Urban Dictionary defines Doxxing as personal information leaked by a third party. Internet has made this world a small place for real. This small place has also paved a path for Doxxers to harass people who are a part of the internet culture. May it be your mail or your social networking profile or your online banking form or gaming, for that matter, everybody out there wants to know about your whereabouts and other credentials. Each one of them out there would put on an innocent face and would claim to safeguard your credentials, but you know better!
So what do I do? How do I safeguard my credentials? Doxxers are gonna Dox. And then, there are myriads of data brokers out there who are ready to part with MY details at the sight of money. Educating the uneducated- data brokers are platforms which provide services to people, okay, make that wrong people! These wrong people or Doxxers approach the data brokers (which can be both paid and free) who keep tabs on your every move. How? Public directory, social networking, bank forms and let me not name the rest, lest, your blood sugar level hit an all time low.
But, it is illegal! So are a lot other things. While there are people out there who are doing their best to stop these Doxxers at work but, these people are not sufficient enough. It is your own information lying out in the open and it is you who should take up the charge and safeguard it instead.
How? Fill up an opt out form instead.
But they too ask me for my credentials. Yes, they would. Experts suggest the creation of a new email id just for the purpose of filling out the opt-out form. Once you fill out the form, you should receive a confirmation mail (check spam, in case, you don’t find it in your inbox).
Where to head to fill this form?
You will find the remedy to this malady closer to the malady. Meaning- fill these forms out on platforms which are used by the Doxxers themselves. A common thing to do on all these platforms is to search for self and in case, you come across your own credentials fill out an opt-out form. Here’s a list of few places to head to-
1. Spokeo
2. Pipl
3. Zoominfo
4. Whitepages
5. PeopleSmart
6. CheckPeople
7. BeenVerified
10. ZabaSearch
11. PeekYou
13. US Search
All said and done, know this – nothing is permanent. These sites in future might use a new set of information about you which comes pouring in.Therefore, be always careful of what you share and where you share.
