What the Tech: ‘Stalker’ websites and your personal information

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - No matter how hard you try, it is very difficult to keep some of your personal information off the internet. Even if you don’t use social media, a lot of your information is available for anyone to see with a simple internet search.

We accept that someone, anyone can find us on Facebook. Strangers can see anything you post publicly. But a free tool I found, a website, shows more personal information than you’d ever want your friends to see. And it does this without your permission.

It’s a website called FamilyTreeNow.com. It’s a free tool that finds just about anyone, living or dead. Just by entering their name and city into a search bar. What’s there? You’ll be shocked.

Phone numbers, email addresses, names of family members, addresses of where you live and lived.

The information may go back decades. My search included the address of an apartment I lived in for three months back in 1997. It even showed a picture of it on a map.

Your extended family and acquaintances may include ex-spouses. Or your current spouse’s ex-spouse.

The site is routinely updated. Phone numbers for example were checked and updated less than two months ago.

If you want to spend $30, you can get even more information such as records of tax liens, traffic tickets, and arrests.

The website is set up it says as a “genealogy database” but it can certainly be used by stalkers and fraudsters. So even if you’re not oversharing on social media, the internet does it for you.

You can send the company an email asking that your information be removed from the site, but

from my own personal experience, that isn’t likely. The company isn’t breaking any laws: this is all public information you can find at the courthouse.

The Better Business Bureau did issue an alert about FamilyTreeNow.com but the company responded by saying it allows people to opt out of sharing their information.

We found that in some instances, the information reappears.

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