How Did Spokeo Get My Information: What is Spokeo.Com

If you have a FaceBook account, you have undoubtedly seen the warning status posts from friends about a website called Spokeo. This site is basically a telephone book on steroids. You go to the site, type in a name, even your own name, and in a few seconds the site will pull up pictures of yourself, your address, phone numbers, and all kinds of information. Depending on where Spokeo gets your information and how willingly you are about putting information about yourself online is how much information will be posted on Spokeo.

How Does Spokeo Get My Information

When you go to the site and enter your name, if Spokeo has been able to gather your information, then you will be surprised at all the site has found about you. You have the option to delete yourself from this site, simply provide your email address and they will remove you from the site.

Spokeo gets your information from sites you have been to where you entered your personal information on an unsecured site, from social media networking sites such as MySpace, FaceBook, and others and also from public records. Anyone can access public records and any of the information that is on Spokeo about you. Spokeo just has a program that can gather it all in one lump and post it within seconds.

Is Spokeo Dangerous

Is Spokeo dangerous? Well, yes and no. As I told you in the beginning, Spokeo is basically a phone book on steroids and they get your information from public records, other sites you have visited and entered your personal information, social networking sites, and other aggregation methods.

If you are trying to hide from an ex or something similar, then yes it could be dangerous because it makes it so easy for your enemies or predators to get information about you so quick, easy, and free. Remember, you can delete yourself from the site and resolve that issue quickly.

Some people are afraid of the fact that all of their information can be accessed, but all of your information can be accessed without the use of Spokeo, this site just makes it quicker and it is free.

If you look at the information provided by Spokeo it will inform you of how they gather your information and answer many questions that you have about who they are, what they are there for, and who they aren't and what they aren't there for. Spokeo plainly states that they are not a government agency, they don't know everything about you, and they are trying to provide a valuable service instead of causing problems for you. This is why they give you the option of not being searchable on their site. Simply go to the site, enter your name, and if your name shows up then you can email the Spokeo and request yourself to be deleted from the site. As I said before, Spokeo is like an online telephone book on steroids and just as you can have an unlisted phone number, you can have an unlisted Spokeo.

Spokeo is not a big company. According to the site it is made up of less than 10 employees and the majority of them just recently graduated college. They came up with the idea of making getting information about others easily; online phonebook. Their intention was never to allow your information to be placed online for malicious purposes. Unless you have a stalker or some other reason why your information should not be so easily accessed, just email the Spokeo owners and request the information about yourself be taken off the site.

Remember, the site only knows what its system or program aggregates. Other than public records, you can protect your information and identity from sites such as this by being careful of what information you actually post online. What you post online is usually there for forever and you sites like Spokeo can gather that information quickly and dispense it all on one page. If you have real estate listings for your home, then your name and the worth of your home is listed on the site, if you've signed up for free samples or something similar on a site and entered your address, name, phone number, etc on an unsecured site; then sites like Spokeo can gather that information.

In a nutshell, Spokeo only gets the information about you that you have posted somewhere else online or from public records. So, in essence, you really shouldn't be scared that Spokeo has all of your information because at some point, you posted it without hesitation.

Some tips to keep your identity as private as possible are below:

-Make sure any site that you enter your address or any other personal information is a secure site. This means that the site does not post your address in any way for others to get.

-Remember to be careful when online; do not give out information so freely.

-Spokeo makes it free to get your address, phone number, etc that have been posted online by yourself or though public records. All the information they have is information you or public records have made available.

-Never post your information online if you don't want others to have it.

You may go to the site and realize that all the information about you is incorrect. The site claims that a computer program gathers all of the information and does not have the human capabilities to ensure that the information provided is always accurate. So, if you want the site to have your information so others can find you easily (for people who see Spokeo for what it really is, an online accelerated telephone book) then email the site with the most up-to-date information about yourself.

In closing, the "scare" about Spokeo is really unnecessary. It caught a lot of attention due to people reposting the "dangers of Spokeo" without really opening their eyes to see what Spokeo is and what it offers. It only offers what you have posted yourself online and what the public records have for you-both of which are accessible by anyone at any time BEFORE Spokeo. Spokeo just made it easier and quicker for people to access the same information.

Sources:
www.spokeo.com
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