Have you ever signed up for a new website and then all of a sudden started getting emails from businesses and service providers you had never heard of? If so, there is a very good chance that your data has been sold.
These days, selling your information to data brokers and other interested parties can bring in a lot of money for businesses because data is a valuable commodity. Although this unwanted spam is bothersome, don't worry.
We'll demonstrate how to avoid spam and shady websites in this article. The following method also works with Outlook and iCloud if you don't use Gmail.
How to identify the parties selling your data
Your personal Gmail address includes numerous versions, which you might not be aware of yet. You can alter your address by simply prefixing "@gmail.com" with a "+" and a word or number. All email sent to this new variation will still arrive in your mailbox as usual.
This technique makes it very simple to find out how and by whom your data has been shared. Almost too wonderful to be true? We'll explain that it's actually quite easy.
You must enter your email address when signing up for an online service, store, or other website. By employing this method, you can replace your original Gmail address with a "+" followed by the name of the service or website.
For instance, you can log in using "dennis+firma1@gmail.com" rather than "dennis@gmail.com". You'll be able to pinpoint precisely who they may have given your data to while still receiving all emails from that provider or service to your regular mailbox.
Therefore, if you join with "Firma1" and shortly after, receive spam emails from companies 2, 3, and 4 that you have never heard of or registered with, you can easily pinpoint the offender. You'll notice your email address under "To" if you open one of these scam emails in your inbox.
In this case, if it reads "dennis+firma1@gmail.com," you may be certain that this provider has sold your data to company 2, which is currently spamming you. Just unsubscribe and remove these spam emails from your inbox to quickly fix this.
Companies exploiting loopholes
Yes, under very rare scenarios, businesses are allowed to sell specific data; email address trading is particularly common. Generally, by adopting a service's or website's privacy policy, you intentionally or unknowingly consent to the transfer of your data to third parties.
Due to the notice being buried in the statement and the fact that most people don't read it all the way through, this happens frequently to users.
The aforementioned technique is thus especially suitable for determining which service—whether with or without your knowledge—discloses your address information to other parties.
