Real stories: being proactive to stop privacy invasion

This blog series features real stories from Onerep users. They highlight just how damaging privacy violations can be along with the consequences and fallout for those affected.

A young woman was stalked online for many years – her stalker impersonated and spammed her relentlessly. A popular graphic design tool suffered a data breach in which 139 million customers’ real names, email addresses, passwords, and physical addresses were exposed. 80,000 credit card users suffered as their credit card details were sold in the dark web chat rooms.

The threat to personal privacy is a serious problem that’s getting worse. Far too often, personal information is collected, traded, and exposed by e-commerce and marketing companies, people-search engines, and shady or criminal actors. These breaches in online privacy can lead to:

• Increased spam and robocalls
• Identity theft and cyber threats instigated by social engineering and hacking practices
• Security threats associated with aggressive behavior on- and offline 

Fortunately, prevention and protection from these threats is what we do at Onerep. We help our customers reclaim their online privacy and rebuild their lives.   

Nancie S. from Brentwood, TN was fed up and exhausted when she came to Onerep looking for help. She shared with us her story.

Nancie’s story

I’m a private person. If someone’s in my life, it’s because I want them there. In 2006, after I discovered there was an incredible amount of my information spread all over the internet, I began the process of opting myself out. A lot of it was information I had forgotten about, like old addresses and contacts, as well as current information like Name, DOB, and the dreaded “May be related to.” I say dreaded because that’s a key way for anyone searching to be sure they’ve found the person they’re looking for. I began getting postcards from people in my past. Mail coming directly to my physical address. I thought, “If they can do this, what will stop them from showing up at my door?” Not good.

So I did some research and started opting myself out. It was a never-ending battle. For every one site I opted out of, 200+ more sites appeared. I started using a popular reputation management site in 2013. At that time, their least expensive plan cost $9.95 a month. They provided links to sites that were exposing personal information, but I still had to opt myself out. It was extremely time-consuming and expensive considering I had to still do the opting out part. I literally felt stressed while trying to get the personal information found, into the opt-out process. Feeling frustrated and unsatisfied, I tried another service. Things went from bad to worse! They auto drafted $12.95 per month but I constantly found my info online. There was no communication, no removal, no nothing. I stayed with them hoping for the best and because I found no other options at that time. After two years, I canceled. Then, all the information I provided to them (exactly) as if copied & pasted, was on the net! It was very obvious they sold it. I felt violated.
I went back to the first provider because they offered additional plans. I desperately wanted an affordable solution that worked. Spending 5K-10K plus annually didn’t feel reasonable to me. I tried a one-year promo discount rate (1 year for 4K). The experience wasn’t worth the money. 

Nearly ready to give up, I found Onerep. They offered affordable solutions that worked. More importantly, they put my mind at ease. I share my story with friends, telling them that Onerep is always on watch, helping me protect my personal information. It’s become a mission for me. My situation has absolutely improved with Onerep! I search myself regularly and actually have a hard time finding myself! The constant stresses of searching and opting out  are over. I feel more at ease knowing that Onerep is helping me keep my private information as private as possible. 

I trust Onerep 100% and appreciate the communication as well as the genuine care and support offered. They’ve taught me that feeling more secure about my personal information and maintaining privacy online doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated. Onerep makes it simple.

Your online privacy is yours to take care of

If you’re concerned that your online privacy is violated and you’re ready to act, Onerep is offering a 5-day trial. We’ll scan the web to identify the sites that expose your personal information, and then initiate automatic removal and monitoring to make sure it doesn’t reappear at a later date. Your information remains private with us.