When checking yourself out online you probably noticed that there are a ton of "profiles" that have been created for you. When I first looked and saw dozens of new "profiles" in my name, I had to step back and ask myself "Did I do that?"...
After my brain had processed a lot of the information my eyes were seeing its response was a resounding "no". There were so many companies I had never heard of in there ... but they know a lot about me so I must have been involved somehow, right? I want to say no but the real answer is yes.... well... it is sort of a yes and a no. Let me explain:
When I first involved myself in what we not think of as "Social Media", it was with a company called myspace, and as savvy as I was with computers and technology at the time... I was still not prepared for this new "Friend/Profile/Interest" technology. I left everything out in the open - pretty much everyone did. This meant that anyone could see my name, what I was up to, where I live and lived, where I went to high school, my birthday, who my friends where, my sexual interest(s), where I hung out, what companies and movies I liked - everything. I want to say that that only thing left people couldn't find out was my thoughts... but almost all of those were on there, too. It wasn't only human beings who could see this information, however. Search engines, old friends, and anyone who wanted to take a little peek in my life could find me and see what I was up to... but there was something else out there that was taking a look, too - robots and spiders. Data mining robots and spiders. "Robot SPIDERS". Like something from the future... but this all takes place in the past.
The funny thing about robots and spiders is that they devour information. Some of them are on a mission for specific kinds of information (like personal information) but most will just pick up and record everything they can find. Have you ever wondered why almost everything online has a "CAPTCHA"? It is to prevent robots and spiders from finding or using parts of the internet that should be for humans only. Generally speaking, they are not smart enough to complete some tasks, or to read certain images... Yet.
Anyway. These data loving creatures found a ton of my information... that I unknowingly left out on the internet for them to find... and kept it. The companies who had this information on their servers (and likely still do) have probably since sold this information to other companies who also had data they might have found and so on and so forth. I am sure there is a lot of redundant information floating through many of the companies, but they all have other smart programs and databases can quickly make decisions about the relevancy and importance of new information (when/if they can find any). Totally creepy.
TL;DR (too long; didn't read) So short answer... I was involved, technically I left a lot of information out there for these companies to find, but I didn't know it at the time. If I did I would have been smarter, and if I had the choice now or then I would have never let these companies get to know anything about me.
So what is one to do when they see all of these new profiles that are created? How do you get them taken down? I wish there was an easy was to answer this but every company is different. Some of them might let you "claim" - and even modify or delete your profile right from the internet. Others will force you to call. If we keep going down the line some will tell you that the information can be removed, or modified, with a fee. When we go down further some will keep you in a perpetual billing cycle even if you try to cancel whatever service they offered to remove or modify your information. Some of them sign you up for other services. Some of them want you to contact them so they can get more information from you, under the guise of removing your information (which never happens) - this info makes your "portfolio" even more valuable to buy, sell, or trade later. There are probably other ways people get scammed and duped, too. There are so many possibilities.
What you need to do about private information aggregators:
If a company does allow you to "claim" or modify your information online this is the easiest. I know that whitepages.com does allow this. This particular company actually used my CELL PHONE NUMBER (might be illegal?), current address, and most of my recent addresses - available to anyone out there. Even the ones who want to kill me - or worse (mess with my credit scores). On the bright side it was easy to claim and delete this information. On the downside, they likely keep a copy that can be traded or sold to other companies and will probably put the information back up - I have had to "delete" it 3 times so far with months and up to a year and a half in between.
If a company wants you to call, such is the case with mylife.com, you have to call (1-888-704-1900, 6:00AM - 9:00PM Monday - Friday, PT; 6:00AM - 6:00PM Saturday and Sunday, PT) to have your information removed. This is kind of a jerky thing to do... did they have to call you for authorization to use your private information?" Of course not. Why do you have to call to get it taken down? What motive would someone have to take down peoples personal information?! When I called It was pretty easy - though they did want me to confirm my email address and birthday ... I couldn't tell if they needed it confirmed so that they can check a box that says "THIS IS RIGHT - KEEP IT" or to actually remove my "profile", but the information was removed during the conversation and has stayed down since.
I have not come across a company that needs credit card information... yet.... and if I ever do I will just let that listing go and hope that the office where the servers are located explode and everyone at the company dies an agonizing, server smoke asphyxiating, death. It is not worth it to give anyone any money in exchange for removing, editing, or modifying information. That is extortion... and in the end they will probably still keep a copy, buy, and trade your personal information anyway. Think of it this way - if they are evil enough to charge you for your own information... what else are they willing to do? While I have not had to personally deal with scumbags who want credit cards for your personal information - they are out there.
When you contact these companies you have to realize that not everyone values privacy as much as you may - some might want more, others less, and some do not care at all. These companies are here because the "market" dictates that a majority of people are not aware... or worse... do not care that their information - a lot of it VERY private - is being bought, sold, and used to create public "profiles" all over the internet. While we are taking control of our personal data many people continue to give it out - tons of it... completely FREE. If there is one thing a money making scheme wants it is access to a free product that can later be sold. It's the American Dream... just not mine and maybe not yours. For many, like me, it is a nightmare... but as long as people keep giving it away there will be people who are glad to take it and assume everyone is as comfortable with them doing this. I mention this because when you deal with these companies you need to realize it is our changing, and in most cases completely unaware, society that is causing these problems. Not always the person who answers the phone/email. Man, ignorance is really bliss.
I have a lot more to share but you might have some work cut out for you - make sure to check back!
1 comments