Make Your Personal Info Private Again

We already know that the internet offers an unbelievable amount of information.  Even information about you, that you didn’t necessarily know was out there.  Keeping yourself safe from identity thieves means making sure this information isn’t so easily available.  The less they know about you, the less they can use against you, so here’s a guide to making your presence smaller on the internet.

Start out by searching your name on Google.  Google is the biggest search engine, and that is a great starting point.  Make note of what pops up, that you wish wouldn’t.  Also try Microsoft’s Bing, as that is slowly becoming one of the new search engine giants.  They can offer unique information about where your personal stats can be found online.

From there you can submit removal requests to Google, to ask them to take down content you are opposed to having listed.  This means personal information regarding your full name, address, phone number, etc.  In most cases they are willing to oblige, although in some cases they may refuse.

The next tactic is to use a different surname on social networking sites like Facebook.  These are a haven for identity thieves to learn enough about you to steal your identity.  Make it difficult for them by not posting your full name, or phone number.  Also make sure you aren’t tagged in any photos with your full name showing, to ensure once again that an id thief’s task is all the harder.

Finally, you can create a Google alert on your name.  This means Google will send you an email every time a new website is added to the search engine that directly mentions your name.  After you’ve cleared the entries you don’t want on the site, this is a good way to keep track of future occurrences.