People Finder Sites and Your Rights

I discovered some personal information was posted on a white page directory site called Spokeo. White pages or people finders are springing up everywhere these days. If you haven't checked recently I highly recommend that you visit this site (Spokeo) and check your name here.

According to Trend Micro Incorporated, "People-finder" or "white pages" sites such as Spokeo and Pipl offer up a surprising amount of information about ordinary individuals-where they've lived, who their relatives might be, even what their house is worth. One site even claims that visitors can "Uncover personal photos, videos and secrets...guaranteed."

That may be nice if you are searching for someone or if someone is searching for you like a long lost friend or relative. But for the majority of us it opens up a door for a host of scammers and marketers who are craving your communication.

Just how much information is left floating on the Internet is really entirely up to you. You can and should request that your name be removed from as many of these sites as possible. Some sites, like Spokeo, make it fairly easy to remove your information. You can opt-out simply by requesting and confirming via an online transaction. Others such as PrivateEye will request that you jump through hoops to have your information taken down.

In most cases you should send an email requesting that your name be removed from the listing. Keep track of the responses and requests should you need to pursue it further. Every time you register online your information is in jeopardy of getting "out there" again and you should check it often.

You can opt out of People Finder by going here.

Don't let your information slip under the magnifying glass of spying eyes.

Source:

http://us.trendmicro.com/us/newsletter/home-user/apr11/trendsetter_apr11_peoplefinder.html

http://www.spokeo.com/

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060710194239AAZwv39