Online Identity Theft

I've written many times encouraging people to remain as anonymous as they possibly can online. Having one's ID and credit information stolen can be bad, but not nearly as horrific as when it is used online to impersonate someone else. It's hard to imagine all the implications.

This woman didn't have to imagine what it would be like. For her it was very real.

Anna Katzen (her pen name) wrote on 'Salon.com, "I've been impersonated online for eight years... Listed was my complete educational and professional history, from my high school dishwashing gig, to the title of my master’s thesis, to the NGO where I was currently working in New York City."

The person who stole her identity also stole a picture of her. I'm not going to post at length all the things that happened to her. You can read her article for yourself. However I want to strongly reiterate once again how vital it is to guard one's online identify. Even more importantly so then any cards one may carry in their purse or wallet.

Some Of The Dangers Of Online Identity Theft
Anyone can create a fake profile online then use it for blogging and posts to Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, in discussion forums, dating sites, email accounts and thousands of other social media and professional sites. They can also manipulate personal photos in so many embarrassing ways. In so doing they could easily frame someone by posting threats, harass and destroy someone else's character, reputation and careers in so many ways that it would take ten more paragraphs to describe them all.

Some still give me grief about my steadfast belief in my own online anonymity. For all the dozens of reasons why it isn't a good idea, I have yet to come across one single reason why it would be.

If some people want to spend all their time for years playing whack-a-mole trying to get take-downs, risking their careers, reputations and possibly their or their family's personal safety.. be my guest. It ain't for me. I don't need the drama.