Why do you have your correct birthday and address listed
on LinkedIn?
November of 2012 I had someone try to steal my identity.
Thank goodness for an alert young man at Visa, who noticed.
I was working in my office one day when the phone rang.
It was not a rare occurrence, so I thought nothing of it. However, when I
answered, I discovered that it was a young man from Visa. He identified himself
and then proceeded to ask me if I had moved to Toronto? I told him that I was
not moving to Toronto, nor had I been there for several years, and then it was
only to change airplanes at the airport as I travelled to visit family In Nova
Scotia.
Him: "So you did not purchase over $500 worth of
goods at WallMart in Toronto?"
Me: "Of course not!"
Him: "Well we just received a call from a man in
Toronto asking us to change your address to one in Toronto. You're sure you are
not moving there in the near future?"
Me: "No, I am not even planning to travel there in
the near future."
Him: "Well, then we feel that your card has been
compromised."
Me: "How did this happen?"
Him: "We think it is an inside job. You will need to
contact Equifax and a couple of other credit companies to make sure that your
identity is protected."
He gave me the numbers to call for the companies. As soon
as I hung up, I made the phone calls.
Here is what I discovered: For someone to steal your
identity, all they need is your name and your birthday. They do not need your
picture, because they will use their own picture and take on your identity with
their headshot.
So, do you have your correct birthday and address listed
on LinekdIn? ...You do!
Change it! Right now, go into LinkedIn and change your
birthday, either to a fictitious date or remove it all together.
Right about this time I had the honour of presenting some
workshops with George Greenwood, THE Identity Theft Guru of the world, renowned
author of 5+ books, and professional speaker.
We placed a big screen between us. I would proceed to
demonstrate to our audience how to use LinkedIn. Then George would explain how
the members of our audience could do what I said and be safe.
George also explained how important it is to not have a
birthday even listed on any of our social media.
I chose to have my birthdays listed, so I look normal,
but every birth date I have listed online is incorrect.
Once I walked into a networking meeting and everyone
started singing, "Happy Birthday to you!" Well I like to sing, so I
joined right in. When they finished singing, I asked them whose birthday it
was? They said, "Yours!"
I asked them which online platform did you get that from?
I change my birthdates every so often, so they are never
the same.
Best rule of thumb is to not have a birthday listed
online anywhere.
Regarding your address, only list a PO Box mailing
address that is not where your residence is located. Some say that this is
unprofessional, but I would rather be safe than sorry, right?
How about you?
To learn more about marketing and branding best
practices, join us on our last FREE webinar coming up June 14th at 4pm MDT/ 3pm
PDT.
Christine Till
The Marketing Mentress
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/marketingmentress
www.2csuccess.com
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