Seen At 11: Public Shaming? There's An App (Or Two) For That, And It Can Be Devastating

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Could your colleagues, fellow commuters, even your spouse, be "shaming your name" online -- without you even knowing it?

When it comes to holding people accountable for their perceived offensive behavior -- there's no shortage of ways to help you publicly humiliate them.

Just take it out online.

For claims of infidelity, there's the app, "She's a Homewrecker." For disputes about public transit, there's the website, "Shame a Commuter." There's even a Facebook "Boyfriend Shaming" page for boyfriends who are a little lazy or sloppy.

"Neighbor Shame" allows people to vent about their neighbors. Other sites let you "rate a date," call out commuters, and even embarrass airplane passengers.

And then there's "Peeple." This new app lets you rate interactions you have with others, similar to how goods and services are rated on 'Yelp.'

"You're going to be able to really find out who somebody is before you invite them into your life," Julia Cordray, chief executive officer of Peeple, said of the service.

It may sound like a helpful tool, but experts are asking -- should we really be able to rate each other?

"It's very intrusive," Ian Marlow, a cybersecurity expert, said.

In some cases, people may not even realize their picture --or even a video -- has been posted, for public shaming purposes.

Other times, the results could be everlasting -- and devastating.

"They are going to ruin people's careers. They are going to ruin people's lives," said Erika Kauffman of the 5WPR public relations firm.

Some small businesses owners say negative reviews are ruining their companies because once an negative post is out there, it's incredibly difficult to have it completely removed. Businesses are now turning to defamation lawsuits to clear their name, which can be costly.

"They always say karma should come into play before you make a bad decision," Kauffman said. "With this, you know that there is life beyond what you're going to do right here, right now. It may not go away."

You may also want to keep that in mind before taking to social media to complain about someone.