Birthdates On A Non-secure Site

[Robert Myers]

I recently tried to register at a very interesting looking scale modeling site and was rejected because I listed my birth year as 1900. It was an obvious lie, but for a reason. Using such a obvious wrong date tipped off the admin. I knew it would. I could have said any more recent year and been accepted, But even in the lie, I felt the need to show some honesty.

Please consider this when you give information out to a non-secure site. The information you give is out there for anyone to retrieve, no matter how secure the site claims to be. Unless the site switches to an (https) mode for you to send the information. I am not knocking the site, they have the right to ask. I am just sorry I will have to miss out on being there.

If I put out my real birthday and day, month and year of birth along with my name (not to mention my e-mail address) ....I am helping anyone with a little computer savy steal my identity. I know the site I was looking to join is honest, but they lack the software to secure my information in transit. I am not paranoid, I work in law enforcement and see the results of poorly guarded personal information every day.

What do you think?

[Dr. Cranky]

That's interesting, and it is something I am always concerned about. Thanks for bringing it up . . . I've gotten into the habit of changing all my passwords eveyr couple of weeks. Better to be safe than sorry!

[Harry P.]

I think you're being a little paranoid. Your name and birth date is a matter of public record and already exists in more places, online and off, than you can imagine. If you have a driver's license, ever registered to vote, ever used a credit card, ever paid a utility bill, etc., etc., your "identity" is already all over the place. Everyone's is.

That's not to say you shouldn't be careful. You're right to watch for non-secure sites, and to be careful what info you give out to who...but it's far too late, technology-wise, to try and keep your identity all to yourself.

[Guest Davkin]

Unfortunately that is very true Harry. The most foolproof way to protect your identity from thieves is to have such poor credit that your identity isn't worth stealing.

David