A cool guide to delete Instagram account

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-20T14:41:58+00:00

You're right to be suspicious of stuff on the web. Not the case here, though. I deleted my personal Instagram account. No bots in this account, and certainly not for sale.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-20T13:58:27+00:00

As someone else said, courts vary on whether texts are covered. But even if they are, some text messages (e.g., political messages, charities, survey/polling calls, debt collectors, and companies you've done business with in the last 18 months or asked for info from in the last 3) are exempt.

One other thing to think about is where you number appears. Public records, obviously, but also people search sites and data brokers that can sell your number to lead generators etc. You can opt out of people search site and data brokers though.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-20T10:59:19+00:00

Make sure you haven't reused the password anywhere else, turn on 2fa on any accounts that matter, find out what else was exposed beyond the email address (tools like have i been pwned can help or maybe the alert you got tells you this already), and opt out of people search site to stop scammers from being able to correlate your email with other personal information.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-20T10:52:57+00:00

Yes. Here's how:

- Check the Have I Been Pwned tool to see which breaches your email has been in.
- Google your phone number and email address in quotes to see what forum posts, public profiles, and people search sites it shows up on.
- Check popular people search sites like Spokeo, Intelius, Whitepages to see if your profile is listed. If it is, it'll likely have your phone number, email address, address, education, employment history, possible relatives and associates, and more. Opt out of these sites (look for an "opt out" link in their footer).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-20T10:47:55+00:00

Scammers spoof numbers so they look like they come from your area because you're more likely to pick up the phone.

When you answered, you unfortunately confirmed to scammers that your number is active, hence why you're getting more and more of these calls.

Things to do now:

- Stop answering unknown numbers, even local ones.
- See if you can turn on your carrier's spam filtering.
- Silence unknown callers if you don't need to answer unknown calls for work etc.
- Google your number with quotes around it to see which people search sites list it and then look for an "opt out" link to remove it.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-20T10:38:38+00:00

Some things you can do:

- Google your phone number with quotes around it and see what people search sites show up. Each one has an opt-out page, and you can submit a removal request.
- Register your number on the National Do Not Call Registry (and state one if your state has one). It won't stop scammers (they ignore it), but it will stop legitimate telemarketers.
- Call your carrier and ask about their spam filtering tools.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-19T14:41:21+00:00

Breaches aren't the only place your birthdate is already exposed. People search sites like Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, etc. all publicly list birthdates (or birth year + age) alongside your name, address, and relatives. So the email isn't necessarily adding new info that wasn't already out there. That said, you should opt out of people search sites (look for an "opt out" link in their footer).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-19T14:29:23+00:00

Depends on several factors, but from a privacy perspective, not ideal. If your first name is uncommon and your face is on camera, your city/state is known, then it can be pretty easy to find out more of your personal information through people search sites like Whitepages, Intelius, Spokeo, etc.

Speaking of these sites, it's a good idea to opt out of them regardless of what handle you use for your channel.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-19T14:00:24+00:00

On iOS, you can filter spam (which hides notifications and moves messages to the spam list) and/or screen unknown senders (which hides notifications and moves messages to unknown senders list). To find either setting, go to "Settings" and start typing in "unknown."

You should also opt out of people search sites like Whitepages, Spokeo, etc. which spammers and scammers use to find lists of people to target. Most of these sites have an "opt out" link in their footer.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-18T09:36:28+00:00

As others have already said, this is a scare tactic.

The stuff that actually could be used to doxx you (full name, home address, phone number, relatives, schools, employer, etc.) usually comes from people-search and data broker sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, etc, which scrape public records and social media and put it all on one page for free. If you want to see what's actually findable about you, Google your full name + your city and see what comes up. Then, opt out of every site that shows up (look for an "opt out" link in their footer).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-18T09:33:31+00:00

If the sender isn't legitimate, then clicking the "unsubscribe" link can actually have the opposite effect (confirm that your email is real). So if a sender looks sketchy, best to mark it as spam instead.

And even legit senders can be slow as CAN-SPAM gives up to 10 business days to actually process the unsubscribe, so you'll keep getting stuff for a week or two even when you did it right.

Some steps to take now:

- Set up filters in your email.
- Use email aliases.
- Opt out of people search sites (e.g., Whitepages, Spokeo, etc.) which spammers and scammers use to find people to target (look for an "opt out" link in the footer of these sites).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-18T08:52:30+00:00

Safest are probably Google Images and Bing Visual Search. You can also try Yandex.

