Intelius
Encyclopedia
Intelius, Inc. is a public records
business headquartered in Bellevue, Washington
, United States. It provides information services to consumers and businesses, including background checks and identity theft
protection. A majority of Intelius' revenue comes from selling background reports.
executives: Naveen Jain
, Kevin Marcus, Niraj Shah, Ed Petersen, Chandan Chauhan and John Arnold. Jain was then sued by InfoSpace
for allegedly violating noncompete agreements, mishandling business-specific secrets and interfering with InfoSpace's customer relationships. The judge ruled in favor of Jain, citing a lack of "clear and convincing evidence" that there was a violation of noncompete agreements.
Intelius filed a registration statement
on January 10, 2008 for an initial public offering to raise up to $143.75 million. The plans were withdrawn October 2010.
In late 2010, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Kevin Marcus left the company to join BigTip.
In October 2011, Jain stated that an IPO might be in the company's future in 2012.
In November 2011, Intelius purchased the Facebook genealogy app Family Builder. During the same month, the company announced the inclusion of TrueRep to its services. This program allows consumers to provide explanations for any indiscretions on their records.
's reliance on "scare tactics"
. Intelius has created an application for mobile devices that allows users to do a quick background check on a potential date.
's IntelliSense Corporation, integrating an infrastructure capable of international background information, fingerprinting and drug screening to complement its previous capabilities for small and medium businesses.
On April 30, 2009, Intelius acquired Spock
, a people-oriented search engine.
On October 19, 2009, in the Federal Court in Seattle, Intelius was accused of violating Washington's Consumer Protection Act. This lawsuit stated that Intelius engaged in misleading messages on its website. Such conduct allegedly led consumers to unknowingly receive charges from Intelius' partner, Adaptive Marketing. The suit, filed by Washington resident Bruce Keithly and Ohio residents Donovon Lee and Edith Cramer, claimed that after purchasing background reports through Intelius the plaintiffs were each charged a $19.95 monthly fee for subscription services which were not requested. While Intelius has publicly stated a disassociation with Adaptive Marketing, the outcome of this lawsuit is still pending.
On August 10, 2010, Washington settled with Intelius for $1.3 million dollars and any Washington consumers affected by post-transaction marketing will be contacted regarding refunds.
" of being listed on Intelius. The company's website states that "Intelius does not usually offer individuals the opportunity to permanently remove their publicly available information from our public records databases." Instead, the website states that the personal information may be suppressed by a user's request after he or she mails or faxes a notarized letter and copy of his or her driver's license, in order to confirm the person's identity.
of Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington has cataloged numerous complaints about the company's customer service, including a continual refusal to provide refunds to customers who claim not to have requested or received the services that they paid for. Additional complaints have been made about misleading advertising and background information that has been inaccurate or out-of-date. According to the BBB, the company is not a member, and does not always respond when contacted by them.
In 2008, Intelius was a finalist for the Stevie Award
for "Best New Product or Service."
In June 2011, the company awarded five scholarships to high school students via the Intelius Essay contest.
Public records
Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential. For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the option of checking the box as to whether the marriage is "confidential" or "Public"...
business headquartered in Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
, United States. It provides information services to consumers and businesses, including background checks and identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
protection. A majority of Intelius' revenue comes from selling background reports.
History
Intelius was founded in 2003 by six former InfospaceInfoSpace
Infospace provides metasearch and private-label Internet search services for consumers and businesses.InfoSpace's flagship metasearch site is Dogpile; its other consumer brands are WebCrawler, Nation, DoGreatGood and MetaCrawler.-History:...
executives: Naveen Jain
Naveen Jain
Naveen K. Jain is a business executive and entrepreneur. He is the founder of InfoSpace, Intelius, and Moon Express. In 2000, Forbes ranked Jain 121 on their list of 400 Richest Americans with a net worth of 2.2 billion dollars....
, Kevin Marcus, Niraj Shah, Ed Petersen, Chandan Chauhan and John Arnold. Jain was then sued by InfoSpace
InfoSpace
Infospace provides metasearch and private-label Internet search services for consumers and businesses.InfoSpace's flagship metasearch site is Dogpile; its other consumer brands are WebCrawler, Nation, DoGreatGood and MetaCrawler.-History:...
for allegedly violating noncompete agreements, mishandling business-specific secrets and interfering with InfoSpace's customer relationships. The judge ruled in favor of Jain, citing a lack of "clear and convincing evidence" that there was a violation of noncompete agreements.
Intelius filed a registration statement
Registration statement
In the United States, a registration statement is a set of documents, including a prospectus, that a company must file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before it proceeds with an initial public offering....
on January 10, 2008 for an initial public offering to raise up to $143.75 million. The plans were withdrawn October 2010.
In late 2010, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Kevin Marcus left the company to join BigTip.
