Is Obtaining Private Information Theft?

Question: I work in real estate brokerage. For operational convenience, the company owner purchases private contact information of property owners from property management or sales offices. Both the owner and the sellers have committed theft by doing so. Subsequently, if the owner arranges for employees to use this stolen property owner information, does the employee commit theft? If an employee proactively solicits information from homebuyers and uses it, does that constitute theft?

Answer: This matter depends on whether the company owner of the property management or sales office consents. If consent is not given, purchasing the information still constitutes theft. It also depends on whether the homebuyer agrees—if they do not consent, purchasing their contact information constitutes theft. However, in such cases, homebuying clients generally don’t mind, as having multiple purchasing channels is beneficial to them. When the owner allows employees to use the purchased information, the employees do not commit theft because they did not steal the information themselves. If an employee obtains the information directly from the homebuyer by asking and then uses it, this does not constitute theft, as it was obtained by asking.