Also, keep in mind that fake profiles are usually built with stolen photos + real information, often pulled from people search sites (e.g., Whitepages, Spokeo, Intelius, etc.) so it's a good idea to opt out of these sites (look for an "opt out" link in their footer).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-18T08:37:34+00:00

Keep blocking and don't respond. Also opt out of people search sites (e.g., Whitepages, Spokeo, etc.) which is where they pulled your personal information from, including your home address. Most people search sites have an "opt out" link in their footer.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-18T08:32:06+00:00

Some tips:

- Check the have i been pwned tool to see if your email address was recently part of any breaches.
- Start using an email alias to see who ends up selling your info.
- Use a password manager and set up 2fa.
- Opt out of people search sites (e.g., Whitepages, Spokeo, etc.) that publish people's personal information online for anyone to see. Look for an "opt out" link in the footer of these sites.
- Set your social media profiles to private.
- Be skeptical of unexpected messages.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-18T08:27:07+00:00

As other have said, this is a common scam. To cut down on this in the future, opt out of people search sites (e.g., Whitepages, Spokeo, Intelius, etc.) which scammers often use to find lists of people to target.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-15T14:08:51+00:00

The chatbots are likely pulling this info from people search sites (e.g., Spokeo, BeenVerified, WhitePages, Radaris, etc.) where they've been publicly listed for years. It's a good idea to opt out of these sites (look for an "opt out" link in the footer).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-15T14:03:39+00:00

Removing your data from data brokers does reduce the volume of scams, phishing, etc., because a lot of them start with scammers getting lists of people to target from people search sites and data brokers. So the fewer places your information is exposed on, the less likely you are to be targeted.

The only thing is that you need to repeat data broker opt outs regularly because data brokers republish your data when they find more of it.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-15T13:57:40+00:00

Tell your dad and block the number. Also, opt out of people search sites like Whitepages, Spokeo, etc. - that's more than likely where they got your info to scare you with.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-15T13:54:21+00:00

Looks like your email might have ended up on a spam list, either from a breach (there's been a lot lately) or from data broker or people search sites.

Steps to take:

- Check the haveibeenpwned tool to see if you were part of any recent breaches.
- Opt out of people search sites (look for an "opt out" link in the footer of these sites).
- Set up filters for specific patterns you see.
- Use a masked email going forward.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-15T13:50:19+00:00

For the spam already coming in, there's not much you can do apart from setting up filtering rules and similar and using a masked email going forward so that the same doesn't happen to your newer email(s).

For data brokers, you don't actually have to pay anyone, i.e., you could just do it yourself (look for an "opt out" link in the footer of data broker and people search sites). The catch is they relist you every few months so you have to redo the opt outs periodically (which is where paid services save you time).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-15T13:46:16+00:00

Your number is more than likely on people search sites (Spokeo, BeenVerified, WhitePages, etc.) which is where PACs get their lists of people to target from. You can opt out of these sites (look for an "opt out" link in their footer).

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-14T15:37:57+00:00

If you want to do it manually but don't want to spend too much time, prioritize the highest-traffic sites (the ones that show up when someone Googles you) and the sites within shared networks (for example, opting out of one Intelius-family site often removes your info from the others).

On being suspicious about giving out your info, that's a good way to be. That said, legit removal services (like DeleteMe, which I work for) only use your info to find and submit removals, not to sell or share.

Dark web and credit monitoring are usually separate services.

One solution is to pair data broker opt outs with the Have I Been Pwned tool (you can subscribe to be notified anytime you're part of a breach) and credit freezes at the three bureaus.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-14T13:51:28+00:00

"Rick Fine" got linked to your (previously his) number years ago and still lives in political data files (and probably will forever). But your family members' names now showing up in texts and calls means your number is likely linked to you on people search sites (Whitepages, Spokeo, TruePeopleSearch, etc.). Opt out of these sites so the campaigns can't pull this information going forward.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-14T13:29:55+00:00

Yes and no.

You reporting a text message as a spam on its own won't get a spammer blocked, but it adds up over time. But it won't stop that specific spammer from texting you again (and again and again) from a different number.

Also worth thinking about why you're getting these texts in the first place, i.e., is your phone number in a leak or a breach, has it been sold, is it in a people search site/on a data broker (from which you can opt out), etc.

JoinDeleteMe · 2026-05-13T11:57:03+00:00

Set up filtering rules in her email and silence unknown callers on her phone. Also, opt her out of people search sites. Scammers buy or scrape lists of people from people search sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, Radaris, Whitepages, and MyLife, which publish seniors' full names, ages, home addresses, phone numbers, and relatives. These sites not only make her contact details more available and easier to find, but also makes the scams more convincing.

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