I know where you live, your birthdate, your name...

Maybe it's because I was a victim of identity theft, but this stuff really gets my attention.

A few months ago one of our fellow posters used his real name in a post here.
I googled that name and within a minute or two, I had his complete bio as well as photos of his family including children and names of relatives.

I often google new clients and sometimes find out stuff that shouldn't be out there.
One client's name popped up his address and when he would be out of town on a business trip. How convenient for criminals.

Remember that anything you enter on any site on the internet is subject to wide distribution at some time through accident, hack attacks or innocent postings.

Facebook and the like are prime sites for trouble.
My wife is always taking "personality tests," "I.Q. tests" and the like.
Often these can be phishing efforts to find out information that you would never tell to a stranger.

Many of you list your name, hometown and even exact birthdate here at TT.
I don't.
You can't totally prevent problems but be prudent in putting your info online.

Network flaw causes scary Web error...

Network flaw causes scary Web error
Jan 15
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A Georgia mother and her two daughters logged onto Facebook from mobile phones last weekend and wound up in a startling place: strangers' accounts with full access to troves of private information.

The glitch—the result of a routing problem at the family's wireless carrier, AT&T—revealed a little known security flaw with far reaching implications for everyone on the Internet, not just Facebook users.

In each case, the Internet lost track of who was who, putting the women into the wrong accounts. It doesn't appear the users could have done anything to stop it. The problem adds a dimension to researchers' warnings that there are many ways online information—from mundane data to dark secrets—can go awry.

Maybe it's because I was a victim of identity theft, but this stuff really gets my attention.

A few months ago one of our fellow posters used his real name in a post here.
I googled that name and within a minute or two, I had his complete bio as well as photos of his family including children and names of relatives.

I often google new clients and sometimes find out stuff that shouldn't be out there.
One client's name popped up his address and when he would be out of town on a business trip. How convenient for criminals.

Remember that anything you enter on any site on the internet is subject to wide distribution at some time through accident, hack attacks or innocent postings.

Facebook and the like are prime sites for trouble.
My wife is always taking "personality tests," "I.Q. tests" and the like.
Often these can be phishing efforts to find out information that you would never tell to a stranger.

Many of you list your name, hometown and even exact birthdate here at TT.
I don't.
You can't totally prevent problems but be prudent in putting your info online.

Network flaw causes scary Web error...

Network flaw causes scary Web error
Jan 15
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A Georgia mother and her two daughters logged onto Facebook from mobile phones last weekend and wound up in a startling place: strangers' accounts with full access to troves of private information.

The glitch—the result of a routing problem at the family's wireless carrier, AT&T—revealed a little known security flaw with far reaching implications for everyone on the Internet, not just Facebook users.

In each case, the Internet lost track of who was who, putting the women into the wrong accounts. It doesn't appear the users could have done anything to stop it. The problem adds a dimension to researchers' warnings that there are many ways online information—from mundane data to dark secrets—can go awry.

if you google my name it comes up on the first page that i own a brothel in las vegas...no [bleeeep].....my dad called me a couple months ago and wanted to know if it was true......my response...technically "no" financially....practically

i did it as a joke for my SAE fraternity alumni directory...LINKED picked it up

Edited by atlasshrugged, 15 January 2010 - 06:00 PM.

Thanks for that tip, now what I wonder is, how about giving your address e.g. to Amazon, because you order from them from time to time and similar sites? thanks, gis

Thanks for that tip,
now what I wonder is, how about giving your address e.g. to Amazon, because you order from them from time to time and similar sites?
thanks, gis

I do it. Most people do.
Your name and address are probably in the phone book, and your trash and a million other places.
You can't escape that.
I just avoid giving out info unnecessarily.
Recently a dentist wanted my SS number.
I refused to give it. No problem.

You are protected by a $50 liability limit on stolen personal credit cards.
Not so with business cards. So be careful there.

I think my identity theft was an inside job at a credit card processor.
Several credit cards were opened with my info plus a cell phone account in Fort Lauderdale where the card is processed.
Although the thief spent over $30K in a month, I was liable for nothing.
Just the hassle of sending an affidavit to the various creditors saying that it was not me.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 16 January 2010 - 11:09 AM.

What flabbergasted me the otherday..... I get a letter in the mail from a lawyer informing that I am included in a class action suit since I owned the dependent company stock during the period in question. That is nothing unusual except that was dozen years ago and I have moved 3 or 4 times since then. The letter was NOT forwarded, they had my current address! I guess I can run but I can't hide