Education
Welcome to Alerts.com
We provide a solution to help you regain control of your online privacy. Identify who has access to your personal information, what data they have, and what they are using it for. We're passionate about helping our customers protect their personal information and are experts in protecting your privacy by informing you when your data has been accessed! Alerts.com serves as your first line of defense to protect your privacy. Although we don't know every time a consumer's name is sold, we do monitor tens of millions of consumer transactions per month.
Personal Data vs. Personal Identifiable Information
There are two main types of information that companies collect from consumers—personal data and personally identifiable information (PII). Both are primarily used to collect payment information and other relevant data from customers. However, it's important to be cautious of what type of information you give out so you can do everything possible to protect the safety and security of your data and avoid identity theft.
Personal Data
The General Data Protection Regulation defines personal data as any information that is used to directly or indirectly identify a person. A few examples of personal data include:
- Age
- Religion
- Economic Status
- Race
Personal Identifiable Information (PII)
Your PII is at risk when a company you do business with suffers a data breach and your information is exposed to a 3rd party. Keep yourself informed as to who has your information so you're prepared if your data is compromised.
- Full Name
- Email Address
- Social Security Number
- Driver's License Number
- Bank Account Number
- Credit Card Number
- Passport Number
Most Frequently Asked Questions
View moreThere is no federal data protection legislation in the United States. However, in California, a business has 45 days to remove you from its list after you have made the request. Many other states may remove consumers from a database, but it is not yet the law.
If you are a California resident, report any violations of the law to the Attorney General. At this time, only the state of California can assess penalties for a business not removing your information as requested.
Both of our plans provide instant notifications when a business has received your personal information and gives you the option to request removal or deletion from their list. The main difference is the number of emails you can add to our notification service.
A complete list of features offered for both of our pricing plans can be found on our Notification Services Page.
There are a few situations in which you won’t be able to request removal from a list when businesses are in compliance with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
This includes instances when a business or service provider needs access to your personal information in order to complete the transaction they originally collected that personal information for (providing you with goods or services), or in order to complete a contract between you and that business.
Your data is collected using your social media accounts, web browser history, shopping habits, and your location using GPS tracking, to name a few. It’s shocking just how much of your personal information businesses can access without your knowledge. Once they have access to that data, they can sell it to advertisers without you ever knowing this has happened to you! Alerts.com allows you to take back your privacy and see exactly who has access to your data.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) refers to private information that is specific to you. Some examples of PII include your social security number, health insurance enrollment ID, and credit card number since these are all personally identifiable to you.
Personal information is not specific to you—it also identifies others. This includes your age, religion, or economic status.
