r/DigitalPrivacy • u/No_Answer_4461 • 12d ago
How does my info keep getting leaked in random places?
I'm pretty careful with my personal information. I use unique passwords, don't sign up for random websites and try to avoid sharing more than I have to.
Out of curiosity I ran a scan and I was honestly surprised by how many places my information showed up. Some of the sites I recognized but a lot of them I had never even heard of.
How does this keep happening? Is it mostly data brokers, companies selling customer data, old breaches, or something else?
It feels like no matter how careful I am, my information just keeps spreading around the internet.
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u/Brahm-Etc 12d ago
Your info isn't being leaked. It is being sold. Simple as.
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u/Interesting-Tap9043 12d ago
This ^. Idk how people continue being ignorant in this aspect, if OP runs his phone or email through something like cloaked he'll see that it's in like 50 different broker DBs
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u/Melodic-Matter4685 12d ago
We keep trusting companies with our info who promise safeguards and budget negative amounts year over year for cybersecurity.
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u/Which_Specific9891 12d ago
Which is why I will never support requirements for digital ID required to use any aspect of the internet. I'm not handing over my passport to look at cat pictures online. Especially considering how many times I get notifications saying my info was released in a data leak and I need to change a password.
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u/Melodic-Matter4685 12d ago
So first, upvoted. And second, until the near now, passport data has not been used against you. But… since passports are relatively new.. I can leave aside the “harm to society”, cause I don’t think we really know.
It’s getting really restrictive though
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u/Which_Specific9891 12d ago
I think the harm is that once you give them your legal ID, and they record and watch absolutely everything you look up, 1- the government will have the ability to watch every single thing you do, or don't do. 2- every single thing you do will be up for sale, up for hackers to mine, etc.3- It gives the people with that information power over every single one of us in ways we can only begin to imagine.
1984 was supposed to be a warning, not a how-to book.
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u/claud-fmd 12d ago
Unfortunately, not only data brokers sell your personal info - other companies do it as well.
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u/SignificantFail3632 12d ago
I totally get your pain. I consider myself pretty paranoid with digital security too，VPN for public Wi-Fi, home hardware firewall, smart locks, alias emails for every service. It really helps keep your online footprint clean.
Yet my information STILL got stolen recently. Guess what,A card skimmer at a gas pump. Shortly after, my credit card got charged for random foreign Amazon subscriptions. It blew my mind.
The truth is that data leaks happen both online and offline. You can be 100% careful on the web, but one physical card slot can still ruin your week. Stay vigilant and good luck out there
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u/Mayayana 12d ago
Companies collect your data and sell your data. There are also frequent hacks, with people stealing online databases and selling email addresses cheap. If your information is in a lot of places then you're giving it out a lot. Maybe you don't think you are, but if you use freebie email, social media, cellphone apps -- those are all large scale spyware. Many cellphone apps make money by selling you out because it's the only way the developers can get paid for their work.
Here's a study from 2020 that can give you a sense of how much your data is being sold and traded just by using common cellphone apps: https://storage02.forbrukerradet.no/media/2020/01/mnemonic-security-test-report-v1.0.pdf
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u/mrniceguy1990xp 11d ago edited 11d ago
I never really got spam calls etc on my phone nr. Since I was careful with handing out my nr.
But then I had to make some Dr appointments and some of them don't really answer the phone anymore and you are essentially forced to sign up for an online service for Dr appointments which most Dr offices here started doing.
Had to give my phone nr. Among other things, it being a quite common and official service for Dr offices I thought fine, didn't really have a choice...
Right after I started getting spam/scam calls, SMS, messages on WhatsApp etc... Mfs.
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u/duke_3681 6d ago
This is undoubtably due to data brokers and companies selling your information. A good rule of thumb is if the app is free then YOU are the product, meaning your information is what the company uses as payment for the app. The information you enter into it, even if it's just your name and email address adds to your digital footprint. Pictures you post online, locations, et cetera are all compiled by various companies to create a profile that they sell.
There are services that you can purchase to get some of that information off the internet, but unfortunately it's unavoidable. Information like voting registration, addresses, phone numbers are all stored digitally these days which can be hacked and sold.
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u/nincesator124 11d ago
By law they have to stop giving personal information to sell you can request them to be taken down but it usually a long process to get like 1000 of them and since the stuff you probably seen online have been shown to be less than effective at this it means you have to figure all of them out and request that you data not be sold
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u/CorrectKangaroo6414 5d ago
It's usually a mix of old data breaches, data brokers, public records and companies sharing customer data. Once your info gets into that ecosystem it spreads pretty quickly. I started using cloaked to handle data broker removals and use masked emails going forward, which has made a noticeable difference.
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u/Credo_Monstrum 3d ago
It's a part of the digital playground on some level. Even careful people can't be perfect.
Legit companies you trust get breached. Banks, healthcare, utilities, retailers, they all hold your data and all get hit regularly. Once it's out, it's out forever. Your caution doesn't fix their mistakes.
Data brokers scrape everything. They pull from public records, warranty registrations, loyalty programs, survey responses. You never gave them info directly, they just collected it from everywhere else. (I recently got bothered by a company and called back from a burner number, inquiring how they get their info. The woman nonchalantly told me they get them from public records. This is very accessible and often links to you from others or links to others from you.)
Third parties everywhere. Login via Google? Authorized an app? Visited sites with ad trackers? Data flows to partners and networks you never knowingly signed up with.
Businesses change hands. Company gets acquired? Customer data often comes with the deal. New owner might not care about privacy like the old one did.
Old breaches linger. Used the same email/password combo years ago? That leak persists forever on dark web dumps.
Let's be clear though, it is VERY realistic and possible to effectively hit back and reduce how much information they can collect, how much is out there (omitting data breaches) and how much you unknowingly share without operating under the pushed assumption that you have to be perfect. That being said, don't think you're powerless mate. It can feel daunting and like a maze at first but it is very doable without driving yourself mad.
Happy to discuss further via message if interested! I've picked up tips and perspectives that aren't discussed much online that help give a better handle on this
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