spokeo.com the day has come

Well, the day that every paranoid person has ever warned you about has finally come.

I'm one of those paranoid people.

My very first email account was under a fake name, with a fake date of birth and address. That was way back in the day, when people didn't know what email addresses were. Something inside me told me to hold my cards close to my chest...just in case.

Today, or very recently, spokeo.com was released.

This beast collects every single personal bit of information available online and puts it in one database and makes it available in one easy search.

It's freaky. The only saving grace is that the "complete" info is for paying customers only...but you can still get a whole lot of info without paying anything. You can search by name or more importantly, email address.

I strongly recommend you search your own info, including your email addresses. Then remove yourself from the search. Copy the url to your info and go to the bottom of the page to the privacy tab. It will bring you to a page that will ask for the url, your email address and a text copy. These simple steps and you can begin to remove your info from this search monster. You will still need to confirm this by email.

This is a USA program but it's really international, as the internet is worlwide. My name does not come up, but my emails all did.

I am totally fascinated and freaked out all at the same time. Imagine prospective employers doing searches now???? Or victims trying to escape their pasts? Yikes.

Thanks, Milo!

Even though they've pulled together public info to do it, I don't like being listed there. I've already followed your tips for being removed. Searched for myself again, and it's gone!

FAH_REAKY !!!!!!

Risa