subject: Online Identity Theft [print this page] There is a price to pay for fame and wealth. Your name may be Mukesh Ambani or Amartya Sen but it will get you no respect from a hacker and an identity thief. In this online age many famous, rich and well-known people are not masters of their domain. The overly used, I was misquoted' has now become That's not me.'
The identity ripping of eminent personalities is an all too common occurrence. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Orkut etc., are the most popular and thus most abused sites. Was a time when ordinary people wanted to be like celebrities and emulate great people. It has gone a step up. Identity thieves are now being the famous ones. Online - it very difficult to tell the real person from the pretenders.
Many of these fake sites or identities are just pranks but many are malicious - intending to harm. Whatever the motivation of the troublemaker it is scary for the victim of the theft. The really awful aspect of this form of identity theft is that a lot of ordinary folk are falling victim to these transgressions. While it is relatively easy for the famous to get the fake accounts removed it is not so for you and I.
Social networking sites must come up with robust and tough verification processes to stop such abuses. While one or two of the sites do have stringent procedures in place it is not a universal practice.
To many a social website account holder, verification procedures can be a pain. But there is no substitute for being careful and taking precautions. Your life could be stolen.
