As some of you may, or may not know, Google has a feature where you can type someone's telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and then you will be given a map to their house. Before forwarding this, I tested it by typing my telephone number in google.com. My phone number fortunately did not come up, so I tested it on the phone numbers of some of my friends and family. Sure enough, on about half of them it came up with a listing of their name, address, phone number and two different options to gain a map to their house.
Please look up your own number. Read below for details. Think about it, if ANYONE gives out his/her phone number, someone can actually now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The safety issues are obvious, and alarming.
This is not a hoax. Either Yahoo Maps or Mapquest will put a star on your house on your street. In order to test whether your phone number is mapped, go to:
www.google.com.
Type your phone number in the search bar with dashes (i.e. 555-555-1212, dashes - NOT spaces, very important) and hit enter. This will possibly show your name and address. You will see a link option to the right for Yahoo Maps or Mapquest (click on it), which will use the address to provide a map to your home or place of business.
If you want to BLOCK Google from divulging your private information, simply click on the telephone icon next to your phone number, and follow the instructions. I removed my name, but it takes 48 hours. If you are unlisted in the phone book, you might not be in there, but it is a good idea just to check.
Please forward on to friends and family.