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Think Before You Post: The Dangers of the Social Networking Profile … Revealed
Identity theft expert Jeremy Miller, manager of the Investigation and Restoration Center at Kroll Fraud Solutions, breaks down the typical components of a social networking profile and discusses why what seem like small details about your personal life can amount to a big reward for identity thieves.
Social networking sites … we all know and love them. After all, they keep us connected to friends, family and long lost acquaintances. They introduce us to others who share our interests and activities. In some cases, they even help us get jobs – take LinkedIn, for example. Or we can trace our family history with the likes of Ancestry.com.
But sometimes staying connected comes at a cost. What many do not realize is that the more information you reveal online, the greater your chances of having that information accessed by the wrong person. In fact, the risk of identity theft through social networking can be high. But before you delete that profile, you should know that social networking and identity theft DO NOT have to be synonymous.
There are certain things that you can do to minimize your risk and it starts with thinking before you post.
- Name – Your name is the first and most recognizable part of your identity. When networking online, it’s better to use your first name only – or better yet, use a nickname that your friends recognize or that you’d be comfortable being called by strangers. If both names must be used, leave out your middle initial. In some cases, individuals may consider altering the spelling of their name or leaving out letters. For example, a woman named ‘Nancy’ might opt to spell it “Nancee” or “Nanci” in the networking space.
- Birthday – Your date of birth is one key element of what Kroll calls the holy trinity of personally identifiable information (PII). In combination with your name and Social Security number, identity thieves have full ability to open accounts, rent homes and gain employment all while posing as you. It’s best to omit this information entirely, but at the very least avoid including all parts of your date of birth. You can always say March 5 without including your year of birth, for example. But make sure you don’t cancel out this protective measure by including your age in another section of your profile. If you do, an identity thief need only apply simple math to complete your date of birth.
- Address – It’s never advisable to include your full address in any online communication. To put it into perspective: you wouldn’t hand over your street address to a stranger on the street, would you? For the purposes of online profiles, opt to include only your city and (if necessary) state. If you live in a large metropolitan area like New York City, you can probably get away with including both city and state, but if you live in a small town, it’s better to leave the information off altogether.
- Profile Photo – It may surprise you to learn that your profile photo can reveal important information about your identity. For example, a photo of you in your business uniform might tell an attentive identity thief where you work – a key piece of information when it comes to verifying one’s identity. Consider using simple headshots to avoid unnecessary risks. In some cases you may even use alternate profile images – from a beautiful sunset shot to a picture of your favorite actor/actress.
- Phone Number –It’s best to not post your phone number at all. A thief can easily obtain the corresponding address (see above risks) through a reverse lookup on the Internet.
- Salary - Particularly in these tough economic times, your salary can make you more attractive to thieves – which in turn can make you more vulnerable. A fraudster is more likely to go after a person who has a higher salary, for example, as the individual has much more to lose and the thief would have much more to gain. And just THINK how easily it could be done if the other information above (profile photo, date of birth, phone number and address were ALSO provided!)
- Status Updates – Regularly updating people on where you are and what you’re doing can put valuable information about you into the hands of an individual with bad intentions. Furthermore, if someone knows where you live by piecing together the above information, telling them you’re “at the movies” or “at the beach for the weekend” can be just the invitation an unwanted visitor needs to come snooping at your place of residence.
As if the above information is not ominous enough, it’s important to keep in mind that even individuals who include just one or two of these features on their Web site are not completely out of the woods when it comes to identity theft. Why? In a tactic known as “synthetic identity theft,” ID thieves piece together different components of a variety of individuals’ personal information to create one unique identity. That means your date of birth could be matched up with another person’s address or Social Security number to create an alternate or “synthetic identity” that may significantly impact victims later on in life. This concoction makes synthetic identity fraud particularly hard to detect and even harder to fix.
We realize that eliminating all of the above from your social networking activities would make for a pretty boring profile. We also know that social networking is here to stay and, more importantly, that it’s a great tool to help people keep in touch and meet across cities, states, countries and continents. While it’s not necessary to remove all details of your personal life from the pages of your social networking profiles, it is essential to think before you post. When in doubt, remember this: if you wouldn’t give this information to a stranger on the street – you probably don’t want to put it online for the world to see.
Kroll’s licensed investigators work with identity theft victims on a daily basis, allowing them to keep their fingers on the pulse of the latest identity theft trends. For more information on identity theft defense and response, visit www.krollfraudsolutions.com
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I have written before about Interviewing for Pain and how this contributes to teacup parenting. I wanted to write a post to bring this to some of my reader’s awareness.
I often hear parents Interview for pain when kids get home from school because they want to check-in.
Who: Interviews for Pain?
Parents, teachers, any kind of authority figure…I have even caught myself doing it, yikes!
What: Is Interviewing for Pain?
You have heard people doing this, interviewing for pain is when someone searches, or questions another person for physical, mental or emotional strife or discomfort.
“Was the teacher mean to you today?”
“Did the girls ignore you at lunch?”
When: Do We Interview for Pain?
In the car, when kids get home from school, at the dinner table, at the breakfast table…
How: Do You Interview for Pain?
You interview for pain when you ask leading questions. These are questions that you think might get a bad response. You are searching for discomfort or strife by tapping into and bringing up issues that you know are touchy or weak for the other person.
Why: Do You Interview for Pain?
