Celebrity home spy website taking heat for helping burglary ring break into houses of celebrities

November 13, 3:11 PMCelebrity Property ExaminerKae Davis

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Paris Hilton arrives at the book party for Mark Liddell's "EXPOSED: 10 Years in Hollywood" in LA, CA
AP Photo / Matt Sayles

The website www.celebrityaddressaerial.com is under close scrutiny by legal officials and right to privacy attorneys this month thanks to the part their Internet snoop service played inadvertently in a recent rash of celebrity home burglaries. 

AERIAL PHOTOS OF CELEBRITY HOMES CAUSE SECURITY ISSUES

Celebrity Address Aerial is a site devoted to high tech spying on celebrity real estate.

Photo credit: Paris Hilton arrives at the book party for Mark Liddell's "EXPOSED: 10 Years in Hollywood" in Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Just a few names on the celebrity home hit list where their site provides unauthorized aerial photos of celebrity houses and well known figures estates to the public are: Paris Hilton, Steven Spielberg, Warren Buffet, Matt Drudge, Steve Jobs and Kobe Bryant.

CRIMINALS TARGETING CELEBRITY HOMES TO ROB CAN USE VIDEO TOUR AND UNAUTHORIZED SURVEILLANCE OF CELEBRITIES AT HOME TO PLAN BREAKING AND ENTERING HEISTS

The site claims users "will be able to see behind the tall hedges, big gates and security systems" and "get unprecedented access to the sort of lifestyle your favorite celebrity can afford."

The LA Times writes,

To a lot of stars and their lawyers, that's a big problem.

For nearly two years, the site operated with little notice. But Friday, a search warrant unsealed in Las Vegas revealed that one of the members of an alleged burglary ring had used the site, along with TMZ.com and Google Maps, "to gain intelligence on" the homes of young Hollywood celebrities, including Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom.

Members of the ring would then visit the location to search for a "mode of entry," LAPD investigators said.

WHY SOME CELEBS HOMES ARE MORE VULNERABLE THAN OTHERS AS TARGETS FOR CRIMINALS

Lindsey Lohan's home was robbed by the now famous "Bling Ring" -- a group of teenage thieves who targeted celebrity homes for personal property like designer clothing, jewelry, and expensive handbags.

Just one of many burglary rings operating in California and other regions, they gained fame after capture because they chose to rob a series of Hollywood celebs.

The homes they targeted were not due to the popularity of the star as much as they were for the popularity of the items that could be stolen, however.

For example, of the five Bling Ring criminals arrested, CNN writes, "The group [also] targeted celebrities such as Rachel Bilson... because it was known she had a large collection of Chanel [wardrobe and purse essentials]. They allegedly studied celebrity magazines to pick out the clothing and jewelry that they wanted, and would then use the Internet to study satellite maps of the victim's home before deciding on the best method for entry."

Stars not known for their keen fashion sense or for investing heavily in art or jewels are not as likely to have their homes hit. Therefore, whether a star is on the "A list" or not might influence a fan thief interested in stealing a collectible, but most celebrity home robberies that occur seem to have the most expensive portable items more readily available.

More over, young celebs and stars who routinely live the Hollywood party lifestyle are more likely to have strangers through their homes "with friends", giving insider criminal spys a chance to report back on what kinds of luxury product items and designer wardrobe goods are available to steal.