How to go off the radar

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sc1988

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I just googled my name, and my home address and phone number is everywhere! Im kind of startled that so many websites have such personal info, and it's rather unnerving, being in psychiatry. Any way to quickly and effciently ensure my info isn't readily available to anyone? Are there any services / companies that take care of this sort of thing?
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lol, me too, I suppose the best thing to do is put the house in an S-Corp or something, that may help... also don't register to vote! My plan is to have a compound, build a giant wall around it, have a trench, spotlights, killer dogs, etc... It's gonna be sweeet, assuming my wife lets me do it.
 
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I never considered not registering to vote!

I did consider not buying a house so people looking for trouble can't just look up where I live with the county.

I don't do Facebook. I have enough opportunity to put my foot in my mouth and over share.
I'm pretty sure once stuff is out there online, it's out there pretty much forever. Hopefully it just gets buried in amongst the sheer amount of data on every body.
 
Shikima said:
You know you have arrived if you get a 1 star in psychiatry. Means that you're doing it correctly.

It's inversely proportional....
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Well, that's good, then. I've got a 1 star (1 review). Know exactly who it is. And it's about disability. I was the greatest ever up until that point.
 
When you get mail forwarded, the new address becomes public information (the post office shares it). Next time you move, not forwarding your mail is one step to prevent the address from getting online.

As others have said, voters registration is also public information, so that is another way addresses get online.

Once you buy a house, property appraisers have that info publicly available.

DMV's are not permitted to sell addresses, so that is usually not a concern.


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Did you use your home address for your NPI or state license? Websites will snag that info and spread it like wildfire.


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It's best not to get ON the radar in the first place. For the most part, as a resident, and as a psychiatrist you are probably not going to have people coming after you or stalking you. It does happen though. Remember all of this information is public information so these companies are really not doing anything shady. But they are making money of it. You can pay to have your information removed in some cases.

Things you can do to make yourself less traceable:
1. Buy your property through a trust so your name doesn't show up in the property records
2. use your work address for as many things as you can
3. Get a PO Box and have your mail delivered there
4. Don't put your home address on your driver's license (this information gets breached all the time)
5. Don't have your address publicly listed. you can go to court and have the info with your voter registration delisted. I can tell you judges and DAs do this for obvious reasons and would be sympathetic if you had a good reason
6. Don't use your personal address and telephone number when doing your NPI/medical license etc. Amazing how many students do this.
7. do regular searches for yourself online. you can choose to manage your online presence so less negative stuff comes up about you, but you do so at the risk of encouraging unwanted attention.
 
splik said:
It's best not to get ON the radar in the first place. For the most part, as a resident, and as a psychiatrist you are probably not going to have people coming after you or stalking you. It does happen though. Remember all of this information is public information so these companies are really not doing anything shady. But they are making money of it. You can pay to have your information removed in some cases.

Things you can do to make yourself less traceable:
1. Buy your property through a trust so your name doesn't show up in the property records
2. use your work address for as many things as you can
3. Get a PO Box and have your mail delivered there
4. Don't put your home address on your driver's license (this information gets breached all the time)
5. Don't have your address publicly listed. you can go to court and have the info with your voter registration delisted. I can tell you judges and DAs do this for obvious reasons and would be sympathetic if you had a good reason
6. Don't use your personal address and telephone number when doing your NPI/medical license etc. Amazing how many students do this.
7. do regular searches for yourself online. you can choose to manage your online presence so less negative stuff comes up about you, but you do so at the risk of encouraging unwanted attention.
Click to expand...

Excellent suggestions. What do you suggest as an alternative for the home address on a drivers license?


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splik said:
I actually dont have a driver's license. however i know of psychiatrists who have their work address or a PO Box on their license. I have no idea the ins and outs of this however
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That varies by state, but it is often required to be your domicile. Here in Louisiana they don't care where you can be reached (work address or PO Box), they want to know where the police will find you at 3am. That's why it requires something like a utility bill in your name.

The only way I have gotten out of that requirement was when I lived in a boat or RV, and (for obvious reasons) had to establish a domicile, legally, at a mail forwarding service.
 
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The only reliable thing to do is change your name to that of something common, like "John Smith", as it will make finding the John Smith that is you very difficult to find.

Otherwise, all sorts of information will be public. Your NPI number will always be public, to name one of many things.

I'm not worried about a disgruntled patient finding me. If I pissed someone off that badly, I'll have to put my skills into use to diffuse a situation. Should be easy given the high motivation to succeed. 🙂
 
If people are determined to find you they will. I live in a gated community, have a dog who dislikes intruders, cameras integrated into a home security system, and my Texan physician wife wife taught me how to use our Beretta. Never needed the help of any of the above, but peace of mind is nice.


