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It’s a fun and easy way to upload pictures for your friends and followers to see, or send a quick update on what you’re doing right at this moment. It all seems harmless until you realize that almost 10 million Americans were victims of identity fraud in 2008, which is over a 20 percent increase since 2007. With over 250 million personal data records breached since 2005, millions of people have been exposed to the ill effects that being a victim of identity theft can quickly have - all because personal information got into the wrong hands.
A driver's license number, credit card number, or Social Security number truly are our "identity" — numbers that define us and are they keys to various doors in the world. A credit card account reveals all of our charges and, more importantly, the types and frequencies of our purchases. A driver's license, once intended as nothing other than a permit to get behind the wheel of a car, has become, Margaret Mannix points out, "the nation's de facto ID card." A Social Security number can be an ID number in a medical file, a financial account or a student ID. Swipe this number and a few other key pieces of information, and a thief can set up a whole new life (and credit history).
It’s a burgeoning problem in a tight economy. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 9% of all identity theft has a family member as the culprit. That’s about 900,000 incidents annually, the FTC says
Originally posted by Ophiuchus 13
I hate to say I trust no human living soul.
Originally posted by unityemissions
reply to post by AccessDenied
Sorry for getting of topic. My bad! I don't trust the government to know much of anything about me. I left my previous apartment and haven't updated the information with anyone. All mail that is essential is being forwarded from my parents address.
I don't have a credit card, so never exchange that information. I do have a business idea that I'm not sharing with anyone. It's not that I don't trust my friends to not capitalize on the idea, it's that I don't trust them entirely to keep their mouth shut.
I don't trust businesses to know my cell phone number. If someone calls, and I'm not aware of who it is, it can go to voicemail which is a standard message. If it's important, they will leave a message or text me.
Originally posted by AccessDenied
I thank all of you for your posts.
However, the direction I was going in was how much do you trust others with your personal information.
It's obvious we have all been jaded by a person or event in our life that makes us wary.
But daily we encounter situations were we must give out some piece of our info like simply swiping an atm card, or trusting a friend to keep a secret about a loan we are trying to get..etc.
Do you tell friends family and co-workers such info?
Would you even trust your spouse, child, sibling with your credit card?