Beware These 18 Industries and Companies Selling Your Information

When you applied for a driver's license or registered your car, you gave personally-identifying information to your local DMV — and probably didn't think twice about it.

You might not know that thanks to a 1994 law, the DMV can sell your information, including your home address, to private investigators. The DMV also sells information to other third parties, including insurance companies, tow companies, credit reporting agencies and research databases, documents obtained by Motherboard show. Some states' DMVs make tens of millions of dollars a year by selling this data, including California's, which raked in $50 million in 2019 by selling personal info, Vice reported. Although some lawmakers have questioned this practice, the DMV's activities are within legal bounds.

Read More: These Are the 5 Best and Worst States To Own a Car, Study Finds

The DMV is not the only entity that's selling your personal information — these 17 other companies might also give your information away for the right price. Find out who's selling your info — and what you can do to protect yourself.