This came via another list and thought it is good info for all. A reminder is to never put info about living relatives on a homepage. Even gedcoms have a way to keep living relatives private. >>>News You Can Use 5/11/98, US News and World Report >>>>BY MARGARET MANNIX >>>>Home-page snoops >>>> >>>>Does your family have a home page on the Internet? If so, you might >want to >>>>reconsider how much personal information you post online. Con >artists who >>>>steal others' identities, get credit in their names, then leave innoce= nt >>>>people with a mountain of debt to fight and ruined credit to clean up >are >>>>discovering the charms of the Net. >>>> >>>>Old-fashioned techniques like wading through Dumpsters for >discarded >credit- >>>>card receipts take time. These days, a savvy thief can hack into an >Internet >>>>service provider's subscriber list and lift credit-card numbers by the >>>>thousands. Databases full of sensitive information have been >inadvertently >>>>left open in cyberspace. And some online outfits peddle sensitive >information >>>>without regard to privacy, despite Federal Trade Commission scrutiny >last year >>>>that encouraged many to limit how they sell services like looking up >Social >>>>Security numbers. >>>> >>>>Meanwhile, thousands of netizens are unknowingly making it easier >for >thieves >>>>to steal their identities by posting individual home pages, family >>>>genealogies, and r=E9sum=E9s. Sure, there's no harm in posting >photographs of >>>>Morris or Fido. And only the foolish post a Social Security number on >a Web >>>>site. But many pages are packed with the sort of details identity >thieves >>>>crave: full names, birth dates, birthplaces, addresses, occupations, >degrees, >>>>phone numbers. With the click of a mouse, a thief has a personal >dossier at >>>>his fingertips. >>>> >>>>Think about it. A name, birth date, and birthplace will get you a birt= h >>>>certificate, and a driver's license is not far behind. "The driver's >license, >>>>unfortunately, has become a de facto ID," says Beth Givens, director >of the >>>>Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego. It's the key to all sorts o= f >>>>financial services, and it propels a thief closer to the magic number:= >the >>>>Social Security number. >>>> >>>>Mom's maiden name. Some family tree tracers place details like a >mother's >>>>maiden name online. That's often a common password for credit >cards and >bank >>>>accounts. Revealing such personal details, says Ed Howard, >executive >director >>>>of the Center for Law in the Public Interest in Los Angeles, is "priva= cy >>>>suicide." >>>> >>>>As Howard points out, the Internet isn't a toy. Your home page may >have >hooked >>>>you up with a long-lost friend or relative, but it can also put you at >risk. >>>>Identity-theft victims suffer the aftermath of the criminal's spending >sprees > >>>>for years in the form of calls from collection agencies, ruined credit= , >even >>>>mistaken arrest. >>>> >>>>While the Internet is a wonderful tool for genealogists (it has >revolutionized >>>>family research), think again before jeopardizing the privacy of your >>>>relatives by putting intimate details up on the Web. "If a family >member is >>>>going to put up the genealogy, I think they should notify all the livi= ng >>>>members of that family tree," says Givens--who would prefer her >family >tree in >>>>book form. >>>> >>>>You'll never have complete control over your personal information, so >you'll >>>>never be immune to fraud. But why make it easy for someone to >impersonate you? >>>>If you wouldn't post your background on your local grocery store's >bulletin >>>board, don't put it on the Internet. "It's the world's bullet= in >board," >says >>>Carole Lane, author of Naked in Cyberspace: How to Find >Personal Information Online (Pemberton Press, 1997, $29.95). And con >artists are checking it out. > > >Clare L. Sallee County Coordinator for Rootsweb's Lowndes County, Mississippi > ICQ#192957