You already know not to give out your passwords to anyone, are smart enough not to click on a suspicious link in an email, and sent that toll road scam text straight to your phone’s junk folder. But even the most internet-savvy may still have their private information up on the web—that is, if you don’t take steps to prevent it.
Right now, an invasive website is gathering more personal information about you than you might realize—and it’s happening without your consent. Even worse, it could put you at a serious risk for identity theft, privacy violations and more.
Read on to learn what the website is and how you can have your very personal details removed from public access.
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What’s the invasive website?
You may recall hearing about National Public Data, an employee background check service, after it suffered a major data breach in early 2024. The hack exposed highly sensitive personal data, including full names, dates of birth, social security numbers, mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and other personal data of approximately 170 million people in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. As a result, National Public Data’s parent company, Jerico Pictures Inc., was sued in at least a dozen lawsuits, including three class-action claims, and subsequently filed for bankruptcy in October. It shut down National Public Data in December 2024.
Well, now under new ownership, National Public Data is back online, this time billing itself as a “free people search engine.”
What type of information can be found on National Public Data?
Punch your name and hometown into the National Public Data site, and the search may return your cellphone number, home addresses, age, the name of your spouse and/or relatives and the names of your closest neighbors. That’s not all—if you have a landline, maiden name, traffic tickets or a criminal record, it will be reported there for the world to discover for free.
How is National Public Data able to access that info?
The revamped National Public Data is still a data broker that collects and aggregates public data about people, “including federal, state, and local government agencies, social media pages, property ownership databases, and other reliable platforms,” as it states on the site’s “About us” page.
What could hackers do with that data?
Information about you that’s available on the National Public Data site can be exploited for a variety of fraudulent crimes, warn security experts. “The amount of personal information available on the National Public Data site about individuals—names, phone numbers, email addresses, details about relatives and even neighbors—is a privacy nightmare and creates countless opportunities for misuse,” cautions Karolis Arbaciauskas, head of product at NordPass. “Not only does this raise serious personal-security concerns, but it also gives cybercriminals the ability to craft highly convincing phishing attacks.”
With your phone number and email address, bad actors can send you spam messages—or worse, malware (malicious software) or “phishing” attempts, via text messages, phone calls and emails. Armed with the names of your loved ones, these fraudsters may try to dupe you into believing they’re contacting you from a legitimate organization, such as the IRS, your bank or a credit card company.
In addition, access to your home address increases the risk of home burglaries and other physical threats, especially if you have a vindictive ex-partner who may want to track you down.
How do you remove your records from the site?
While the new company acknowledges the massive security breach of the original version of National Public Data on its website and insists “we have zero affiliation” with the previous company, you should still opt out of having your records included in the site’s search.
“The most important step to reduce your risk of being a victim of cybercrime is to opt out of the National Public Data site,” confirms Arbaciauskas. “If you locate your information there, submit a removal request immediately.”
The site allows you to remove your information through an opt-out form. Here’s how to have your information removed:
- Find your personal profile on nationalpublicdata.com, and copy its unique URL. It will be something like: nationalpublicdata.com/people/john-smith/ny/new-york.
- Paste the profile URL into the submission box, then click the “Request Removal” button.
- To complete the process, enter your email and follow the final steps provided to confirm your request.
“Still, your data might already be in the hands of criminals [through National Public Data or other data breach], so always be wary of unsolicited emails and messages, even if they seemingly are from legit sources, like your bank or even the police,” adds Arbaciauskas. “If you receive such messages, be extremely careful because links can lead to pages that are designed to steal even more of your data. If you are not sure about an email or message, it’s always better not to click on the link.”
Most importantly, if you think you’ve been contacted by a scammer, “keep calm,” says Arbaciauskas. “Cybercriminals prey on confusion and ignorance. They try to scare people, hoping that victims will act on emotion. Don’t do that.”
RELATED:
- How to Tell If Your Computer Has Been Hacked
- What Is Phishing? Spot It to Avoid Scams
- What Can Someone Do with Your Email Address Without a Password?
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Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of articles on personal technology, including tips, tricks and shortcuts for getting the most out of computers, televisions, smart home gear, smartphones, apps, texting, social media and more. We rely on credentialed experts with personal experience and know-how as well as primary sources including tech companies, professional organizations and academic institutions. We verify all facts and data and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. For this piece, Marc Saltzman tapped his 30-plus years of experience as a technology journalist, the author of several books and the host of the syndicated Tech It Out radio show and podcast to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Bloomberg Law: “Bloomberg Law: Court Dockets”
- Malwarebytes: “National Public Data returns after massive Social Security Number leak”
- National Public Data Breach Incident: “Security Incident – National Public Data”
The post You Need to Remove Your Personal Info from This Invasive Website ASAP—Here’s How appeared first on Reader's Digest.
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