Spokeo.com Has Some Computer Users Spooked

Ever since its public launch, which was celebrated with champagne by its Stanford University founder, Spokeo.com has sent a shiver down the spines of web users all around the country.

The site was designed to give you information about anyone by just entering simple facts, like a name, e-mail address or phone number.

It gets that information from any database it can. including sites like Facebook, Twitter and others, and it combines it all into one report, listing addresses, phone numbers and even a street-level view of your house.

Most of the information is correct. Some is not.

We decided to test it with the name Barack Obama.

It found one in Washington, D.C., but he lived at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue. The last time we checked, the address was 1600.

If we wanted to to pay $2.99 a month we could see pictures of the family, find out his wealth status, and a lot more.

If the president’s information is off, your information may be, too.

Two class action lawsuits have been filed, so far, against Spokeo, saying the website delivers inaccurate information. One was thrown out.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

It all comes down to the privacy settings on your social media site, since that’s the source of a lot of the site’s information.

Lock it down, or anyone can look at your house through their computer screen, their window to the world.

To remove yourself from Spokeo.com, click here.