Identity theft is a big problem these days, so when I started reading through a MySpace bulletin which on the surface creates some pretty nifty names, I quickly realized that whoever wrote it originally did it to troll for identities. Think I’m full of shit? Check it out:
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (middle name and current street name)
*Now they know the street you live on.
2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad’s side, your favorite candy)
*Nothing to lose here…
3. YOUR “FLY GIRL/GUY” NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your last name)
*Nothing major here…
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite animal, favorite color)
*Common security question on some websites when you lose your password is: What is your favorite color? What is your favorite animal?
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you live)
*Now I know the street you live on, and the city/town you live in. Goodbye anonymity.
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother’s maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet’s name)
*Nothing major here, unless you use your pets name for a password somewhere, or to recover a lost password…
7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom’s maiden name spelled backward)
*Ever use online banking or credit? Mother’s maiden name is an easy way to recover a password, add on the address and city and you can even change an email address.
8. PORN STAR NAME: (favorite pet name, street you grew up on)
*No big deal again unless you use a pets name for a password (very common) or still live on the street you grew up on.
9. SUPERHERO NAME: (“The”, your favorite color, the automobile your parents drive)
Again, favorite color.
Doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people, I’m sure. But realize that by using these results as well as information culled from the original poster’s Myspace profile… I now know her name, where she lives, her mother’s maiden name, her favorite color, and her pet’s name. Those are all used every single day in e-commerce to steal identities.
Think twice before you fill one of these out folks, ANYONE can see it.
