Removing Personal Online Information

Updated on August 03, 2011
R.E. asks from Houston, TX
10 answers

Does anyone have any experience removing personal information about themselves online? A few months ago we had a stalking incident and I decided to google my name. I was shocked and terrified with what I found!
Several websites listing my last 4 previous addresses, phone numbers from 10 yrs ago to present, date of birth, birth certificates for my children, marriage certificate, email address, etc.. This was all free!!! For as little as $3 you can purchase my SSN, background check, and even credit history!! I've been careful about anything I have put online.
I had an FB page before with the strictist privacy settings but had deleted all content then deleted the account. As well as a Linked In profile which I did the same. However, the photo I had for my linkedIn still comes up in a google search of my name. It does not link to anything since the profile has been deleted but the photo is still out there!
I've contacted some of the websites but they all reply that the information they have was gathered from other websites and they cannot remove it. Besides the private FB and LinkedIn I have never put my name or info out there via blogs or online accounts.
Also, that marriage, divorce, birth and death records are public information anyone can access. (But why make it so easy and accessible online??)
I've read that anytime you fill out surveys or enter contests your info is then sold to these companies. I no longer do that.
So has anyone had success removing information? I've found some services that supposedly scrub the net of your info for a large fee but I don't know how legit they are. The information out there is not information I put out there, so I don't really know how it got there. I also have a very unique last name so when you google my name, it is all info about only me.
Thanks in advance for any help!

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A.G.

answers from Albuquerque on

I wish I knew, there are a couple of guys that use my number for all the people they dont want to talk to ( like creditors, woman they meet who knows where) so yesterday I looked up my number just to see if these guys had owned my cell number before I did. I was scared at what I saw, apparently my phone has a gps on it and there was the exact spot where I was. I knew that technology was available but I didnt think it was available for free for anyone to see.

1 mom found this helpful

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J.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

YES! I remove myself constantly. We don't have mail sent to our home and are very private in our personal life, as we don't need people in our professional life knowing everything. I never give phone numbers to retail places. If I do give a phone number to return things, it's fake. I never give people my license when I return things....I "forgot it" and my husband dropped me off. Fake name and address....I make sure the address does not exist.

I don't even give my SS# when I open new utility accts. They tell me I HAVE to, and I tell them that they give illegals without a SS# utilities, so I'm SURE you can take something else. Usually it's a $200 deposit and I get it back in a year...fine with me. I don't have some phone operator who makes $10/hour getting ALL of my info. Hello????

It took me 2 years to get off of all mailing lists, but SO worth it. I call each company and tell them to remove me from ALL lists, rented, shared or sold.

When I move, I only call the people I want to have my new address. NEVER a post office notice....after 6 months with the PO notice, the mail goes back to the sender WITH the new address. BUT because we don't have mail sent to our home, we use a private mailbox where we can received FedEx, UPS, etc and I never have to change our address when we move....and my credit report shows ONE address forever...which improves your credit score. With the mailbox, we never have to tell the post office to vacation hold mail...so even our postman doesn't know we are gone. WHO DO YOU TRUST 100%?

I use a pre-paid cell with a fake name and a fake birthday. I have nothing to hide, but I don't get sales calls....and the name I use is just a first initial and last name like Smith. I never give them an address, as much as they try to convince me and I use the same birthdate for anything that "requires" it...but it's not mine. And with the cheap phone, we don't have all of the cool fatures, but we also don't have GPS. We do use our iPad for stuff, but we have the GPS disabled....and once again, registered the iPad with a different name.

I never give my mother's maiden name on ANYTHING. Once again, I use a different one, maybe even a GGG grandmother or a fake one, you decide. They just use it to confirm it's you, BUT I can access maiden names within seconds on websites, even ancestry.com, so it's not safe and NOT a good idea.

It sounds hard, but really, in the long run, makes our lives uncomplicated.

I write letters to each company with a certified return receipt - TOTALLY worth the extra money. Look in the depths of their websites to find the addresses to send the letters. Even the ones that tell you "no", you can start the letter with, "My attorney reassures me that you with comply with my request...." even if I don't have an attorney. Within 2 days of receiving the letters, no information is posted. AND I DO NOT GIVE THEM A NEW/UPDATED ADDRESS, as I just use the most recent one they have. I'm not about to give them more info!!!!

I also cut and paste the listing(s) into the letter that I want removed. Here is the wording that I use. Check to be sure the addresses are still valid:

November 23, 2010

USA People Search
PO Box 188860
Sacramento, CA 95818

Re: Removal of Information from ALL lists

To whom this may concern;

I am requesting that you immediately remove any and all information about us from your site, and remove it from all lists that you sell, share or rent to any other companies or people. Remove all current and previous addresses. Here are the EXACT examples from your site:

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE

Please mail us, if there is a problem with our request, but our attorney is certain there won’t be a problem. Thank you again.

