I recently found my name, address and other personal information listed on this Web site called Spokeo.com. How do they get this information and can I delete it?
Although it may seem creepy, Spokeo and similar people-finder databases on the Web claim they get their aggregated data from publicly accessible sources - like phone listings and real-estate records. If you have a public profile on a social-networking site, information may be included as well.
While Spokeo posts a disclaimer at the bottom of a listing page stating that it does not verify the information (and that it should not be used for official purposes like credit scores or eligibility for employment or insurance), you never know who is looking at these things. If you want to remove your name from the database, the company has a removal request form at the bottom of the page here.
You need to paste the URL for your listing into a box on the form, type in the Captcha code on the page and provide an e-mail address for the site to send you a verification message. (You may want to provide a little-used e-mail address or one designated for spam collection here.) Once you verify your request, your Spokeo listing should be removed within one business day. If you still find yourself listed on the site, Spokeo suggests contacting its customer service department for help.
Spokeo is just one of many data-aggregation sites around the Web devoted to people search. Removing yourself from an online database does not remove the information fully from the Internet if it was culled from a public record; it just removes your listing from that particular site.
Still, if you keep finding yourself in these online lookup databases that rank so highly in search listings, you can try requesting removal from each one. The New York Law Thoughts blog has a helpful list of other online databases that you may want to contact about rem oving your information. Commercial services like those at myID.com and Reputation.com offer to do it for you, but for a price.
