How Privacy Vanishes Online

Jazzy · Post by **Jazzy** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 7:16 am

If a stranger came up to you on the street, would you give him your name, Social Security number and e-mail address?

Probably not.

Yet people often dole out all kinds of personal information on the Internet that allows such identifying data to be deduced. Services like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are oceans of personal minutiae -- birthday greetings sent and received, school and work gossip, photos of family vacations, and movies watched.

Story Link: how-privacy-vanishes-online: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Post by **spot** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:06 am

Good lord Jazzy, what's happened to your décolletage all of a sudden?

Why is there a problem with people allowing "identifying data to be deduced", anyway? I've never quite understood the problem. Every time I hand out a cheque, for example, it carries my sort code and account name and number. None of that information is sufficient for anyone to make a withdrawal without my explicit permission. I post my name, address and phone number on FG quite regularly - within the last week, for example. It's not a secret. In what way am I harmed by the information being public?

The article's focus on SSN, if you read it, merely says that for a subset of US citizens the government-allocated code was so predictable that it can be deduced from date and place of birth. It's a failing in the allocation system but it has little to do with Internet usage. The same two bits of data works in the UK as well, public records here allow the birth-allocated identifier to be looked up and has done for the last 150 years.

Jazzy · Post by **Jazzy** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:13 am

spot;1297853 wrote: Good lord Jazzy, what's happened to your décolletage all of a sudden?

Why is there a problem with people allowing "identifying data to be deduced", anyway? I've never quite understood the problem. Every time I hand out a cheque, for example, it carries my sort code and account name and number. None of that information is sufficient for anyone to make a withdrawal without my explicit permission. I post my name, address and phone number on FG quite regularly - within the last week, for example. It's not a secret. In what way am I harmed by the information being public?

As you can clearly see nothing has happened to my décolletage :p

My friend opened a Paypal account and had her bank account and credit card linked. Well, can you guess what happened next? If you can't, her Paypal account was hacked into and she started receiving calls from her bank and credit card company. Why? Someone had cleared out her Paypal account, bank checking account and charged over 5k on her credit card. Do you think that hacker had or needed explicit permission to do that to her?

Are you trying to tell me that if I stole a cheque from you that I wouldn't be able to forge your name and cash it?

As far as posting your name, address and phone number goes I would be very scared some "stalker" would now have all the necessary information needed to come and "get me."

Post by **spot** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:22 am

I'm quite sure Paypal's servers have never let anyone into any account without a valid password being presented. The question is rather how the thief acquired the password from some other source than Paypal.

Stealing a cheque is an entirely different thing to knowing the details of my account. If I want someone to pay money to me I give them those details, it's not sufficient for them to then take my money.

Why would anyone want to come and get either of us? I'm at risk of random attack every time I walk to the shops but that doesn't make it a likely event. Some maniac might choose to follow me home and harass me thereafter, I don't see it as probable but it's more reasonable than thinking it would result from my online presence.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:04 am

It might be a good idea to cease using Angelina Jolie as an avatar if you're so worried.

Post by **spot** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:11 am

You mean that's not Jazzy?

Swizz.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:17 am

I have a PAYPAL account I have used it for years no problem. I get immediate notices of activity to my account which I'm the only one allowed to use it. I would never keep a balance on my PayPal account, as useful as they are that is dangerous.

My bank would never authorize $5,000.00 worth of charges to my account or my credit cards. They questioin every charge I make if over $100.00 which works for me.

I monitor all my accounts daily Bank, Credit Cards, Paypal that is my responsibility as a user as well.

I pay every bill I have online I receive NO bills in the mail as for me that is more dangerous than using the internet any day of the week.

I'm an IT person so the "Social Network" sites for me are the 1 area I agree with you on, information sharing not a good idea. Does that mean you will be stalked, hacked, harassed probably not. I just see them as unecessary but thats me, most people love them.

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:22 am

Jazzy;1297844 wrote: If a stranger came up to you on the street, would you give him your name, Social Security number and e-mail address?

Probably not.

Yet people often dole out all kinds of personal information on the Internet that allows such identifying data to be deduced. Services like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are oceans of personal minutiae -- birthday greetings sent and received, school and work gossip, photos of family vacations, and movies watched.

Story Link: how-privacy-vanishes-online: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

I never give out my social insurance number, that has everything on it.

only selected friends and family have my email address and if someone annoys me....they're blocked.

facebook? nope...I never give out anything personal.

gossip? nope..... that's for ones who are insecure.

greetings sent?........always to my friends and family.:-4

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:31 am

There is one thing to be careful of with PayPal. If you sell on ebay and there is a dispute with a customer through paypal they may freeze withdrawing from the account until the matter is settled. I have a separate checking account linked to it with little money in it for that reason. I've read some real horror stories. But being hacked? Not worried about that.

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:31 am

And yet people have no problems with swathes of their personal data being available to many different and largely unidentifiable personnel in central and local government, as well as many private companies and individuals who can access it.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:32 am

spot;1297905 wrote: You mean that's not Jazzy?

Swizz.Thats what I have to keep telling my wife.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 1:47 pm

All the financial accounts that I use on a daily basis require multiple passwords and codes to access, plus if I use a foreign computer instead of my own, further security passwords are required. I have always been pretty open about using my real name, where I live and other personal data. It's pretty easy to suss out that info anyway, for those that are really interested.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:22 pm

Jazzy;1297844 wrote: If a stranger came up to you on the street, would you give him your name, Social Security number and e-mail address?

Probably not.

Yet people often dole out all kinds of personal information on the Internet that allows such identifying data to be deduced. Services like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are oceans of personal minutiae -- birthday greetings sent and received, school and work gossip, photos of family vacations, and movies watched.

Story Link: how-privacy-vanishes-online: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance
I can understand your concern after I successfully tracked Nomad down to a shack In Minnesota. I got all his bank details and pass-words, changed my Identity to 'Nomad The Imperialist', took over a small third world country and declared war on the USA.