Web 2.0 sites and Identity Theft

I was talking with David Gilbert of Flame Health yesterday. David is one of the contributors to 'The optometry blog' (which Tim thinks should carry a "gross" warning for some of the close ups of eye balls).

He'd had a look at Spock, courtesy of one of my invites (I've still got some left if you want one), and mentioned some concerns around identity theft.  He'll no doubt be blogging about this soon so I won't steal his thunder. 

However, it made me think that sites like Spock and Facebook do give the opportunity for more than one type of abuse in this area.

Firstly, on sites like Spock and Zoominfo, you can claim to be someone you aren't.   Effectively taking over someone's online identity and adding rouge "tags" (keywords).  On spock you can tag anyone you like with any words you like.  Paris Hilton is tagged with "drunk driver" - which may be true.  But so are 65 other people (including some poor chap who has also been tagged with "a few extra pounds" - must be all that boozing).  A nice tool of revenge perhaps for the aggrieved ex-wife/husband/employee.

Then there is the issue of mistaken identity.  I mentioned recently that on Facebook when you do a name search you can get many matches.  You wouldn't want to be mistaken for the OTHER Michelle Marlow who hates her job, thinks her boss is a weasel and likes a vodka in her morning espresso.  Although the protection in Facebook is that you have to actually have connected up and be "friends" with someone for them to see your full profile.  However, the issue of mistaken identity can just as easily occur on any of the people search engines (like Spock) or a general search engine like Google.

Then finally actual identity theft can become an issue as well.  As pointed out in the Money Saving Expert newsletter this morning making private and important information accessible via the web can allow fraudsters the opportunity they look for when stealing an identity

Warning, your personal details can help fraudsters.  Social networking sites are great for sharing info; the worry is sharing with the wrong people. For example, mothers' maiden names are common passwords, as are exact dates of birth – so publicly listing them alongside your name & identity isn’t wise.  Nor is indicating that you’re out of the country or away, as it's an open invite to burglars.

However, I don't want to be all doom and gloom.  I still love all these social networking sites and people search tools.  You just have to use the common sense you'd (hopefully) use in the real world.  I don't go around assuming that all Bob Smith's at Tesco are the same person and I don't put a big note on my front door saying I'm off to Florida for the week (I wish!). 

Also, on a positive note Sarah Stimson tells me that they've now placed a £70k candidate who approached them through their Facebook group.

Comments

[Reddy Ambrosia]

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