers that informs them when they, or people they know, are being searched and who is searching their name or social security number.
Irene Davids' review at KillerStartups.com hinted at the site's usefulness for stalking but skewed towards favorable, while Reviewopedia's balanced review of Zabasearch, metatitled "Zabasearch - Legit or Scam?", even-handedly enumerates the site's pros and cons.[8] As of April 5, 2014, the two articles posted in the "Related Articles" section, positioned immediately below the Zabasearch review, are both cautionary, "People Search Websites and What You Should Know",[9] and "Protect Yourself from Online Identity Theft".[10]
Email messages containing personal information that were previously not searchable by Google, Internet Explorer or Firefox became searchable sometime before June 2014, which many people may consider to be a violation of privacy.[11] Zabasearch previously claimed to only share names and email addresses of users and information already published elsewhere, and not the text of personal messages.
However, numerous complaints about Zabasearch have been posted with various agencies - such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding Internet privacy, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), and the California Office of Privacy Protection (COPP).[12]