I know what you mean. But in these days time is money. People don't usually have the time to think through decisions. Well, it's more like, if they spend some more time on things like these, they will lose/not earn money. Even though it is illegal to impersonate somebody else or a not existing individual, I think that checking someone's background over the internet is not ok. Except, of course, if the person does not have any objections. My roommate is attenting a police academy next school year and because of that a few officers have asked around the neighbourhood what kind of person he is. Of course, my roommate had to agree for them to do so. If he hadn't agreed, he wouldn't have been able to attend the police academy.
In any case, my point is that something like this shouldn't be done without permission.