This is the alarming reality facing stalking victims, celebrities, law-enforcement officials and other privacy-seeking people in the age of new search engines that cough up personal data about almost anyone in seconds.

"No one is protected from this. No one is safe," says Terry L. Powell, director of Utah's Cyber Crime Task Force, an alliance of law-enforcement agencies that have pooled resources to combat Internet fraud. "And there's not a thing we can do about it."

People-search services, which divulge personal information for a fee, have been operating on the Internet for years. So have online directories, such as Yahoo's People Search, which provide listed phone numbers and addresses.

But a new search engine, ZabaSearch, now supplies private addresses and phone numbers for millions of Americans, free of charge - eliminating a barrier that often deterred casual snoopers. ZabaSearch also links online surfers to a free site that displays satellite photos of the block on which the address is located.

Prominent Utahns whose home addresses are not in the phone book might be surprised to discover their current or former whereabouts listed on the site. Want to find a private address - no, not the governor's mansion - for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.? No problem. How about Attorney General Mark Shurtleff? Done.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is listed, too, along with ex-Jazz coach Frank Layden and most of the state's district court judges.

Described by one media outlet as "Google on steroids," the site, http://www.zabasearch.com, began operating in February. Searchers enter a name, and, if known, a state for the person they are seeking; the site then produces lists of exact and close matches, along with current and previous addresses and, sometimes, phone numbers.

Type in "Jon Huntsman Jr." and "Utah," for example, and you'll learn he was born in March 1960 and lived, before moving into the governor's mansion, on Military Way in Salt Lake City. Click on the address (no phone number is listed) and you can access a map of Huntsman's neighborhood, a satellite photo of his block and a five-day weather forecast for the area. For $20, ZabaSearch also will run a background check.

ZabaSearch does not gather or generate data, according to a statement posted on its Web site. Instead the search engine accesses some 2 billion public records such as phone listings, court records, voter rolls, real property records, subscription lists and other databases. The site may eventually charge a fee for its information.

Not surprisingly, law-enforcement officials see ZabaSearch as yet another online resource for identity thieves or other crooks.

"You have to ask yourself, 'Why would people want this information?' '' Powell asks. "They're using it to commit crimes or to stalk people."

"It's a huge concern," agrees Shurtleff, who says he has been approached in recent months by dozens of cops and prosecutors who are worried about their addresses appearing on the site. "Unfortunately, we can't do much about it because they don't appear to be breaking the law."

Like most people when they first learn about ZabaSearch, Shurtleff visited the site and typed in his name. He was dismayed to find his home address and phone number listed, along with his wife's name.

"We worked hard at keeping that stuff private," he says. "But there are so many ways to get our address. It's very difficult to keep that information safe."

ZabaSearch founders Nick Matzorkis and Robert Zakari could not be reached for comment.

But in a recent interview with Wired News, they defended their site as helping people learn what information about them is available in cyberspace.

"The data has been out there for years," Matzorkis told Wired News. "It's just a question of who has access - you, or the people selling it to other companies to market things to you?"

But what about the privacy of stalking victims, or witnesses in gang-violence cases? Some states - including Washington, Maine and Massachusetts - have address-confidentiality programs under which people who can verify a threat to their safety can list a P.O. box on all state or legal documents. Shurtleff says he would consider implementing such a program in Utah.

Forty-five states also have cyberstalking laws under which online harassers can be prosecuted.

Utah is not one of them, although Shurtleff says he's interested in discussing legislation in 2006 that would add such a law to Utah's books.

Privacy seekers can take steps to limit the personal data that appears about them on the Internet, however. Jayne Hitchcock, president of a nationwide volunteer group called Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA), recommends that people get new unlisted phone numbers and have their correspondence sent to P.O. boxes.

Hitchcock herself was cyberstalked in the late 1990s. But since moving to a new home and following her own privacy-protection advice, her address has not shown up on the Web.

"People [who take these steps] can breathe a little bit easier," she says. "Frankly, though, if somebody is obsessed with [finding] you . . . most of the information about you is available [online] for a price."

griggs@sltrib.com

Protect yourself

READ THE FINE PRINT: Never put your name, phone number or address on any form without reviewing the policy of the company. You would be surprised how many credit card companies, banks and government agencies share your data unless you request that they do not distribute it.

BE COMMERCIAL: Start a corporation or trust to conduct business that requires the filing of public records. This is a more expensive option, but there are many online services that offer reasonably priced ways to do this. Consult with a tax specialist before taking these steps.

GET NEW DIGITS: Get a new, unlisted telephone number and block caller ID information from being displayed when you place phone calls. Unlisting your current number keeps it out of directory assistance and the phone book but won't erase it from all public databases.