Facebook privacy: How to protect your credit rating from identity theft using these 8 Facebook Privacy Tips

Protecting your credit rating from being white-anted because of online identity theft has become an increasing concern of Facebook users recently.

Having someone steal and use your identity can have far reaching and devastating effects on your credit rating and your privacy for years to come. By following these eight Privacy tips when using Facebook and other social websites you can shield yourself from this harm.

Facebook privacy issues

Why I closed my Facebook account

A couple of years ago I joined Facebook. I thought it would be a good way to meet old friends and acquaintances and couldn’t do any harm with promoting my websites. Within two weeks I had met several friends online as well as getting a following of new friends, but I suddenly cancelled my account. Now I see a lot of people are as concerned about their privacy and the credit being ruined by identity theft than ever before. Why is this?

I realised that Facebook was a privacy and credit rating disaster waiting to happen, because too much of my personal data was been shown online for all and sundry to see and copy. Now it turns out that Facebook will sell this information on to marketers.

I reached these credit identity theft and privacy concerns about Facebook for three good reasons.

I was once told. ”Never get your meat from the place you get your bread,” and that principle has always struck an accord with me.

Firstly, identity protection from people using my information that might enable them to assume my credit. It was too easy to share my personal details with others. And for others to pass them on to other people I did not know.

Secondly, call me old fashioned, but I did not want to meet new sexual partners, and this as a lot of what was happening on my site. Whilst they were images of sexy ladies shown, who knows the gender, true motives and identity of the sender?

Thirdly I wanted to focus on my website promotion activities, not to socialise. I had read about Facebook marketing as part of the social media marketing thing, but I now see that as trying to use social connections for profit, and that felt a bit swarmy, even slimy.

You may be different and that’s OK. You might even see what I feel as drawbacks in using Facebook to be benefits about using social marketing, and what I see as a distraction you may see as a bit of light and shade to the humdrum of daily living or Internet marketing, and you may even want to friend 10,000 people who you have never met, and never likely to. Go for it.

So, if that is the case and you want to keep using Facebook, here’s how to protect your privacy and your credit rating by minimizing your risk of identity theft. In a nutshell here it is; never place anything online what you want to remain private.

“Keep a secret and you remain its master. Reveal a secret and you become its slave. [Arab Proverb]“

So how do you do that and open accounts such as Facebook online?

Here are my tips for protecting your privacy on Facebook, and prevent your credit rating suffering because of identity theft.

Facebook privacy tip # 1. Never use your full name.

Most of your real friends don’t know your full name, so why give it out to complete strangers? Yes, its OK to use your family name. Anybody can know that and it won’t affect your privacy.

Facebook privacy tip # 2. Use your nickname and family name.

Never give your middle name. That is starting to identify you from thousands of other people with a first and last name like yours. If your real friends know you as your nickname, use that nickname as your first name online. Keep your middle name blank, or add a fake one.

Facebook privacy tip # 3. If you don’t have a nick name or name that is shortened, e.g. Ron or Ronny for Ronald, or ‘Andy’ for Paul Anderson, then invent a name that you would love other people to call you.

Many people don’t like their given name and secretly wish they had been called a different name. For example if you were named Ronald but hated the name, why not call yourself Ronaldino, or Ronaldo on Facebook? It makes you sound more interesting straight away!

Facebook privacy tip # 4. Never use a Passport photo as your Facebook image.

A natural shot of you with a big smile that is cropped from a larger photo with a landscape background is fine. [Passport photos dont allow you to smile, so this is unlikely to be used for fake IDs.]

Facebook privacy tip # 5. Don’t use your real home address.

Your real friends know your address, and if they don’t you can tell them verbally. Your Facebook “friends” and Facbook don’t need to know your real address.

I suggest that you use your job address, your school or college address. After all, you are there most of the time you are awake [hopefully] and this protects your identity and your privacy, yet places you in your local community.

The only exception here is if that is also your place of business. You may want people to know that address to find you, but most people that work at home or work from home, don’t meet their clients at home. [There are many insurance, security and other risks and Local Government legal requirements that make seeing customers at home a bad idea.] My suggestion here is to use a coffee-shop nearby as your “office” so you can meet people in a safe and congenial place to conduct business. Your “office” is rent free and the aromas and hospitality will help will do business. [This is how Mr Mortgage usually does business, if not at the customers home or office.]

Facebook privacy tip # 6. Deliberately get your date of birth wrong.

Your friends already know your actual birthday. Women have a phobia about telling anyone their real age, except on Facebook it seems! You can simply move to a year lower or higher. For example, let’s say your DOB is 9/11/1990. You could make it 2/2/1991 and this will protect your ID. That is, change the day, the month and the year. Your Real friends will know your actual birthday, and your facebook friends can celebrate your “second” birthday.

Facebook privacy tip #7. Its OK to use your actual mobile phone number.

Its personal and you can easily change it if you get unwanted calls as a consequence of having your phone number on line. The crucial things that you must never divulge are:

Never show or discuss your social security number, your tax file number, your pin numbers or your bank account numbers or passwords online. This is what is known as indentifying personal information, and should not be disclosed even to friends. Only give your credit card details to trusted websites that an encrypted area on the site to allow you security. This is shown by a security certificate , as a HTTPS at the start of the address line, and a padlock symbol on your interface.

Facebook privacy tip # 8 Never trust Facebook for keeping your confidential information private.

Facebook’s policies may change and errors can occur. Either can leave you exposed. So keep that private information out of Facebook in the first place.

Facebook can be fun and private at the same time.

Share with everyone on Facebook your photos, your other friends and all the hangers on you’ll gather, what you like and dislike and what makes you unique and as a person. Just remember, your friends nor your Facebook friends need to know any of your private information, so why share it with them?

Summary

Any one piece of your personal details is not a threat to your identity being stolen.

If no one knows your full name and date of birth, that alone can be enough to give you a lot of protection. And others knowing that alone will not in itself cause you a problem.

It is when you give clusters of your personal details out, that it may create a problem. Creating gaps in that information will help you protect your identity.

The easiest way to protect your privacy on Facebook is not to share any credit related or private information that you would not want your worst enemy to know. When you avoid using your full name, your DOB, your actual address and use natural photos, then no one will be able to steal your id. By never giving out your bank account details, pin numbers, drivers license details or image, medicare card details, and social security or tax file numbers, and your privacy will be safe.

Only give your credit card details to to trusted online sites that are encrypted and have a security certificate and show the HTTPS in the start of the address line.

So to protect yourself from identity theft, get on to Facebook right now and edit your profile in the areas that affect your privacy.

Article Author:

Rick Adlam has been helping his clients as a Mortgage Broker since 1996 with Equity Home Loans, and online since 1999 when he started Mr Mortgage. When you want to get the best mortgage at the lowest interest rates possible for your credit rating based on your credit report, we encourage you to talk to your local Mortgage Broker today, or get more advice at Mr Mortgage for your home finance, credit ratings and credit reports advice now.

Reprint notice. Copyright Mr Mortgage 2010. All rights reserved. If you find this information useful, Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Agents and associated professionals may share, email, aggregate through RSS feeds, reprint, “copy and paste” and republish this page on their website, only on the condition that they leave the article links and this notice, and the Article Author credits and links in tack. Rick Adlam

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