Be Careful, Stay Safe - Protect Your ID from Scammers

How to stay safe on the internet? The first rule is never to give away personal information.

This doesn't mean you can't have fun.

Anonymity brings its own rewards.

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This article, and I use the term in its widest sense, is about the sheer effort required in keeping it fake. That is to say, never divulging a single genuine detail - not even when doing one of those fake personal experience outpourings.

Of course, I’m not writing it to elicit fake sympathy or praise - we both know the score on that one, er two.

It’s really about internet safety and security of personal information. The need to connect with people in a safe fake manner without giving away anything.

Don’t get me wrong. I want your fake love in return for my fake soul bearing. So let’s carry on that dance – while I explain why the real thing is so dangerous.

I was going to use that heading as my title but I have as much chance of ranking for that as something that has no chance of ranking for that.

Metaphors are not my strong point. If the statement above is a simile rather than a metaphor please feel free to ridicule me in the comments section.

It’s not a huge amount of skin off my nose to use another whichever. Could be a cliché.

Let’s move on from the complexities of the English language before I get stuck like something stuck in a sticky place.

While I’m off the subject allow me to point out that there isn’t a huge amount of information in this article. If I was writing for one of those answer sites I would have put down two, maybe three statements and left it at that.

• Don’t use your real name
• Don’t use your children’s names
• Don’t give out your address.

Maybe I will do that a bit later. But there’s no hurry is there?

I’m assuming you are not exactly a busy person seeing as how you have landed here in response to either a search or a misdirected spam link from an unsolicited email. If it was the email thing then sorry about that, but hey, I’ve got to make a bit of money somehow.

At least you didn’t get my charity one.

I mean if you are going to leave your email address where I can find it then what do you expect? A friendly conversation? Something genuine? Oh please.

It would be ironic if it wasn’t so dangerous. These fleeting bits of nonsense we post – on forums, in emails, forms we fill in, web sites we create – temporary fluff for a fast moving world.

Except that they stay out there for ever. So when you were deeply in love with Simon, say, and told the world – that titbit is still hanging around.

After your gender reassignment you may be less happy about that.

More seriously, that bit you wrote about hating work and wanting to take out your fellow employees just might be searched by a future employer. Apparently they now do Facebook checking as part of their recruitment process.

OK, the boss’s daughter will always get the job anyway – but you can maximise your slim chances in case they don’t have a daughter.

The internet is a very big place. Most people are genuine, if slightly fake, and certainly harmless. There are a surprising amount of fake nice people out there, and nice fake people too.

But there are one or two (million) real unhinged people.

Go with my paranoia for a moment and consider this.

There is a strange guy you meet in a bar, or who hangs around the mall. Local people know to avoid him. If there were better mental care facilities then he might be receiving treatment or at least be under some form of supervision.

You walk up to this guy and provide him with your real name, where you live, when you are next going on holiday, what your innermost fears are (yes people share everything) and a host of other personal details.

Chances are he will think you are a nutter and move away. Not my best analogy. Whatever an analogy is (ed: stop the language thing, it shows you up).

You get the message. Not every one wants to be your friend.

It’s funny how we tell our children to be careful. That they are spending too much time on the internet and not to talk to strangers.

Yet as adults we do this all the time.

Did we just decide we don’t need protection? OK, I’m probably not going to be picked up by someone who’s ‘into’ kids – certainly they would be disappointed.

But there is a whole host of things that not so nice people can do with information you unwittingly and casually provide.

I am staggered by people who use their real name. Do this, and you need to be very careful, for ever, with information you so freely give.

Do you ever share where you live, the town for example? Armed with real name and town you are close to being identified.

How many people live in your house? When are you going on holiday and where to? Do you have children?

Who do you bank with? What websites do you use? What’s your email?

All bits of information that are possible to pick up from some people, unaware of the possibilities they offer.

An opportunity for some quality targeted scamming or possibly worse.

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Actually I’m not going on any further - I’ve said what I needed. The purpose is to raise an issue, not to spoil your internet enjoyment.

We can all have fun mixing with friends, especially fake ones on the web. But you can have as much fun when your name is HorsePoo37 as when it’s Mark Ewbie.

And before you ask - no it’s not my real name.

My real name is…