So what’s all this about User 927 then? Well, it seems that some time ago, AOL released the details of search requests made by 650,000 subscribers however instead of giving over their names they gave over numeric ids. So much for private profiles!  They were supposed to be for academic researchers only but somehow ended up on a public forum. Somehow, The New York Times and The Washington Post were able to track down the names of two of the AOL users but no one has been able to identify User 927. What makes User 927 so interesting is the type of searches made including the terms Mange, Human Mold, White Camellia, Dying Elmo. Now Katharine Clark Gray and Director Michael Alltop are turning this story into a play which you can see at The Studio at St. Stephen’s Theater June 11-22.

Although this is a very interesting and intriguing story, it does make me think about the bigger issue of data protection and identity theft that is becoming a big problem. My friend Jon Space has had problems in this department and we talked at length about it.   Although identity theft in itself is nothing new, technology is really making it very easy for criminals to go about their business of crime.

One of the best ways a criminal will steal your identity is buy rummaging about your thrown out trash. Even although there has bee a lot written on the subject, many people still don’t seem to understand the full extent of the problem. Only the other week I was walking along the road and found lots of paper work strewn about. The paperwork was made up of telephone bills and private letters which gave out account number, telephone details and full name and address. I don’t know why this paperwork was there but my feeling is that this is the work of criminals. You should never throw away these sorts of details as you should use a shredder to destroy all personal information.

Also, when you are online you should do everything you can to prevent criminals from finding out ways to steal your identity. How many of you have an account with the likes of MySpace or Facebook? I’m sure there is quite a large number of you. If you do, go into your account and have a look to see how much information you have given out. People who steal identities will use info such as surname, maiden name, place of birth, first school along with interests such as music, food and TV. You might think that this info is very innocent but you need to understand that this is exactly what an identity thief is looking for.

Unfortunately we can’t 100% prevent ourselves from identity theft when you consider that companies such as AOL are leaking all sort of info about us and even banks have been found to throw out letters with loads of personal details on it. However you should always read as much as you can on the subject of identity theft and what you can do about it. There are also companies such as LifeLock who will insure you against identity theft and make sure you don’t lose out on any money.

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