I posted this message last year, but have been asked to post it once again.
Unfortunately, this post is coming to you on a more serious note. A very dear friend of mine (whose name I have omitted, for security reasons) had to go through the unpleasantness of Identity Theft. She came to me and asked me, “How do you protect yourself, from Identity Theft? How could have it have happened?”
I’m not saying I’m the leading authority when it comes to protecting yourself and your information online, but I do know certain precautions can be taken, to ensure your information doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Information that we so willingly give out when we join an online community, or website, should be taken into careful consideration, when submitted.
Information such as:
Your Full Name:
First Name and Last Name yes, Middle Name. NO. If at all possible, try not to have your display name include your full name. Last initial should suffice.
Address:
Common sense prevails with this one. DO you want someone going to your residence and going through your mail, collecting all your information about where you bank, credit cards, and other personal information?
Display addresses, should only have your City and State/Province. No one needs to see the rest.
Area Code and Telephone Number:
With area code and telephone number is easy for someone to then follow up and find your home address and where you presently live. Not to mention charge 3rd party phone calls to your phone.
Birthday:
Big No No.. Unless they are going to send you a birthday card and in most cases they don’t, don’t hand out your actual birthday. Please see explanation below.
Place of Birth:
Now, you wouldn’t think this would be such a big deal, right? WRONG. Anyone who knows where you were born and actual date you were born, can easily submit requests for items such as birth certificate and social insurance number/social security number. This would make it extremely easy for someone to assume your identity.
Email Addresses and Passwords:
You must be wondering what do I mean about this, since you need an email address for just about everything online, however, I am referring to sites, communities and forums, that make it easy for you to import your contacts through your email programs such as yahoo, hotmail and gmail, by submitting your email address and PASSWORDS!
When at all possible, send a manual invite instead. Not only will it safeguard your password, it will also be appreciated by your friends and family since you will not be submitting their information to a 3rd party.
Please also, change your passwords on a regular basis. Yes, it is a hassle, but definitely worth the extra step, to protecting your information.
Paypal Email Address (and other online payment wallets/checkouts)
Another common mistake I have heard a few people mention. There should always be a way for a company to send you a cheque instead of supplying your palpal email address. Not to mention, you can prevent any unwanted charges and fees taken out of your paypal account.
Personal Online Banking:
Personally, I don’t advise doing your banking online, PERIOD. Again, let common sense prevail. With the amount of spoof email we get on a daily basis, are safe, just make the trip to the bank.
I know we all get busy and sometimes we fall into the rut of copying and pasting our information into profiles, for simplicity, ease and time. However, think about this. Would you give that information out so easily, if someone approached you on a street that you didn’t know? Ahhh… didn’t think about it like that did you? You should... With the rise of identity theft increasing and the rate at which it has grown, I would almost suggest not to supply any information at all, but I know, in order for our business to survive there is an amount of information we do need to supply.
Let common sense rule. When in doubt, don’t. Think twice about not only the information you provide, but also the amount. It’s your life and your identity. Protect it, by all means necessary.
If this has helped just one person, then my time writing this article was well worth it for me. I don’t want to hear that anyone else is having to go through what my friend did, again.
Until next time,
Sylvie Veillet
