These days, online safety has become increasingly important as there is an increase in online fraud and other crimes. These crimes are targeted at anyone who uses the Internet, and are not exclusive to any particular groups of people. Therefore, as long as you have something to do online, you should make it a point to stay safe. Depending on the service you are using online, it’s important to know how safe and secure things are with that service and their platform before you start giving out your personal and other sensitive information.
Turning attention to people finder websites, you may ask if you need to worry about your safety when people use such services. People finder websites are platforms that you can use to locate people online. The most popular use of these websites is to look for friends and families that you have not been in touch with, and don’t know how else to find them. These platforms do have features that are meant to keep both the one searching and the one being searched safe online.
Protecting Your Privacy from People Finder Sites
The main use case for a people search site is to provide the user with a detailed report about a person they are interested in. This report will contain things like their name, email address, phone number, contact phone number, and so on.
Some services may provide the user with the criminal records of the person as well. This is made possible thanks to the huge databases that are running things behind the scenes. With this, you can use a variety of options to search for people. For example, you can find the name of a person if you only have their phone number.
However, it’s easy to see how this service can be misused to stalk people and harass them. Thankfully, all these platforms have a feature that you can use to protect yourself from becoming a victim.
Remove Your Records from the Database
The first step to protect yourself from anyone using people finder services would be to make yourself disappear. No, we’re not telling you to disappear like Harry Houdini. Instead, you can take down your records from third-party websites. It’s possible for you to do this on your own. But do keep in mind that it can be really time-consuming.
The process of doing this will only be available on sites where you can “opt-out” from having your records on the database. On some websites, you can simply opt out of allowing people to find your records, and you would need to submit a request for that.
But sometimes, the company policies require the user to verify their identity by submitting some additional information. Things like a driver’s license, any form of ID with your name, etc. Once your required documents have been verified, your records should be taken down. But make sure to redact or blur out any information that’s not requested before you submit copies of the documents.
Seeking Third-Party Help
But what happens when there’s no option to opt-out? If this happens to be the case, don’t fret. There’s a way out, and that is to seek some outside help.
There are dedicated websites that will help you out with removing your records from people finder websites, and you’ll be charged for this service of course. Compared to the time and effort that you’ll need to spend on it yourself, paying someone to do it is definitely more than worth it.
DeleteMe, Kanary, and OneRep are three of the most trusted services for the job. The success rate is not always 100% as there are regulations and policies these companies must abide by.
For the best experience, it is recommended you look at some reviews on their success against removing information from the people search websites.
Reverse Phone Lookup to Guard Against Stalkers
Another way recommended to use to shield yourself from those who may have found your information on people finder websites is to reverse track the phone numbers that may be harassing you. Oftentimes, stalkers will call you on your phone without revealing their identity. The reverse phone lookup feature really helps identify them.
Some social media sites also have the option to register using a phone number. If someone is harassing you on a social media platform, you can collect the number to look up who exactly is bothering you.
It’s also helpful when you want to protect yourself from fraud. One of the applications that’s a pioneer in this field is Truecaller. The application can be installed for free on your phone. With its help, you will see the name of the person that’s calling you from an unknown number.
The database also allows user cooperation. Anyone with previous experience of being scammed from a phone number can set a name like “Scam Caller” to let other users know.
Keep Yourself Safe
As you can see, there are several ways you can keep your information from being discovered on people finder sites to protect yourself for those who would use the service to harass others. Ultimately, there is a balancing act of allowing yourself to be found by friends, family and others who may be trying to reach you, and keeping your information safe from malicious actors.