(You can fake sign it if you want, but we don't give them ANY signature)
Name
Address
NO PHONE NUMBER

Here are the addresses of a few big ones:

USA People Search
PO Box 188860
Sacramento, CA 95818

PrivateEye / Public Records Now – Opt out
15332 Antioch St. # 713
Los Angeles, CA 90272

US SEARCH Opt-Out
600 Corporate Pointe, Suite 220
Culver City, CA 90230

Opt-Out/Veromi.net
1821 Q Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

This one BELOW you HAVE to fax and they state you must photcopy your license to remove it. I did NOT and it was removed....but I did give them a copy of the listing.

To: Intelius
From: XXXXX
Re: Removal of our information from the Intelius public records databases
Fax: ###-###-####

MyLife.com, Inc.
Attn: Privacy Policy Officer
2118 Wilshire Blvd. Box 1008
Santa Monica, CA 90403-5784

Re: Opt Out

To whom this may concern;

I am requesting that you immediately remove any and all information from www.MyLife.com and to the other domains as the "MyLife.com Sites” including www.addressbook.com, www.myaddressbook.com, www.reunion.com, www.highschoolalumni.com, www.MyLife.com, www.whoislookingforyou.com, www.whoissearchingforyou.com, www.whosesearchingforyou.com, www.whossearchingforyou.com, and www.goodcontacts.com , as well as any other affiliates or non-affiliates.

Please mail me if there is a problem, but our attorney is certain there won’t be a problem. Thank you again.

Inflection LLC
d/b/a PeopleSmart.com
P.O. Box 391146
Omaha, NE 68139

As per your Opt-Out Policy and California Civil Code Section 1789.3, please remove ALL of my information from your site, as well as any lists that you share, sell or rent, etc with ANY other affiliates or non-affiliates indefinitely.

Please remove ALL renditions of my name as listed at the bottom of this request.

Please remove me from ALL listings, including being related to:

Christopher XXXX
Henry XXXXX
Robert XXXXXX
Vivian X XXXXXXX

GOOD LUCK! If this can save ONE person's life from a stalker, robber, etc, then it's TOTALLY worth sharing, not to mention, getting your life back - and decreasing the odds of identity theft, which can ruin your life AND credit.

21 moms found this helpful
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S.T.

answers from New York on

From what I've found out the services that offer to "scrub" your online information really just put out a lot of general, harmless, generic information about you so that would show up for the first few pages of google searches. The other stuff is still there - it just takes longer to get to and it's many pages back on the google search - so I don't know how valuable it is to pay alot of money for that.

I have a very common maiden name and married last name so there are alot of different things that come up with my google - so I guess that's a good thing...!

Good luck mama!

2 moms found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Tampa on

It's sooooo scary! We checked and it brought up a friggin photo of our house with driving directions! WTH???? I checked my Uncle, who has NEVER owned a computer or been on one, and all his info was on there too. He only has a "landline" phone, etc. Very private guy who does nOT like technology. Was HE mad! I have no idea how to get rid of it all, but we checked because someone was cyberstalking our 21 yr old daughter, telling her they knew her parents but then giving her names of various relatives. (distant ones listed on the web) Not us though. The person DID know her address though, although she denied it and said she no longer lived there. creepy!! If you figure it out I will be doing it too!

2 moms found this helpful

K.*.

answers from Los Angeles on

Jennifer P., or is that not your real name...LOL! You go girl, I greatly appreciate the info you shared. I'm going to print it out and get cracking!

I've had this problem too, and ALOT of times the info is wrong. Like the house values and annual income are always ALOT lower. At least get that right and my age wrong :) sheesh!

1 mom found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

welcome to the age of technology where it has become a see it, want it, buy it mentality...if you've got the money honey - I've got the time...

No, I've not had to remove my information from online...however, if I had to - I would think I could contact a lawyer to find out my rights and what can and cannot be listed there without my consent...

as to 3rd party information...i don't sign up for contests if they sell to 3rd parties...it has to list it - to the best of my knowledge...

good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

G.M.

answers from Phoenix on

Jennifer P. Thank you so much for your detailed answer! I sure appreciate you taking the time writing all this information down to help us all who want to remove our personal info. KUDDOS to you girl! :-D

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.T.

answers from College Station on

THere are private companies that can do this for you. Not sure on cost or reliability. Talk to your insurance company. They may be able to refer you to someone.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Jennifer P you are my hero.

Wow. I just googled my name and wow. They have addresses for me in cities I never lived in.

Thank you Jennifer P for all the info.
I am a bit stunned.

A.R.

answers from St. Louis on

That is the reason why I do not FB, twitter or any other chat web anymore(but mamapedia)...the little thing you put in there is PUBLIC for ever....... Online social networks are just that...EVERYTHING IS PUBLIC.

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