In March 14, 2024, Krebs on Security, a security blog, released an in-depth investigative report on Onerep, a personal data removal service, and its CEO. The article gained widespread attention due to the extensive evidence provided that the CEO of Onerep was also the founder of Nuwber, a people search site, as well as multiple other similar sites. Contrary to its representation as a Virginia-based company, Onerep was actually founded and operates from Belarus.
For years, there had been whispers within the data removal industry about the connections between Onerep and Nuwber. The report by Krebs on Security validated these suspicions, echoing concerns raised by individuals such as Will McAdam, the late founder of PrivacyDuck, who had been shedding light on this issue since 2016. Despite being relatively unknown to the public, the ties between Onerep and Nuwber were no secret within the industry, sparking a sense of apprehension and hesitation among those aware of the situation.
Will McAdam was a pivotal figure in uncovering the intertwined histories of Onerep and Nuwber. Through his YouTube channel, McAdam presented evidence showing that the founders of Onerep were based in Belarus, highlighting the striking similarities between Onerep’s initial operations and Nuwber’s platform. He outlined how both websites appeared to be almost identical, suggesting that they shared a common code base.
Following the passing of Will McAdam, the original PrivacyDuck website ceased to exist, and the domain was acquired by Privacy Pros. This transition raised questions about the continuity of McAdam’s work and the fate of the PrivacyDuck platform. Meanwhile, Onerep took actions to erase its website’s history from the Internet Archive and succeeded in having McAdam’s critical YouTube videos removed for alleged copyright infringement.
In our own analysis, we drew attention to the connections between Onerep and Nuwber in various blog posts and social media discussions. We emphasized the importance of thoroughly vetting data removal companies before entrusting them with sensitive information. The exposure of Onerep’s affiliations has led many individuals to question the reliability of data removal services and the potential involvement of such companies in partnerships with data brokers.
Despite the concerns raised by the revelations about Onerep, we believe that there are still trustworthy data removal companies in the industry. While the incident involving Onerep may raise doubts about the integrity of certain service providers, it does not signal a widespread trend of collaboration with data broker sites through illicit means.