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What precautions do Warriors take to prevent identity theft?

by John Henderson
14 replies
I was lying in bed last night, thinking about the video I'd just recorded -- "Hello there, this is John (MiddleName) Henderson from MyDomainName.com..." -- when it occurred to me that anyone could look up the domain name I've purchased to unearth my home address. A quick browse of FaceBook would return my date of birth. Add my full name (from the video) to the address and the DOB and.... I start to get worried.

I also remember reading a post by Alexa Smith in which she said that her EZA articles were posted under a pseudonym.

So are any other Warriors worried about identity theft? If so, what counter-measures have you taken?
#identity #precautions #prevent #theft #warriors
  • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
    You know, it's funny. There's another aspect about that, and that is since it's so easy to find.. What if you have some crazy, buy your product, and come after you or something. I have my age, my face, and my address could be found (if you look hard enough).

    Identity Theft, well I don't worry about that. They don't have your SIN (or w/e) so they can only pretend to be you.
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    Canadian Expat Living in Medellin, Colombia

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    • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
      Originally Posted by Caleb Spilchen View Post

      Identity Theft, well I don't worry about that. They don't have your SIN (or w/e) so they can only pretend to be you.
      True Caleb, but somebody only has to pretend to be me to open bank accounts and apply for loans, credit cards, state benefits, passports and driving licences in my name. I really don't want to make it too easy and I was wondering if anyone else has taken precautions... :confused:
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      • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
        Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

        True Caleb, but somebody only has to pretend to be me to open bank accounts and apply for loans, credit cards, state benefits, passports and driving licences in my name. I really don't want to make it too easy and I was wondering if anyone else has taken precautions... :confused:
        I'm at a loss for things you could do to prevent it.
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        Canadian Expat Living in Medellin, Colombia

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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

        True Caleb, but somebody only has to pretend to be me to open bank accounts and apply for loans, credit cards, state benefits, passports and driving licences in my name. I really don't want to make it too easy and I was wondering if anyone else has taken precautions... :confused:
        They're not likely to be able to do that with just an address and a birthday. For the record though, I don't use my real birthday online. I use my real address on whois, but don't see how they could use that info without a SS#.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Okay dude, thanks for replying.

    I might just have to change my name to something like "Russell Sprout" or "Austin Space"...
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    • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
      Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

      Okay dude, thanks for replying.

      I might just have to change my name to something like "Russell Sprout" or "Austin Space"...
      And I'll change mine to Jack Frost
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      Canadian Expat Living in Medellin, Colombia

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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayo
    In the USA there is a company called Life Lock that protects people from identity theft.
    Only $10 a month. LifeLock | Leader in Identity Theft Protection

    Not sure if they cover other countries or not???

    Hope that Helps,
    Have a great Day!
    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author TheChanger
      Originally Posted by Michael Mayo View Post

      In the USA there is a company called Life Lock that protects people from identity theft.
      Only $10 a month. LifeLock | Leader in Identity Theft Protection

      Not sure if they cover other countries or not???

      Hope that Helps,
      Have a great Day!
      Michael
      They don't really protect you. Because you are not able to stop identity theft, you can only minimize the impact. What these companies usually do is cover the costs associated with re-claiming your identity. Please correct me if I am wrong.

      The best defense against identity theft is a little common sense and a paper shredder.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Thanks for the lead, Michael -- I'll check that out!
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  • Profile picture of the author paul wolfe
    One easy thing you can do is go back and edit your birthday on any social media platforms. Put something else in - say 4th july and year of your birth.

    Or i have a combination - I have a year chosen when something significant happened plus the birthday of my eldest nephew. That way if anyone lifts that info from YouTube for example they will be way out if trying to access any of my information. (and it makes me appear a few years younger - always a good thign!)
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  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Thanks for the tip, Paul!

    Only yesterday, I adjusted the settings on my FB profile to remove the year of my birth so that it only shows the day and month.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheChanger
    Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

    "Hello there, this is John (MiddleName) Henderson from MyDomainName.com..." -- when it occurred to me that anyone could look up the domain name I've purchased to unearth my home address.
    Go get a PO Box. And then update your whois information.
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  • Profile picture of the author mainstreetcm
    Why is your Whois information not private? Namecheap gives it away free with each domain name registration. Then its only like $6 to cover up to five domains for the next year.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by mainstreetcm View Post

      Why is your Whois information not private? Namecheap gives it away free with each domain name registration. Then its only like $6 to cover up to five domains for the next year.
      I don't know about the OP, but I sell websites so I want people to be able to contact me. I also sell domains and Sedo can verify that you own the domains easily if the info is available in whois.

      Plus, with hundreds of domains, I don't want the additional cost added on at renewal time.
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