Online privacy: Here are 8 very personal things a stranger can learn about you online
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It’s almost hard to remember what it was like when you didn’t know the answer to something or couldn’t remember the name of a song and had to just live with it. The internet has made our lives infinitely more convenient...and our personal information so much more public.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to protect your online privacy and AOL MyPrivacy is a tool that can help. This software scans the entire internet (and it’s a massive place!) for all traces of your name, address, phone number and other identifying features — and that extends to your relatives, too.
Its ReputationDefender feature will then permanently remove you from the public databases, especially those mentions of you findable through the most popular search engines. If your info happens to re-appear on a compromised website, MyPrivacy will automatically remove it.
Try MyPrivacy free for 30 days*
What personal information of yours is easy to find on the internet?
It’s kind of scary how much any old Joe Schmo can find out about you simply by typing your name into a search bar. Try it: you’ll easily uncover people-finder sites that expose your home address, phone number, date of birth and more. And there are databases people can pay for to learn even more about you. And then, of course, there are your social media accounts, which make you a constant target.
Here are the scariest things people can discover about you online:
Everything about the property you own
Housing records are public information, which is a great thing for potential buyers but could be a scary thing for homeowners. These records feature things like how much you paid for your house and what construction you did to it. They also feature your name, which is the only thing you can request to have removed; everything else is legally public.
Depending on the state you live in, there are several ways to keep your property records private so they can’t be associated with your name. One is to register your property via an LLC. Another is to make an official confidentiality request to your mortgage company. If home property privacy is a concern for you, it’s best to contact an attorney to find out what solutions are possible in your area.
Your employment information
Social media sites give you the opportunity to list your professional information, and some are actually career networking sites. Here, anyone with an internet connection can see what company you work for, where your office is located and more. You always have the option to set these profiles to private or limit the information on them.
However, be aware that your company may promote you on its own website. In that case, it’s worth it to put in a privacy request. If you have your own company, it’s easier to conceal your personal identity on your professional website if you choose to.
All the intimate details about your divorce
The privacy of family law cases varies from state to state. Some are public record and can be found and viewed online easily. Some states will let you seal the records of your divorce — perhaps one of the most personal and often painful experiences someone can go through.
Consult with a lawyer about how to do this if you’d rather keep family matters private from the neighbors.
The details of a lawsuit you were involved in
Under the first amendment, many court cases and case files are public record (there are exceptions, though, like paternity cases and juvenile offenses). That means usually, anyone can search your name and dig into the drama of a lawsuit you were involved in, which is a very vulnerable thing indeed. At one time, someone would have to actively seek out a court record on you; now it's just a few clicks away.
In some cases, you can request for court records to be sealed. Much like in the case of a divorce, a lawyer should be your advocate in helping request that a judge make your case private and inaccessible online.
If you’ve filed for bankruptcy
Chapter seven filings are by their nature public record. The lack of online privacy can add insult to injury in a trying time in your life like this. Bankruptcy affects everything from your credit score to your ability to secure loans — and it stays on your record for seven years. That means it’s discoverable online, too.
Unfortunately there’s no quick fix for this one. Time and patience are required here, so carefully consider this route before filing for bankruptcy.
The details of your grandchildren’s lives
Among the personal information that’s readily available online is possibly the most precious of all: information about your children and grandchildren, especially when they are literally children. Children are statistically shown to be 50 times more likely to have their identities stolen.
What can you do to prevent criminals from getting ahold of your kids’ personal info? Restrict what you post about them online. A sweet, well-intended photo album of your granddaughter’s first day of kindergarten, for instance, can be a treasure trove. If you are compelled to share, consider setting those albums to the utmost privacy restrictions.
Your email address
This one seems pretty harmless compared to the rest, huh? Well, think again. “Your email address is actually a precious commodity for hackers because it’s essentially “a tile to the mosaic of your life,” says Adam Levin, cyber security expert and founder of CyberScout. And it’s a big tile, because once a scammer connects your email address to your name, the rest of the mosaic can materialize, and that could include your social security number, driver’s license and other identity-theft ammo.
Once your email address is on a scammer’s radar, it’s game on. In a laser-focused attempt to learn your online passwords, they can delve into your personal information or even fire off well-disguised phishing emails to get you to disclose the passwords yourself. And if a hacker is able to break into your actual email account, they can start accessing all of your associated accounts and even lock you out while they’re busy doing damage.
Keep a watchful on where your email address appears on the internet (do regular searches for it), and consider requesting removal wherever possible.