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chicagochildpsych said:
If people are determined to find you they will. I live in a gated community, have a dog who dislikes intruders, cameras integrated into a home security system, and my Texan physician wife wife taught me how to use our Beretta. Never needed the help of any of the above, but peace of mind is nice.


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Cameras integrated with the mainframe, a dog with likes and dislikes, a barracuda fish, and a Texan physician wife wife.

That is peace of mind.
 
birchswing said:
Cameras integrated with the mainframe, a dog with likes and dislikes, a barracuda fish, and a Texan physician wife wife. When I was in Med school in the Caribbean I snorkeled a lot, the barracudas are remarkably underwhelming....they never attacked once. What a gyp.

That is peace of mind.
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It's too the point it's annoying, but when several patients threaten my life over not refilling xanax or opiates in residency, my wife decided to go all out with security. TBH, it's overkill, but if a sociopath came close to my kids, I would be glad all of the above was in place. When I was in Med school in the Caribbean I snorkeled a lot, the barracudas are remarkably underwhelming....they never attacked once. What a gyp.


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F0nzie said:
Did you use your home address for your NPI or state license? Websites will snag that info and spread it like wildfire.


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Click to expand...

Does the DEA make address publicly available? My DEA certificate apparently was returned despite me putting the right clinic address and I'm thinking about using my home address.
 
PistolPete said:
Does the DEA make address publicly available? My DEA certificate apparently was returned despite me putting the right clinic address and I'm thinking about using my home address.
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I am not yet a licensed psychologist, but when the time comes to get an NPI, I would not risk putting my home address.


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PistolPete said:
NPI has my business address. I was wondering more about DEA, it appears DEA keeps it private.
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They don't make that information public for obvious reasons (obvs they dont want people being able to find your DEA # online!) However your DEA is supposed to have your practice address on it. Incidentally I have found they are useless when it comes to doing the fee exempt DEAs, but when you pay for it magically everything seems to get done quickly. They lost my fee exempt one, just contact them and make sure they have the right address. Also presumably if you're working for DSH next you should get a fee-exempt one, if you put your home address you'd have to pay for it.
 
splik said:
They don't make that information public for obvious reasons (obvs they dont want people being able to find your DEA # online!) However your DEA is supposed to have your practice address on it. Incidentally I have found they are useless when it comes to doing the fee exempt DEAs, but when you pay for it magically everything seems to get done quickly. They lost my fee exempt one, just contact them and make sure they have the right address. Also presumably if you're working for DSH next you should get a fee-exempt one, if you put your home address you'd have to pay for it.
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Makes sense. This is one that I paid for myself in March to renew, which I still haven't received the paper copy for because apparently it was returned to them, despite the correct clinic address :/
 
I was able to google my name and go through each site and de-list my name from each website. It's kind of tedious, but I think I got rid of most of them. I think it's better to be safe and cautious, with regards to personal info; I don't think it's paranoia.
 
sazerac said:
That varies by state, but it is often required to be your domicile. Here in Louisiana they don't care where you can be reached (work address or PO Box), they want to know where the police will find you at 3am. That's why it requires something like a utility bill in your name.

The only way I have gotten out of that requirement was when I lived in a boat or RV, and (for obvious reasons) had to establish a domicile, legally, at a mail forwarding service.
Click to expand...

Similar to this, my state has limitations on the occupations for which they'll de-list personal voter registration information. Mental health professional was not included. Unless you work for a jail/prison or, I think, worker's comp evaluators.
 
I don't think it's paranoid to try to keep your domicile private, although the risk probably varies with the type of work you do. I've been using PO Boxes or private mail services since early in residency and the few times that it's felt important, I've been really glad. Private services (like UPS) tend to work better because it's easier to get packages that way but they're more expensive. The address also lookes like a regular apartment address. State laws vary but here (AK), they let me list a separate mailing and residential address for just about everything- the DMV could track me down if they wanted to, but my license just shows the mailing address. Someone with inside connections could find me easily enough and the house is in my name, but it takes more work to track me down.
 
Maybe my way of viewing the situation is different. At the core I view myself as part of a community--like everyone else, Im a member of multiple communities. One of physicians, gardeners, my yoga community, a neighborhood community(one in which some of my patients live in and ride the same bus time to time), etc. By insulating my home from the Community and viewing it as this private secret domicile I believe that it further separates me from that feeling. Our role as psychiatrists is to sit with people and their suffering, and being part of a shared community helps me do that. Keeping myself walled off, with literal or figurative walls would contribute to a sense of otherness.
 
