Do You Know Who Is Following You? Identity Theft; Stalking; Social Networking?
Posted: Saturday, September 24, 2011
by elle kynzer
Everyday we get asked simple questions, that in themselves are just friendly, with no wrong intent. However, we live in a society, where the 'bad guys' follow their victims silently. Technology has given us a leap forward, and extreme connection to each other. That same progress has also given us new crimes, and new ways of tracking victims. We must all be vigiliant, or we could end up losing lots of money, or in some cases, a life.
The news has countless cases of websites being hacked, credit card companies, banks, and even our government offices. Well, being hacked means they have acquired credit card numbers, and priceless social security numbers, birthdates, addresses or even more personal information. Pictures are a window to our families, friends, and in the background what we do, or where they were taken.
Stalkers like to view their victims, and do not always make contact, until it's too late. Some terrorize people they know, such as former girlfriend/boyfriend, spouse, or former boss. Most people who are murdered are not random, but are people connected to the victim. What we see on the news is not the normal statistic. When you leave a credit card receipt with a number on it, or your door unlocked; those are crimes of opportunity, that's the same as random murders; where the victim is just in the wrong place at the wrong time; it's opportunity.
Even when we see a news story of a random killing, there isn't always any evidence if the person was targeted. In Identity Theft the criminal is looking for enough information to get your birth certificate, so they can get your social security number, and once they have that, in addition to your name and address, it's a "piece of cake" for professional criminals to use that information.
Identity theft victims lose money, time, and jobs due to 'how' a criminal uses the victim's information. Bad debts, check fraud, additional credit card debt, and arrests(of criminal using your name) are hard to have removed from one's credit report, newspapers, etc. Who pays the debt? Well, even if you have a 'group' of Identity Theft Protection agents working for you, and you are insured, your life will still be turned inside out, and upside down. Protect yourself, and be sure you haven't left a "trail of crumbs" to your identity online.
Stalkers spend their time following you, if they know how to find you, once they hear you may have money, or good credit. They may contact people you connect with pretending to be you, with a new address. Some people may not get it, and believe them, especially if they have particular knowledge about you. To the criminal it is a game, whereby, they live off the lives of other hard working people. So, in times of Recession, and hard times people use all kinds of methods to trick you.
The past two days, I received several phone calls, where the caller left a voicemail for me to call back, and use my phone number as the key; and I laughed. Sure, I leave my phone number as if I called, and then how many dollars does that cost for the phone call, that they pocket. Scams are rampant. The elderly are particularly vulnerable, as some are already confused, so make sure relatives know not to give information over the phone, or to believe they have won Sweepstakes, where they have to send money first; a real scam.
In closing, how public is your Facebook page, and how easy is it to connect to you online? Do you think about information you give out? Facebook is going to do a timeline, of everything you have placed on your page, soon. This information will replace your profile. I read the article yesterday on Linkedin. If you have been generous with personal information, with it spread out over months or years, maybe no problem. However, when it is condensed, how much will it tell about you?
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