Don't Allow Identity Theft To Cut Down Your Family Tree

By Author: Ifida Known
Total Articles: 7
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Researching your family history can be very exhilarating and rewarding. Think back to the last time you got a clue that brought clarity to your search. You felt immediate excitement and joy, right? Unfortunately, this is also how an identity thief feels as they gather clue upon clue of your information. It's really important to understand that the same things you look for in your family line are the same things that perpetrators are looking for in their search as well.

Your identity has been created over the lifetime of your family history. Be aware of the importance of your identity before, during and after your research and don't indiscriminately expose yourself with reckless abandon

1. First understand the value of your identity. Stop concentrating on what you don't have and pay attention to what you do have - a remarkable identity.

2. Understand the true worth of your reputation and what would pain you most if you lost it. What if someone took this most personal part of you and used it as if it were their own? How would you feel about that?

3. Appreciate your identity more than the identity ...
... thief does.

4. Learn how your visibility causes you vulnerability to identity theft. How and where do you expose your valuable information?

5. Educate yourself and be aware of the value of the information that you're putting out there on the World Wide Web. Once you send information out in a blog, YouTube, Facebook or in any other manner you cannot ever get it back.

6. Stop and question anyone who asks you for personal / family / professional / financial / legal / health or medical information. Do your due diligence to make sure the individual asking is legitimate. Be aware of who they are and what their intent is for asking. Have them reveal to you who they are. Build a relationship with them.

7. Value your family records and understand your vulnerability in sharing these records indiscriminately over the web.

8. Do your research on the internet but maintain your files on a separate computer that does not connect to the internet, just as you should do with your personal finances and health records. This eliminates the possibility that would compromise your entire system if your computer is breached.

9. Do not give out all your information to an individual or company at any one time or in the same manner.

10. Learn what steps you can take to create more privacy in your life while still sharing family history.

Most people think that identity theft isn't going to happen to them and if it does they've got the protection that financial or insurance companies are advertising. This will not protect you against identity theft. It's not all about financials. Identity theft involves your entire life. If it happens to you, the company might pay back your lost money but they won't pay for the sleepless nights or the missed hours from work that it takes you to cancel each on of the 13 cell phone accounts that an identity thief purchased in your name. The financial companies won't take away your dread of having to get another job because you lost your security clearance or your company credit card.

Who will know the difference if incorrect information about you is out on the internet? (Remember these records on the internet never go away.) No, these big companies are not going to pay back your pains and sorrows. So who are you really exposing your personal information to in the chat room?

What you publish and send out on the internet about your family is extremely valuable; not just to you but also to the would-be identity thief or organized crime ring looking to prey on an established, valuable identity. Once they get the targeted piece of information there is no stopping them because they get such a high return on their investment of time with a very low risk of being caught and punished.

With genealogy it's necessary to expose enough information to make those amazing connections that we can make with someone else sharing part of a family line. Its education and diligence combined with knowledge, intuition and security of what you're sharing. You have to know where and how much you will share. It truly is a fine line to separate the good from the bad and avoid the ugly. Be careful and use the 10 tips to better protect your good name and family tree!

And now I'd like to invite you to go to http://www.powerofprivacy.com and get your FREE instant access to Your Ultimate Guide to Privacy from Ifida Known, America's Ambassador for Privacy, Safety, Security, Identity and Assett Protection . Other articles written by Ifida Known are available at http://www.IfidaKnown.com. Copyright 2005-2008 © Ifida Known Enterprises LLC