This is the hard one. I know that when I catch myself interviewing for pain with my sisters
-I am doing it out of fear. I am afraid that something is going badly for them, that someone is hurting them or that they need help in some area.
-I am doing it because I want to know them. I find I interview for pain when they are not telling me enough about them. The usual questions of “How was your day, how was your test” get grunts or monosyllabic responses, so I start questioning looking for pain so they will open up.
-I am doing it because I want to help. If you find weakness, it means you can help them, and parents live to help and aid their kids.
-I am doing it as an excuse to give advice. Yes, we all love hearing ourselves speak and love giving advice. If you find something wrong, you can give them advice and tell stories.
Why Not: Interview for Pain?
-It teaches kids to focus on their discomfort and what is negative.
-It puts teens in a bad mood.
-It can make them be mad at you, even if it is not your fault because you brought up a sensitive subject.
-It usually puts you in a situation to give unsolicited advice…which kids hate (and do not listen to anyway).
What: Instead of Interviewing for Pain?
-If you cannot get them to open up with the regular questions, then pick subjects they get excited about instead of what they get nervous about.
-Talk about your own passion points (teens tend to mimic your energy, if you are excited, they will be).
-Let them vent. Sometimes you do not need to interview for pain for your kids to start complaining. This is OK, I find letting them vent and not belittling it is actually the best thing you can do to get them to move on.
This post is dedicated to Brian Weiner at the Illusion Factory, who always pushes me to focus on the positive and the importance of following your passions.
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Tags: Life · Relationships
I went to the airshow in Vegas last weekend, check out the pics!
Also I will be on a radio show today 12:30 pm PST, feel free to call-in! Phone Number: (724) 444-7444
Call ID: 21362
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Yay, the post is finally up…
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The Misunderstood Divorced Dad Guest post for any single parent!
The Mashup Syndrome…I think most teens have it (and that’s a good thing!)
Teen Articles
Teens Answer Fitness Questions Our health column from 02MaxFitness!
Teen Immigrants Our new Intern from Trinidad writes about experiencing the move to America.
Four Things Parents Should Know About Teens and Eating Disorders
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You know those people? Those people who, like, came out of the womb wearing perfectly fit stone washed jeans, ruggedly hot converse and a confident swagger (or crawl I guess). Ew, cool people. Recently, I have been faced with the fact that I have never been one of those people.
I never started trends, I always coveted the cool girl group at lunch, I giggle like a hyena when I talk to a hot guy and I never rushed for the hot sororities in college. The sad truth is, even though I never was cool, I always wanted to be.
I wish I could say that I always embraced the fact that I like reading tech blogs for fun, write teen fiction on my free time and hate wearing heels (don’t cool girls always wear heels…like even to class and to the supermarket?). But, no, I didn’t always love the fact that I am weird and recently I have been faced with so many kids who are desperate to be ‘cool.’
I proposed this question to my group of teen trendsetters. I found some of them shocking, some of them honest, some of them encouraging and some of them depressing. Here are their answers:
What makes someone “cool”?
1) Cool people are always in a group.
2) Cool people are always laughing (at you, with you, with their group…)
3) Cool girls wear heels.
4) Cool boys wear hair in their eyes.
5) Cool people walk with confidence.
6) Cool People are mean.
7) Cool people love themselves no matter what.
8) Cool girls have hot underwear.
9) Cool people are the people everyone secretly hates, but are nice to on the surface.
10) If you think you are cool, you are not.
When I put this question into my Teen Trendsetter program and one of the teens asked me if I ever thought I was cool, I told her what I said above, and this:
“I have this problem. Whenever I go to networking events, alumni events or parties I get really nervous. I am not so scared of meeting people, but I really fear that group of cool girls in the corner. Whenever I am with a group of ‘cool girls’ I feel out of place, left out and dumb. I wish I could say that it goes away, but it doesn’t. yet, I am working on it, because I realize that there might have been some mean girls in my past, but I define my relationships now.”
This started a great conversation with some of the girls, but one of the other adult moderators (another fabulous mom blogger), sent me a separate email that I am partially pasting here. She is a mom blogger who is one of the social networks I have for parent influencers online.
“Vanessa,
It was so interesting for me to read you response to the cool girl question. I wanted to write this to you to give you a different perspective. The first time I started reading your blog I really wanted to approach you to get to know you. But, you were my cool girl. When we emailed, I got really nervous, the few times we talked I felt like a rambler.
When you invited me to join your blogger social network I felt like I was invited to the coolest party on the planet. I practiced my intro and edited my profile a billion times and when you posted on my wall, I felt so popular.
I told some of my other mom blogger friends that you invited me to the social network and they were really jealous I got into your clique. I tell you this because I am sure you had no idea, you were never mean or exclusive, but everyone has their own cool girl.”
This email shocked me! I couldn’t believe that someone thought I had a blogger cool clique. It made me realize that every “cool person” has their own “cool person” who makes them nervous, or wish they could be friends with. This is what I tell to teens, even the seemingly ‘cool people’ have their own insecurities and wishes.
I also say this to all of my readers, never be nervous to contact me and everyone is welcome into my “online clique!”
Dream big, work hard and you will get there,
Vanessa
This post is dedicated to my Alicia Zepeda who was the first person (non-blood related) to tell me why I was cool all by myself. Thanks for listening Alicia.
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