Facebook: Identity Theft

Need a new you?  The first place to go when wanting a new identity is Facebook.  You can easily rip off somebody's credit rating, raid bank accounts, obtain a new drivers license, etc., with the push of just a few buttons.  All we really need is:

1.  Your name (which you have posted)
2.  Your address (easy to find using Zabasearch.com)
3.  Copy of your birth certificate (contact county vital statistics with name and birthdate - you have freely posted your birth date on Facebook -- thanks for posting the year as well although we're pretty good at guessing.  The "class of 91 reunion" Facebook event RSVP narrows it down).

4.   Obtaining your social security number is easy.  Send birth certificate to Social Security to get copy of card.  Many of you also list your place of employment.  Depending on the clerk answering the phone we only need to go through one or two people in the department to get the information we want using keenly worded phrases. Also, getting your employer history is easy.  All we need is to request a SSN Form 7050 which tells us where you worked, for how long, and how much you made.  Call former employers and ask just one or two "innocent" questions as if you're conducting an employer reference check.  You'll have a total essay in no time.  Most of the time you get more information than what you ask for.

5.  Finding your mother's maiden name and other such info is also pretty easy.  Most of the answers are already listed in your "friend" network.  It doesn't take a genius to figure it out as most of you segregate your "friends" into a special "family" category. Your "family" network often posts information that puts your entire background picture together with reading just a few bits text.  Your relatives/spouses sing like canaries. 

6.  Using the map pin in conjunction with your vacation pictures gives a free pass to when you're not home.  Love it when you all brag about going on an extended trip across the ocean or rsvp to an event far away.  Remember, you may 'think' only your friends can see your wonderful activities, but everything on Facebook is a free-for-all.

When we have initial information we camp out in front of your home waiting for the mailman to deliver -- no pun intended.  It's a little tougher if you have a P.O. box or mail that arrives inside the home, but a simple change of address form filled out at the post office takes care of that along with having a few connections (if you know what I mean).  By the time you've figured out what's going on and try to prosecute, we are LOOOOONG gone and have the information needed.  We may not even wipe out your bank accounts.  A couple hundred here, a couple hundred there.... It's amazing how many of you don't scrutinize your bank or credit card statements.

For the record, I have NEVER ripped off anybody's bank account or stole anybody's identity, but I'm bewildered that in this age of the dangers of too much personal information getting into the wrong hands, you all volunteer it..... via FACEBOOK.    Who is Big Brother?  It's YOU!!!!!!!!!!!