Craig Johnson

With a background in publishing, factchecking, and library science, Craig promotes a healthy skepticism of online life. Any stranger reaching out to you wants your money.

📍 Los Angeles

Basics

Could a Background Check Hurt Your Job Search?

Some employers will look beyond your resume, but there are rules for what they can see about you and how they use it.

Relationships

Do Dating Apps Even Try to Verify Their Users' Backgrounds?

What the big services in the dating scene do to discourage abuse and how you can protect yourself.

Relationships

Is Your Divorce Public Record?

The realities of (and alternatives to) your divorce records being open to public view.

Smarter Living

The Free Tax Prep Service You Already Pay for But Probably Never Heard Of

70% of Americans could prepare their federal tax return easily online for free, if only they knew about the IRS Free File.

Relationships

Credit Scores and Committed Relationships: Your Love Match

The surprising link between lasting relationships and matching credit scores.

Your Privacy

Beware Friends Reading Posts: The Scary Social Media Loophole

If you think that restricting your account only to friends makes your social media interactions private, think again.

Basics

Why You Should Background-Search Yourself, and How

To potential employers, creditors, landlords, and strangers, your records are your reputation.

Your Privacy

Here's What Google Knows About You

If you printed out the personal details Google collects on the average person, the papers would stack as high as the Eiffel Tower.

Your Privacy

Shut It Down: How You Can Seal Your Court Records

These are the steps jurisdictions generally require before a judge might agree to seal, or even destroy, your records.

Smarter Living

Seller Beware: Your Online Ad Draws Scammers

We are instinctively cautious when purchasing from strangers, but scammers also pretend to be buyers. Learn to spot them.

Relationships

Find Hidden Social Media Profiles

Put on your sleuthing cap and deploy these 5 tried-and-true tricks.

Basics

How Public Records Give You an Edge in Homebuying

Dig up data on the seller, street, and neighborhood to inform your home search and your buying decisions.