Online Identity in the News- Week of 2/16
Each week we post stories from around the web and media that detail how identity affects society and its importance. As always, feel free to post links you have found in the comments. Here is the roundup for the week of 2/16/2009:
Facebook’s Zuckerberg Calms Privacy Fears Over TOS Change
Anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later. Want to close your account? Good for you, but Facebook still has the right to do whatever it wants with your old content,” flamed The Consumerist in its interpretation. After many protested against the new terms of service, facebook decided to postpone the change leaving its members to possibly rethink what information they will keep posted online.
Protect Yourself From Growing Identity Crimes
The FTC says ID theft is the fastest growing crime in the nation, affecting 9 million Americans each year. It is also the top consumer complaint five years in a row. IMPD investigators say financial fraud has been going up about 200% as they try to keep up with criminals using fast evolving technology.
Chris Brown’s Mistaken Identity on Facebook
Chris Brown has made headlines all week regarding is alledged attack on Rhianna. He is also a perfect example of how anyone can be an imposter online to create a fake profile on a social networking site. There are a few new Chris Brown profiles on Facebook claiming to be the artist, many of which are posting comments about the incident with Rhianna and making it seem that she is not so innocent. With legal issues and a reputation at stake you can see how damaging it could be when someone creates a fake profile claiming to be someone else.
Mistakes In Background Checks Could Cost You the Job
It happens all the time. An employer goes through a private company to get a background check on employees. Only what if that background check is wrong and claims you’re a felon, when you’re not? Well it happens, and more than you’d think. It is important that you as the job seeker and as a person to know what information is out there on you so there are no surprises. Don’t wait until its too late, make sure you check yourself out so you can clear up any discrepancies. It is important for you and your family members to get a background check to make sure that your information is correct.
Fact Sheet, The Department of Justice’s Effort To Combat Identity Theft
Identity theft is a crime that victimizes people and businesses in every community from major cities to small towns, and robs victims of their individual freedoms. The Department of Justice is deeply committed to combating all forms of identity theft, through its use of investigative and prosecutorial resources to bring identity thieves to justice, and its support of outreach and prevention efforts to protect the public from identity theft.
Online Dating: Blocking the Bad Guys
The list of people that clients don’t want to meet online including sexual predators, pedophiles, scammers, spammers and plain old liars is a long one. Whether you take it into your own hands by running background checks on potential dates or it becomes a required application on the site itself, it is important to know that their are sketchy people online and you need to protect yourslef from being taken advantage of.
Woman “Romanced” Out of 300K in Internet Dating Hoax
If you are chatting with a man online and he texts/emails you that he needs money for travel or any other emergency BEWARE. Online relationships are very tricky. You may think you are “in love” with this person, but how do you know for sure that they really are who they say they are. Common sense and instinct should have prevented these women from losing all their money in an internet dating scam, but a background check would have proven it for sure.
Be Prepared: Tips For Preventing Identity Theft This Tax Season
Whether filing taxes online or through the mail, you still send and receive a large amount of confidential information on paper, such as W-2 forms, credit card statements and old pay stubs, all of which can leave you vulnerable to the crime.
Protect Yourself From ID Theft
Identity theft is a serious problem, and in today’s floundering economy, it’s bound to grow worse in the coming days. You need to protect your credit and your online profiles and make sure that you do not give out your personal information to the wrong source.
Online Dating: Your Profile’s Longs, Scary Shelf Life
Online dating services have privacy policies that offer some assurances about how that data will be used and not used, but they don’t necessarily delete your data after you’ve canceled your subscription and moved on. Similar to the changes in the TOS of Facebook, your online profile may come back to haunt you years down the line. Say you met someone online, dated, married, then a few years later are getting divorced, any information that you have online from the begining of the relationship til present could come back to haunt you, especially if their was any misrepresentation.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
