CYBERSPACE – As identity theft and “cyber stalking” become ever more common, access to the information which facilitates such crimes appears to be getting more and more convenient. Over recent months, the proliferation of websites and services offering access to personal information of private citizens has privacy advocates increasingly concerned.From tools on major portals, like Yahoo People Search, to lesser known services like OnlinePI.com, a wealth of personal information is now a few keystrokes away, for a surprisingly low price. Intelligent E-Commerce Inc (IEI), which operates BestPeopleSearch.com, will provide an individual’s name, address and mobile phone call records for a mere $187.

Privacy advocates like the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) stress that the ease of access to such information could lead to an increase in harassment, identity theft, and stalking, with potentially tragic consequences.

“There have been a number of cases where (private) investigators have provided data to a stalker who later killed the victim,” said Chris Hoofnagle, director of the West Coast office of the EPIC, including at least one instance in which an online company sold the data to the perpetrator.

Even the data being collected by Google, which is recognized as a company well-trusted by its users, is cause for concern according to some critics. As Google expands into areas beyond its original search functions, including its blogging service and developing payments service, privacy experts worry about it becoming an ever higher value target for hackers and other criminals.

“This is a lot of information in a single basket,” Hoofnagle said. “Google is becoming one of the largest privacy risks on the Internet.”

On July 7th, EPIC filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, asking the FTC to investigate the practices of the companies in the growing market for personal information. Of particular concern is the distribution of categories of information that “cannot be obtained without legal justification” according to the complaint.