Zillow photos could pose major security risk for homeowners

The whole country is watching the Nancy Guthrie case. When the suspected kidnapping happened, I was curious. How long would it take me to find her home address and cell phone number on a people search site?

About 30 seconds.

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I then pasted her address into Zillow and saw photos of her home. I could match what I found to the video from a home tour done on the Today show. I could see the layout. The entry points. The windows. Where her furniture sat. Imagine if I was a criminal armed with that info.

Here’s the thing: I’m not some hacker. I used free websites anyone can access from their couch.

This is happening everywhere

In Scottsdale, Arizona, two teens dressed as delivery drivers forced their way into a couple’s home. They duct-taped and assaulted the homeowners, looking for $66 million in cryptocurrency. They got the victims’ home address from strangers on an encrypted app.

In Delray Beach, Florida, a retired couple had their sliding glass door shattered by thieves. The attackers had their home address from leaked personal data. That crew went on to hit victims in multiple states.

Riverside, California, police confirmed detectives routinely find Zillow and Redfin searches on phones seized from arrested burglary suspects. 

A former NYPD detective put it bluntly: today’s burglars can case your home from their chair with a cup of coffee and get better intel than they ever could sitting outside with binoculars.

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The numbers are scary

Zillow’s database covers over 160 million homes. Listing photos often stay online long after a home is sold. That means photos of your home, taken when you listed it three, five, even 10 years ago, could still be sitting there right now showing every room, every door, every window and exactly where your security cameras are mounted.

Google Street View covers 10 million miles of road worldwide. Criminals use it to check out vehicles parked in driveways, scope backyards and plan escape routes. In some areas, police say thieves are even using drones to peer into windows and check for dogs.

Anyone can type your name into a free people search site and get your home address in seconds. Then they plug it into Zillow and see your floor plan, entry points, window types and where the security cameras sit.

Unless you’re selling your home, take down your photos. Now.

Take it all down in 10 minutes

These steps can look a little different depending on your device, app version or browser. If it’s not exact, poke around. The option is there.

Zillow: Sign in at zillow.com. Click your profile icon > Your Home. Search your address, claim it, then go to Edit Facts and hide or delete the photos. Hit Save.

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Redfin: Sign in at redfin.com. Go to Owner Dashboard. Select your home > Edit Photos > Hide listing photos > Save.

Realtor.com: Go to realtor.com/myhome. Claim your home, then select it under My Home > Remove Photos > Yes, Remove All Photos.

Google Street View: Open Google Maps on a computer. Search your address, drop into Street View, then click “Report a problem” (bottom right). Position the red box over your home. Under Request blurring, select “My home.” Submit. FYI, once it’s blurred, it’s permanent. Good.

Pro tip: Ask your old listing agent to pull photos from the MLS. Once they’re gone from MLS, the feeder sites eventually follow.

Also, while you’re at it, search yourself on people search sites like Spokeo, WhitePages and BeenVerified. Most let you opt out. It takes some time per site, but it cuts off the first step criminals use to find you. Better bet is to sign up for Incogni, a sponsor of my national radio show and podcasts.

If you’re not selling, there’s zero reason for the internet to have a virtual tour of your home. Take it down today.

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I guess you could say Zillow gives everyone an open house. Problem is, you never sent the invitations.

Know someone who bought a home in the last few years? Forward this. Their listing photos are probably still online and they have no idea. You can sign up for my 5-star rated newsletter at my website, Komando.com. 

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