In October 2011, Jain stated that an IPO might be in the company's future in 2012.
In November 2011, Intelius purchased the Facebook genealogy app Family Builder. During the same month, the company announced the inclusion of TrueRep to its services. This program allows consumers to provide explanations for any indiscretions on their records.
Background Checks for Dating
Intelius targets marketing for consumers with an interest in dating, especially online dating. It provides background checks and verification of identity under the InteliSign brand. Industry experts point out the advertising campaignAdvertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
's reliance on "scare tactics"
Appeal to fear
An appeal to fear is a fallacy in which a person attempts to create support for an idea by using deception and propaganda in attempts to increase fear and prejudice toward a competitor. The appeal to fear is common in marketing and politics...
. Intelius has created an application for mobile devices that allows users to do a quick background check on a potential date.
Employer Background Checks
On December 5, 2006, Intelius enlarged its employment screening market with its acquisition of Bothell, WashingtonBothell, Washington
Bothell is a city located in King and Snohomish Counties in the state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 33,505 as of the 2010 census...
's IntelliSense Corporation, integrating an infrastructure capable of international background information, fingerprinting and drug screening to complement its previous capabilities for small and medium businesses.
On April 30, 2009, Intelius acquired Spock
Spock (website)
Spock is a vertical search engine or entity search engine on people. The name "Spock" is explained with a backronym: "single point of contact keyword." Founded in 2006 by Jay Bhatti and Jaideep Singh, it has "indexed over 250 million people representing over 1.5 billion data records." These...
, a people-oriented search engine.
Class action lawsuits
On September 30, 2009, before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a class action lawsuit was filed alleging that Intelius automatically enrolled California consumers into programs of its partner, Adaptive Marketing, without permission. The complaint showed evidence as to how the defendants allegedly automatically charged California consumers' credit cards for "memberships" and intentionally frustrated the victims' abilities to dispute the charges.On October 19, 2009, in the Federal Court in Seattle, Intelius was accused of violating Washington's Consumer Protection Act. This lawsuit stated that Intelius engaged in misleading messages on its website. Such conduct allegedly led consumers to unknowingly receive charges from Intelius' partner, Adaptive Marketing. The suit, filed by Washington resident Bruce Keithly and Ohio residents Donovon Lee and Edith Cramer, claimed that after purchasing background reports through Intelius the plaintiffs were each charged a $19.95 monthly fee for subscription services which were not requested. While Intelius has publicly stated a disassociation with Adaptive Marketing, the outcome of this lawsuit is still pending.
Cellular Phone Directory
In early 2008, Intelius came under scrutiny for providing access to private cellular phone numbers culled from a variety of sources. In response, Verizon threatened a lawsuit over posting consumer phone numbers without consent. On February 1, 2008, the cellular phone directory was removed from the company website.Post-Transaction Marketing
Washington State Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau received over 900 complaints about Intelius as of March 2009. Most complaints involved the practice of "post-transaction marketing." Partly due to concerns about Intelius, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna requested legislation aimed at stopping what he calls "deceptive" Internet marketing.On August 10, 2010, Washington settled with Intelius for $1.3 million dollars and any Washington consumers affected by post-transaction marketing will be contacted regarding refunds.
Opt-out Policy
Criticism has also arisen due to the difficult nature of "opting outOpt-out
The term opt-out refers to several methods by which individuals can avoid receiving unsolicited product or service information. This ability is usually associated with direct marketing campaigns such as telemarketing, e-mail marketing, or direct mail. A list of those who have opted-out is called a...
" of being listed on Intelius. The company's website states that "Intelius does not usually offer individuals the opportunity to permanently remove their publicly available information from our public records databases." Instead, the website states that the personal information may be suppressed by a user's request after he or she mails or faxes a notarized letter and copy of his or her driver's license, in order to confirm the person's identity.
Consumer complaints
The Better Business BureauBetter Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
of Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington has cataloged numerous complaints about the company's customer service, including a continual refusal to provide refunds to customers who claim not to have requested or received the services that they paid for. Additional complaints have been made about misleading advertising and background information that has been inaccurate or out-of-date. According to the BBB, the company is not a member, and does not always respond when contacted by them.
Recognition
In 2009, the company was listed among the "500 Fastest Growing Private Companies" by Inc. Magazine. That same year, the Puget Sound Business Journal mentioned Intelius as a "2009 Best Places to Work" finalist.In 2008, Intelius was a finalist for the Stevie Award
Stevie Awards
The Stevie Awards were created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the efforts, accomplishments, and positive contributions of companies and business people worldwide...
for "Best New Product or Service."
Philanthropy
In 2011, Intelius awarded two Singularity University Scholarships for the Graduate Studies Program to African leaders in business and science to solve poverty and gender disparity.In June 2011, the company awarded five scholarships to high school students via the Intelius Essay contest.