We have social media, we have instant messaging, we have this, we have that. And it all wants’ your information in one form or another. But just how much information are we willing to give out? Surprisingly, quite a bit, and we don’t even realize it.
Teen-agers and young people are especially careless about this. We read or hear on the news about something bad happened to a young girl, only to find out she had unknowingly put the information on a popular website. Or that somebody is getting prank phone calls in the middle of the night because they had posted their phone number.
The Internet is global, just like business is global. That means anybody, anywhere can see and read your personal information, all around the world. How do you know that prank phone call is local? Well, if you know the local prefix number, you would. ( 123 – xxxx) But what if it’s the complete 10-digit number? Someone in say Germany or Iceland, saw the phone number, there’s no reason they can’t call you in the middle of the night for a laugh or two.
But just how much information should you give out, if any? Well, that depends on you. We all know, or should know, it’s not a good idea to give out your SS number to just anybody who asks for it. Also, it’s not a great idea to say you’re leaving for the evening either. You might come back to an empty house…literally. (as in…the furniture’s gone) Wait till you’ve returned, then say what a great time you had earlier in the evening.
Personal information isn’t just on the Internet. Hackers, because of the Internet, can reach out and touch someone too. They can hijack your computer and get the bank information, credit card information you have on your computer fairly easy nowadays. Yes, you should have this information, written down on paper or in a notebook, in a lock-box somewhere. NOT on the computer.
You should also make back-ups of your personal information on removable disk’s and put that under lock and key.
Source:
Personal experience and knowledge.