Finding people and information is easier than ever. Dozens of People Search sites now offer your information about people for free or a small fee.
Suzanne Kantra founder of "Techlicious" says most of information found on their sites is public knowledge.
"It can range from everything from close relatives to distant relatives, roommates your birthday. "If you put that all together you can put together a very complete profile of somebody" said Kantra.
Kantra says many of these people search sites use your information to create lists of people that can be used by advertisers and marketing. “There's a lot of value in personal information," said Kantra.
But the good news is you can take steps now to protect your identity, "If you’re walking down the street and introducing yourself to a stranger ...what would you be willing to tell that person? Thinking about what information you want people to have and then ensuring that any type of social media platform that you use you make sure that your personal data is private," said Kantra.
And read the fine print, It's not just social media it's any social media account you sign up for.. Makes sure you read the privacy policy and know how that information will be transferred if it's a small company and they bought by a larger company what's going to happen to that information”, said Kantra.
Click here for resources on opting out.
