How To Opt Out of FastPeopleSearch – And Why You Should Do It
FastPeopleSearch is a free, US-based people-search site. It allows anyone with access to the internet to find US residents by searching for their name, address, or phone number. Retrieved records include everything from the person’s email address to details about their home and relatives.
If you’d rather this information wasn’t made so easily available, read on and we’ll tell you how to opt out of FastPeopleSearch.
Why should I remove my info from FastPeopleSearch?
The idea that people-search sites benefit the people contained within them is a myth. It’s far more likely that your contact information will be used by criminals than by the executor of a will leaving you a large inheritance from a recently dead, distant relative.
Scammers need little more than a name and address to trick people, while more detailed information can be used for identity theft. In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission said that it received reports of 1.1 million identity thefts. These crimes are no doubt exacerbated by the ease with which personal information can be obtained online through sites such as FastPeopleSearch.
People-search sites also facilitate harassment and stalking. Victims can be targeted directly, and even through the relatives listed by FastPeopleSearch. Those who’ve changed address to escape abuse can be re-targeted.
If criminals – or the perennially nosy – aren’t satisfied with the information listed for free by FastPeopleSearch, they can pay $3.95 for a full background report. This can include all of the following:
- Email addresses
- Family members and associates
- Assets and properties
- Social media records
- Business records
- Professional licenses
- Deceased indicator
- Arrest records
- Criminal records
- Misdemeanors and felonies
- Registered sex offender check
- Warrants and police records
- Nationwide court records
- Evictions and foreclosures
- Bankruptcies, liens, and judgments
- Speeding tickets
- Addresses and phone numbers
Because FastPeopleSearch is not a consumer reporting agency, the information it provides shouldn’t be used by third parties to make decisions about credit, employment, insurance, housing, or any purpose covered under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
However, in practice, this is difficult to police. It’s easy to imagine situations where landlords screen prospective tenants using FastPeopleSearch, or a company owner uses it to look into the background of a prospective employee.
Ultimately, FastPeopleSearch is shamelessly profiting from your data. You, in turn, get nothing.
How to opt out of FastPeopleSearch
It’s easy to remove your personal information from FastPeopleSearch. Just follow these instructions:
- Go to fastpeoplesearch.com/removal
- Enter your email address, tick the “I agree that I am the subject…” etc. box, solve the Captcha, and click the “BEGIN REMOVAL PROCESS” button.
- Enter your name and address and click “FREE SEARCH”.
- Click “VIEW FREE DETAILS”.
- Click the red “REMOVE MY RECORD” button at the top of the page.
FastPeopleSearch should remove your listing within 24 hours. Search for yourself to confirm that the information has been deleted. If not, contact support by choosing “other” from the drop-down menu on the “Contact Us” page. Or you can write to:
FastPeopleSearch Customer Service
PO Box 55071
Boston, MA 02205-5071
If you get no response, you can make a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Once your data has been deleted, it’s worth periodically checking FastPeopleSearch to ensure that it hasn’t been re-added. If it has, repeat the above process.
How to remove your records from other people-finder sites
FastPeopleSearch is just one of many people-search sites likely to have your records. We’ve already written guides on how to remove yourself from some of the most pervasive companies:
Others you might want to remove your personal information from include:
- Truthfinder
- Spokeo
- Instant Checkmate
- USSearch
- PeopleFinders
- Pipl
- ZabaSearch
Removing your personal information from the internet – as you might be starting to appreciate – is a laborious process. If you’re committed to minimizing your digital footprint, but don’t have the time to trawl through lists of data brokers, you might consider getting a data removal company to do the work for you. There are several options available.
The best service to opt out of people-finder sites
Let’s explore how the best data removal service works in more detail.
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How to opt out of FastPeopleSearch – FAQs
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”How many people does FastPeopleSearch have data on?” answer=”
The FastPeopleSearch website says that it has information on ‘people all across the U.S.’ This, it says, amounts to 16.5 billion records and 800 million people. While we can’t dispute the total number of records it has, the number of ‘unique people’ in its database is a little more problematic.
According to the United States Census Bureau, there were only 258.3 million adults living in the US in 2020. Even if we include children, there are still only 331.4 million – less than half the number FastPeopleSearch claims to have records on.
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[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”How much does a FastPeopleSearch background check cost?” answer=”
You can buy a background report for $3.95, but in doing so you will be signing up for a premium subscription. If you fail to cancel this within three days, you will be billed $29.95 a month. A premium subscription entitles you to 400 searches a month.
FastPeopleSearch offers a five-day trial for $1. Again, if you fail to cancel, you’ll be billed $29.95 a month.
” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”What data does FastPeopleSearch collect when I visit its website?” answer=”FastPeopleSearch says that it uses ‘cookies, beacons, tags and scripts’ to ‘automatically collect certain information’. This includes the device used to access the website and its IP address. FastPeopleSearch also allows third parties to collect your data. This is ‘used to decide which ads you see both on our Applications and on third-party sites and applications.'” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Why do data removal services only work in a few countries?” answer=”People-search sites and other data brokers will only remove your data if they have to. Unfortunately, not every country has the relevant legislation in place to compel them to do it. ‘The right to erasure’ exists in countries such as the EU, the UK, Switzerland, and the US. Incogni is the best option if you live outside the US.” /]]
