Opt-Out Tuesday: How to remove your info from FamilyTreeNow

People search sites collect your information from publicly available sources and offer it to anyone interested, including thieves and scammers. There are countless sites like this. So, how do you protect your data? You need to remove it.

In this edition of my Opt-Out Tuesday series, let’s remove your data from FamilyTreeNow.

Avoid people search sites at all costs, especially if it costs you

Don’t ever pay for any people search service. Most of these sites are scammy in nature. You may think you’re paying for one report and find that you’ve been roped into recurring charges.

When you go to opt out, be careful which links you click. The buttons on these sites are often ads that lead you to another site that requests payment.

Do you have older relatives who may not know about these sites? While you’re opting out yourself, why not do the same for them? Just type in their information as you would your own, and follow our steps to completion.

PSA: There’s an easier way

Below I’ll give you the steps to remove yourself from FamlyTreeNow, but that’s just one of hundreds of such sites. If you want to knock them all out in one go, check out Incogni.

Incogni does all that hard work for you. It took me three minutes to go through the sign-up process, then they get to work removing you from 180+ sites. You don’t have to lift a finger after that initial setup. So great.

I have a special deal just for you. Right now, get 60% off an annual subscription using code KIM60.

Not very family-friendly

Tracing your genealogy was all the rage a few years ago, and business is still booming for sites like Ancestry and 23andMe. However, the rise of data breaches and loose privacy practices have hopefully made people more careful about where they share their information.

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Opt-Out Tuesday: How to remove your info from Radaris

People search sites have been around for a while. They provide information on more than just phone numbers. You can find public records on anyone without having much to go on but their name. That’s what makes them so scary.

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There’s no fun in these funerals: Scammers are creating 24/7 fake funeral livestreams on Facebook and tricking people into handing over their credit card info. They use real photos and details about a person who’s passed, then they ask for a card “to verify your location” and secretly set you up for recurring payments.

Budgeting tip: An easy way to slash your monthly charges

Your dollars don’t go as far these days. Sure, things are more expensive, but “buy now” buttons and shiny new services add up much faster than we’d like to believe. It’s no surprise that subscription-based business models are so popular.

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Why you should reconsider using buy now, pay later loans

If you have an ongoing subscription service, the easiest way to pay is to set up an autopay plan. If you’re worried about late fees and interest, autopay is one way to avoid those penalties.

While you may be tempted to spread autopayment plans around, some recurring charges are better off being paid as you go. For example, an annual fee may cost less per month than a monthly charge, but it could hit you hard when that annual payment comes due. Tap or click here for five bills you should never put on autopay.

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