It has become alarmingly easy for anyone to lookup personal information about you through your public records available online. More government agencies are providing access to their databases online, so that consumers no longer need to go to a city courthouse to look this information up. There’s a surprising amount of information about you that’s available online, you need to be aware and protect yourself.
To begin with, it’s important to note that use of public information records still ranks low on the totem pole of ID fraud - according to recent survey, the leading cause of identity theft still comes from lost or stolen wallets, or credit card information lost by merchants after in-store transactions.
Which records are public?
Most alarmingly, your Social Security Number might be accessible online. Beyond that, the kinds of information that government sites will post will vary from one state to another. Generally speaking though, court records and real estate records are public nationwide, so any mortgages, leins, criminal proceedings, and other information are all accessible. Apart from that, licensing details with professionals such as lawyers are also available as public record.
Do your research and look up your own public records
Try looking up information on yourself on the web. During your search, you will probably get results for information brokers, who aggregate and resell, or provide without any fee, information on people (including you!). It’s good to know what these services will provide about you.
Pull up your own credit report. These reports include liens and judgments and can be accessed by others through various people search services. You can get your credit report at sites like freecreditreport.com.
You can hire an information broker to help you with this search, or if you don’t have time.
What to do if you find your SSN in a public record
If you do find your SSN listed on a public website, contact the agency of that website immediately to have them take it down. In most instances, it would be an oversight. Some information brokers provide services to help you take down information and opt out of their databases.
