Funny how times change. In the early 1970's I bought a used Austin-Healey from an individual. I wanted to know the complete history of the car so I called up the Georgia DMV and asked if they could give me the previous owners of a vehicle if I gave them a VIN. They said "sure", so I read out the car's VIN and the person gave me the names and addresses of the three previous owners back to the dealership where it was purchased new. I'm sure that would never happen now--not from a legitimate person, anyway. I imagine if someone wanted to, they could get into the DMV database....or find someone with a personal connection in the DMV to do it for them.
As Bob Dylan said; "The times they are a changin". So, did ya pull secret, stealth like midnight raids on their homes to commit carnage and pillageing

Like has been said, anyone wanting to get the info will get it and I can understand Moon Shadow not wanting to make it easier by posting on the net; ya never now who is lurking in cyberspace. Watching the news just a few minutes ago where some store owners have gotten busted by pointing their security cameras at the card swiping pads to catch folk's PIN 's as they type them in...So hey, there's always some jerkoff out there looking over your shoulder