This week’s post is a short reminder of why you need to be careful with personal information on the Internet.
As I have mentioned in earlier posts it is easy to make up a fake persona on the Internet. This cuts both ways because when you are communicating on the Internet identity is not guaranteed. Confirming identity is not inherent in Internet Protocols. Mail can be spoofed. Websites are not always official the names may just be similar. The SSL certificates might not match up with the company.
What should you do about identity on the Internet? Think! What if the person you are sharing information with is not who you think it is? What harm could they do to you with that information? That may give you pause about sharing the information at all.
What other things can you do? Don’t use the links in email. Go to the website of the company that sent you the email and login there. Before you buy anything from an unknown company, do a Google search. See if any complaints or red flags come up. Offline, don’t give personal information during incoming calls. For example, if someone calls saying they are from your credit card company, hang up and call back at the number on your credit card.