Personal Information Posted Online -- And It's Legal!
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It has been well said that there are disturbing things lurking on the world wide web -- not all necessarily perverted -- but, much that citizens might think was private.
I met a woman I'll call 'Paige N.' at a neighborhood park in North Texas. We exchanged pleasantries and she told me her name.
Seconds later, I was able to tell her where she lived, previous addresses, and even information about her parents.
"That's crazy!" exclaimed Paige. "It's just really shocking... that's not something that I thought you would be able to do with just a small bit of information -- find out everything!"
This particular website is called "FamilyTreeNow". Paige initially thought that perhaps she had shared too much on social media. But, operators say they cull information from public sources like census, birth, marriage and death records. And while this information has been available to the public in the past. The internet makes it suddenly accessible with just a quick click. And some say that instant access to information often sacrifices privacy in the process.
"People need to understand that information access is a two way street," said Suku Nair, PhD, a computer science professor at SMU. "You want the convenience of the internet, and that same convenience is available to people who want to take your information and use it against you, or for their own profit."
Dr. Nair is also a University Distinguished Professor and is Director of the AT&T Center for Virtualization. He advises that that whenever possible, ask websites to remove your personal information, read the privacy small print before clicking on those apps, and don't divulge personal information unless absolutely necessary. Still, he warns that privacy lost in the internet world is never regained.
"We set most stuff to private," said Alexis I. "But, these days that doesn't mean a whole lot."
Experts say sadly, Alexis I. is right. Privacy lost in the internet age is never regained. "I can guarantee you, that if they [FamilyTreeNow] got that information, they got it from somewhere else, and somebody else is certainly showing it," said Professor Nair.
So, he said protect your information when you can -- and prepare to adapt. "That train has left," said Professor Nair-- and then adding with a chuckle--but, "make sure the doors are closed so you won't fall off!"