SourceOfDenial said:
Maybe my way of viewing the situation is different. At the core I view myself as part of a community--like everyone else, Im a member of multiple communities. One of physicians, gardeners, my yoga community, a neighborhood community(one in which some of my patients live in and ride the same bus time to time), etc. By insulating my home from the Community and viewing it as this private secret domicile I believe that it further separates me from that feeling. Our role as psychiatrists is to sit with people and their suffering, and being part of a shared community helps me do that. Keeping myself walled off, with literal or figurative walls would contribute to a sense of otherness.
Click to expand...

That's all well and good, unless you treat people suffering with psychosis who are angry that you held them against their will.


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chicagochildpsych said:
That's all well and good, unless you treat people suffering with psychosis who are angry that you held them against their will.
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The more likely situation, and appropriate thread, should be how to keep oneself safe on an inpatient unit, emergency room, or outpatient clinic. Episodes of patient on physician violence are far more likely to occur at work. When was the last time a psychiatrist was killed at home?

For reference my patient population--I work at a state hospital, correctional jail, in addition to outpatient/hospital inpatient work.
 
I'm looking for an endocrinologist and it turns out there's only one near me, but anyhow when I search her practice has a Facebook page. The doctor posts to the practice's page from her personal account. So I click on her name. EVERYTHING is open (who does that?). I really don't want to have to travel farther to see another doctor, but there are so many dealbreakers. If you want to keep patients away, maybe keep a really open social media profile that would make them not want to see you!

Everyone has a right to their opinion and to choose how open to be about it. In her case, she likes the AHCA and posts articles on how it does not prevent people with pre-existing conditions from getting insurance. I don't even think Republican congresspersons *like* the AHCA. There are a lot of her own patients she doesn't like (doesn't give details . . . just their rude behavior and how the world is going to pot with people's attitudes, mentions patients that take phone calls etc). She can't keep a receptionist and advertises on her personal page how she's looking for someone (for $10/hour) and how she keeps having people leave without giving her notice, and again references the world going to pot. She takes lots of quizzes (what celebrity she is, when she'll die). She falls for a lot of scams (like reposting something in the hopes she'll win $1 million). I know exactly which religion she is (she posts pictures of her pastor). She posts pictures of her daughter that creep me out--like Jon Benet Ramsey creep-out, including one of her 10 year old daughter in a bubble bath and appearing to be in full glam-out make-up (no nudity, but still really weird). Every single picture of her daughter she looks like she's been done up by a mortician, and she's dressed in a really creepy infantile way.

I can't bring myself to see her. The online reviews aren't great either. I just don't understand how someone can be smart and fall for scams. She posted stories about the pope endorsing Trump (whom she obviously voted for).

Frankly, I'm sure I see people I would think are idiots if I saw inside their heads all the time, but I don't know about it without Facebook. In this case, I wish I didn't know.

If you ever have a doubt about your facebook page, look yourself up on someone else's device. Or completely log out and open a different browser and search for yourself.
 
birchswing said:
I'm looking for an endocrinologist and it turns out there's only one near me, but anyhow when I search her practice has a Facebook page. The doctor posts to the practice's page from her personal account. So I click on her name. EVERYTHING is open (who does that?). I really don't want to have to travel farther to see another doctor, but there are so many dealbreakers. If you want to keep patients away, maybe keep a really open social media profile that would make them not want to see you!

Everyone has a right to their opinion and to choose how open to be about it. In her case, she likes the AHCA and posts articles on how it does not prevent people with pre-existing conditions from getting insurance. I don't even think Republican congresspersons *like* the AHCA. There are a lot of her own patients she doesn't like (doesn't give details . . . just their rude behavior and how the world is going to pot with people's attitudes, mentions patients that take phone calls etc). She can't keep a receptionist and advertises on her personal page how she's looking for someone (for $10/hour) and how she keeps having people leave without giving her notice, and again references the world going to pot. She takes lots of quizzes (what celebrity she is, when she'll die). She falls for a lot of scams (like reposting something in the hopes she'll win $1 million). I know exactly which religion she is (she posts pictures of her pastor). She posts pictures of her daughter that creep me out--like Jon Benet Ramsey creep-out, including one of her 10 year old daughter in a bubble bath and appearing to be in full glam-out make-up (no nudity, but still really weird). Every single picture of her daughter she looks like she's been done up by a mortician, and she's dressed in a really creepy infantile way.

I can't bring myself to see her. The online reviews aren't great either. I just don't understand how someone can be smart and fall for scams. She posted stories about the pope endorsing Trump (whom she obviously voted for).

Frankly, I'm sure I see people I would think are idiots if I saw inside their heads all the time, but I don't know about it without Facebook. In this case, I wish I didn't know.

If you ever have a doubt about your facebook page, look yourself up on someone else's device. Or completely log out and open a different browser and search for yourself.
Click to expand...

All excellent points. I deleted my Facebook last year and I don't miss it.


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