Be wary of a new websites that makes it very easy for literally anyone to get your personal information. There are numerous websites that offer this information but one of the newest and easiest is FamilyTreeNow.com. In a couple of clicks you can find out virtually anything you would like to know about someone including their address, phone number and possible relatives. The amount of information listed on these sites is scary and makes you a perfect target for identity theft. The sad part about it is that it is perfectly legal for these sites to post this information because it is considered public information. There are somethings you can do about it though. Here are some tips we took from the article from Cyber Security experts with the LAPD.
1) Send mail to a box rental service that lets you use a street address over a P.O. box number (since no one will believe you actually live where a P.O. box number is located)
2) Buy property through a blind trust if you can, so your name isn't linked to where you live. The downside is this is very expensive, and it also can make selling your property more challenging.
3) Give out a Google voice number instead of your actual cell phone number.
4) Opt out of information gathering websites.
Here are the opt-out pages for a few of them:
FamilyTreeNow.com: https://www.familytreenow.com/optout
Intelius.com: https://www.intelius.com/optout.php
LexisNexis.com: https://www.lexisnexis.com/privacy/directmarketingopt-out.aspx
WhitePages.com: https://premium.whitepages.com/help#about
Spokeo.com: http://www.spokeo.com/opt_out/new
411.info: https://411.info/manage/
ZoomInfo.com: http://www.zoominfo.com/lookupEmail
PeopleSmart.com: https://www.peoplesmart.com/optout-go
BeenVerified.com: https://www.beenverified.com/f/optout/search
PeopleFinder.com: http://www.peoplefinder.com/optout.php
If you need assistance with any of these steps, please feel free to call the office to make an appointment and we will be happy to assist you.
