Be Careful What You Write

A few weeks ago, I attended a presentation on Internet Security. The purpose of the talk was to expose the dangers of putting too much personal information on the Internet. With the advent of Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, there are a lot of ways to keep all of your friends up-to-date with your latest activities. However this can be a bad thing. Perhaps you mention that you have just acquired that rare item on e-bay that represents the bulk of your net worth. Then a few weeks later, you mention that you are on vacation. Any thief with Internet access and a willingness to do a bit of research can figure out how to unburden you from your prized possession.

For some in the audience, it was difficult to see how one could make the jump from reading a blog (like this one) to knowing the exact location of a person. The speaker then gave an illustration of how a teenager was befriended by an online predator. The teenager was smart enough to know better than to give out personal information but that didn't stop the predator. He was able to discover her e-mail and did an Internet search. He was able to find a post on a collectibles website where she gave her mother's phone number. The predator was able to do a reverse telephone lookup and get her address. It was only a matter of luck that the authorities were able to apprehend the predator before any damage was done. When they caught him, he had a map with driving instructions to the teenager's house.

At the end of the presentation it became very apparent that the speaker was against any type of online presence. While that may be a bit drastic, he did have some good points. First, make sure you have a valid reason for posting information. Second, be careful what you post as it may become a lure for tragedy. Finally, be aware of what your children are posting. While I may be upset if someone were to steal my favorite pair of skis, I wouldn't cry too long. If someone were to harm one of my children, it would be a much different story.