via: thebvx.com
The Internet is a great resource for accessing information with the click of a mouse. However, that’s also what makes it bad. Sites like Spokeo.com are springing up fast and compromising your privacy by providing too much personal information that could easily fall into the wrong hands.
Spokeo.com niftily offers your home address, a photo of your residence, hobbies, estimated property value, income, a collection of your social networking profiles and more. It’s frustrating and dangerous but chances are you unwittingly helped them collect the information.
Upon further investigation, it’s evident that sites like this aggregate data that is already public record. We can’t locate every site that collects personal facts about you but we can assist in removing your listing from Spokeo and by providing tips for how you can prevent this sort of e-nuisance from recurring in the future.
1. Submit Removal Requests:
Visit Spokeo’s home page and search for your name. Once your results are retrieved, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “privacy” on the right side. Follow instructions for removal. The bottom line is, most of the address and phone number information that these sites have access to was taken from the online White Pages. Visit WhitePages.com, scroll down to the “privacy” tab and you will find instructions for how to remove your listing.
2. Make Your Social Networking Pages Private:
Secure your FaceBook, MySpace and Twitter pages so that they aren’t visible to the public and stay vigilant about new updates and redesigns, which could compromise and change security settings as well. It’s also helpful to not use your real name or variations of your name, like first initial and last name spelled out, or vice versa, if you absolutely don’t have to.
3. Don’t Upload Your Life:
It’s tempting to create a photo album about every birthday party, vacation or baby shower you attend but it’s probably best that you don’t. Take it back to old school and create an actual scrapbook because one right click and save from the wrong person could have your picture on Fox News in extreme cases, or in the most common scenarios, on a dating ad or a get rich quick ad.
4. Beware of Online Subscriptions:
Some publications sell your information to third-party marketers who end up adding your information to public databases. It would be helpful to either provide your work address or to set up a P.O. Box that you can use instead.
5. Refrain From TMI:
Creating online profiles often prompt users to enter addresses and phone numbers but your don’t have to use the real thing. If you enter something fake, the system won’t know the difference. It’s also not wise to not mention anything routine like when you go to the gym or that Friday night is date night with the boo–and if that Diddy party is too hot to keep mum, brag about it when you get home. Lastly, turn the location GPS off.
