Have you googled yourself lately?
Google’s memory database is mistakenly remembering an IT consultant for extorting money.
Just last month the search engine giant was reprimanded by EU data commissioners for retaining user data for longer than 18 months.
Although Google has complied with the regulations, data retention has made it difficult for some people to protect their digital identity.
Independent IT consultant Marcus Povey is one example of Google’s eternal memory.
Mr Povey googles himself from time to time because of the nature of his work and the frequency of his online activity.
“While googling, I found an article on the Community Care’s website that had nothing to do with me, but used my name.
“And the person named was extorting money from their grandmother.”
According to Mr Povey, at the time the original article didn’t state the names had actually been changed to protect the identity of the individual.
“With so few results returned for my name and with my name being somewhat rare it seemed more than likely that a prospective client would assume that we were one and the same person,” added Mr Povey.
Although successful in getting the publisher to change the name, the original article had already been syndicated by Google.
To date, the refreshed article from the website now includes a different name and a disclaimer saying that the names have been changed.
Click on the video link to hear Lilian Edwards' story