NCCHOWAN-L Archives

From: "Marianne Ordway" <>
Subject: [NCCHOWAN] Your address & phone number & maps just FYI
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 07:35:22 -0500

Hi Listers,

I want to make sure that each of you are aware of this service by Google.com
which just may be more "help" and information that you care to have made
available about you instantly to the planet. I just ran this search on my
own home phone and it seems that being unlisted makes a huge difference as
there were no hits, then I ran it on my fax line and got two reference hits
but no map to my home. I did other check with family members phone numbers
that are listed in the phone book and "poof" there is their entire address
and a perfect map to their home. You may want to run your own phone number
through and put a block on Google.com using it. Click on the telephone icon
next to your phone number - apparently it will take them 48 hours to block
your information. If you are unlisted in the phone book, you might not be
in there, but it is a good idea just to check if you find this at all
unsettling.

Best Regards ~ Marianne

Additional detail from a friend this morning:
Google has implemented a new feature wherein you can type someone's
telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and then you will be
given a map to their house. Before forwarding this, I tested it by typing
my telephone number in google.com. My phone number came up, and when I
clicked on the MapQuest link, it actually mapped out where I live. Rather
scary. Please look up your own number. Read below for details. Think about
it--if a child, single person, ANYONE gives out his/her phone number,
someone can actually now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The
safety issues are obvious, and alarming. This is not a hoax; Mapquest will
put a star on your house on your street. In order to test whether your
phone number is mapped, go to: www.google.com Type your phone number in the
search bar with dashes (i.e. 555-555-1212) (dashes and spaces very
important) and hit enter. This will divulge your name and address. You
will see a link option to the right for Mapquest (click on it), which will
use the address to provide a map to your home or place of business. If you
want to BLOCK Google from divulging your private information, simply click
on the telephone icon next to your phone number. It takes 48 hours to
remove your name. If you are unlisted in the phone book, you might not be in
there, but it is a good idea just to check. Please forward on to friends and
family.

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• [NCCHOWAN] Your address & phone number & maps just FYI by "Marianne Ordway" <>