In this modern age, it’s easier to hide behind a fake identity online than ever before. People do so to protect themselves, scam people, or separate their online lives from their real personal lives. Unfortunately, this makes it easier for hackers and scammers to scam people online, which is why tools such as people search websites exist to protect people. Keep reading to learn about people search websites and their features!
What Are People Search Services?
People search services are websites that gather and sell personal information to those who wish to purchase it. They gather data from all over the internet, including local and federal records, social media accounts, public forums, and even private companies. There is little data safe from people search services, which often leads to ethical concerns.
People Search Services as a Verification Tool
The good news is that people search services can be used to verify people in your everyday life. The main information people search websites gather and use to verify people is:
- Name
- Previous Names
- Aliases
- Age
- Gender
- Current and Previous Addresses
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Marital status and divorce records
- Family Members
- Social media profiles
- Occupation
- Education
- Property records
- Criminal and civil records
With such a huge amount of information available, if you are looking to verify someone and confirm that they are who they claim to be, it can be extremely easy to do so.
People Search Services and Fraud Protection
There are several ways people search services can help protect you against fraud. Since they provide so much information, you can use them to check out whether or not someone contacting you is actually who they say. Some examples of ways people search services can protect you are found below:
- Protection against romance scams on dating sites
- Verification of the source and legitimacy of random phone calls
- Verification of requests from unknown accounts on social media
- Verification of emails from unknown people
People search services aggregate and provide access to public records and personal information through online platforms, which can be leveraged to protect against fraud by enabling individuals and organizations to verify identities and backgrounds. By inputting names, addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses into these services, users can retrieve detailed information about individuals, including their past addresses, known associates, and court records. This capability is crucial for verifying the legitimacy of people one may interact with online or in the real world.
For identity verification, these services help in confirming if the personal details provided by an individual match the information held in public records. This is particularly useful in scenarios where identity theft or impersonation is a concern. By cross-referencing the information obtained from a people search service with the details provided by a person, inconsistencies can be spotted, potentially indicating fraudulent activity.
Background checks conducted through people search services can uncover a history of fraudulent behavior, legal issues, or other red flags that might not be disclosed voluntarily. Access to criminal records, civil litigation histories, and other legal documents through these services provides a comprehensive view of an individual’s past behavior, which can be indicative of their trustworthiness and reliability.
In the digital age, where catfishing and online scams are prevalent, these services offer a mechanism for verifying the authenticity of online acquaintances before engaging in financial transactions or sharing sensitive information. By ensuring the person on the other end of an online interaction is who they claim to be, individuals can significantly reduce their risk of falling victim to online fraud.
List of Popular People Search Websites
Many people search sites exist that you can use, but not all of them will give you good information. While many will provide you with some basic information, they will often overcharge for a lower amount of actual information. Some of the best people search websites will provide you with accurate information:
- TruthFinder
- Instant Checkmate
- PeopleFinders
- Spokeo
- Intelius
- BeenVerified
- Social Catfish
The Ethical Concerns of People Search Services
While most sites will charge people for a single report on someone, some use a subscription-based system, while others hand out information free with ads. All of this means that one way or another, anyone can purchase your personal data and use it for their own needs.
Police often use them and private investigators when compiling information on someone that would be difficult to find otherwise. However, they are not the only people who use these sites, as they are open to anyone. This means hackers and scammers can also access your information and use it to breach your privacy. The good news is that you can have your information removed from sites like this by using a data broker removal service.
What are Data Broker Removal Services?
A data broker removal service specializes in identifying and removing personal information from the databases and websites of data brokers. Data brokers are companies that collect, analyze, and sell personal information about individuals, often without their consent. This information can include names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more detailed data such as shopping habits, social media activity, and other online behaviors.
The removal service works by first identifying the data brokers that hold an individual’s personal information. This is a challenging task as there are hundreds of data brokers, each with different methods of data collection and storage. Once identified, the service then proceeds to request the removal of the individual’s information from these brokers. This process usually involves navigating through legal and technical procedures outlined in privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, which provide legal grounds for the removal of personal data under certain conditions.
The technical aspect of a data broker removal service involves using automated tools to scan data broker databases for personal information and submit removal requests en masse. However, because each data broker has unique submission requirements, manual intervention is often necessary to ensure compliance with these requirements and to handle any follow-up communication.
To maintain the effectiveness of the removal, these services often offer ongoing monitoring and re-removal services. This is because data brokers continuously collect new data, meaning personal information can reappear after it has been removed. Ongoing monitoring services scan data broker databases regularly to ensure that once personal information is removed, it stays removed.
List of Data Broker Removal Services
- DeleteMe
- Optery
- Onerep
- Incogni
- Kanary
- DeleteMe vs Kanary
2024 Data Sources
- https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-people-search-sites-sell-your-information
- https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-says-truthfinder-instant-checkmate-deceived-users-about-background-report-accuracy-violated-fcra
- https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/21/2023-05670/request-for-information-regarding-data-brokers-and-other-business-practices-involving-the-collection