Are Finance Bloggers Perfect Identity Theft Targets 
82 Comments
One of the threats of the online world that we often forget about is identity theft. It’s easy to forget about those kinds of dangers as we are going about our business online. It’s one of those kinds of things that you don’t truly appreciate until it actually happens to you.
Fortunately it’s never happened to me, possibly because I have such a unique name that I probably don’t make as suitable a target. Still I have it in the back of my mind what a danger it is.
Just by exposing too much information online, you could be giving someone the keys to your identity. Then suddenly they could be applying for loans and credit cards in your name. You may not be the one racking up those bills, but it will all come back to haunt you.
Finance bloggers in particular tend to put themselves at even greater risk for this kind of thing. So many times I see bloggers listing item for item how much money they spent each day and even exact balances on loans or credit cards.
They don’t stop to realize that those exact financial details are often used by credit card companies to help verify identities. I always think of those bloggers when I’m on the phone with the credit card company and they ask me to list recent transactions. I’m reminded that those bloggers are giving away valuable info.
Fortunately the bloggers that get that personal do tend to be the ones who are blogging anonymously. Really though, it wouldn’t be too difficult for a hacker to find out the person’s real name. I recall googling a first name only blogger and was able to find out her last name very easily. And I’m no hacker…nor was I stalking her lol.
Once someone shady has that extra info, it wouldn’t be tough to find out more about you. Maybe they’d just need to snatch some government issued mail from your mailbox. Or maybe your facebook profile would conveniently list your birthdate, making it even easier.
Sure, in all probability you’d be able to get that kind of stuff removed from you credit history, but you’d have to fight to get it taken care of. Who wants to deal with that kind of stress and wasted time? Plus you might not notice until you are trying to actually use your credit for a loan or mortgage. This would just set you back.
So don’t be surprised if I never share any specific financial numbers here on my blog. I understand the risks that this exposes. I don’t want to make it any easier for people who would stoop so low.
If you are a blogger and you are exposing that kind of stuff, you might want to reconsider that decision. At the very least, make sure it is not easy to find out your real name. That may not completely protect you, but it at least makes it a bit tougher.
What are your views on the identity theft risk for bloggers? Do you think we are a better target that anyone else? Is there anything extra you do to protect your identity?
82 Comments
I do think this is a risk with some personal finance bloggers. I try not to put too much information out there. However, I have noticed that random people have been trying to friend request me on linkedin by using my blog email (which is not linked to my linkedin email). I’ve never heard of these people and I’m assuming it’s just spammers.
I would be careful with linkedin. All of the information on there is a bit risky too. Most likely those people are just spammers looking to inflate their numbers, but some could very well be people looking to gain more detailed information about people.
I never put out my income or spending habits simply for the fact that it is nobody’s business. I don’t think it needs to be known in order to establish credibility, but I do understand the motivation that many feel it may provide their readers to share such info. It’s just a personal preference for me.
I don’t think we are at any more risk as a group than anyone else. Someone would have to go through a lot of effort to track any one blogger down, then go to their house and try to hack the network or steal the mail. Plus, I think a solid number of bloggers are well enough aware of the issues relating to identity theft and know how to protect themselves to a fairly high degree.
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Good points Eric. It would take a lot of effort to target one individual, but think of how much can be gained by getting approved for a credit card or loan in their name. So for the small time identity thief, he’s probably more likely to break into a townhouse or apartment mailbox where he can get access to dozens of people’s mail. For the more organized rings though, something like this might be more feasible.
I do understand why some bloggers share this kind of info though. That openness allows people to relate to them easier and helps them gain reader trust.
I worry about this sometimes too, as I do post a lot of my personal info. I am a first-name only blogger, and have a VERY common first name (it was the 11th most popular name in the U.S. for new babies in 2011… and 2010… and 2009, too), so I like to think I’m safe… but you’re right, you can never underestimate the abilities and determination of someone who is shady.
I don’t know if a common name makes you any more or less safe. Knowing your first name does make a hacker’s search a little easier. Then if they find someone with that first name somehow connected to your blog, web hosting or domain registration, they can be fairly confident that they found the right name.
I make a point not to get very personal with anything I write online. One for identity theft and two because I don’t care if anyone knows my net worth or how much I spend on my coffee this morning
Yeah I don’t care how much you spent on your coffee Sean. The bloggers who go into that much detail are likely doing it more for personal accountability reasons.
I think anyone who uses their real name in public is a bigger target (partly because they’re a public figure, too). I think it’s a valid point that financial bloggers need to remember: there are plenty of people who know a bunch about you, yet you know nothing about them.
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Good way of putting it. You don’t know just who is reading all that information. The vast majority of those people would never think of doing anything bad with that knowledge, but it just takes 1 or 2 bad apples to screw you over.
Thanks for the reminder about how easy it is to have our ID stolen. I do see a lot of bloggers posting their exact spending patterns and other sensitive financial info, which can be harmful in the wrong hands. I try to avoid posting sensitive info and speak only in general terms when possible.
Yes there’s a lot less they can do with general information about you. Identity thieves may notice that vagueness and see you as a more difficult target.
I’ve thought about this quite a bit. I share some information but it definitely doesn’t get down into gritty details. Hopefully what I share doesn’t put me at any greater risk.
I do think you have to be extra careful when your name is directly connected to your blog. That basically eliminates a step if someone were to decide to target you. As your finances improve you likely become more of a target too because you would qualify for a higher limit credit card or a larger loan.
Great point. I try not to get into too many specifics for this and a laundry list of other reasons.
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Yes there are other reasons to be discrete beyond identity theft risks. Some people just aren’t comfortable sharing that kind of thing for more personal reasons. That is especially true if people they know in life are following their blog.
Identity theft is certainly an issue for bloggers (whether they be PF bloggers or otherwise). I’m assuming that many PF bloggers post their weekly saving-and-spending details to build credibility with their financial-based subscribers. For that matter, I’ve seen non-PF bloggers post their online earnings along with their marketing strategies; and they do so for the same reason. Personally, I would be too frightened to divulge my financial details knowing that there are identity thieves just waiting to collect and use it. It’s very scary in deed.
It is too bad that people would use such information for shady purposes. I do think that it would otherwise be a great way to build credibility. I know I trust people a lot more when they are openly sharing personal details, both online and offline. When that info is posted online though, it could be putting a bullseye on your back.
Getting too personal about your finances is never a good thing but everybody has different opinions about what they post so it’s their choice to make.
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For sure. I’m not advocating that all finance bloggers suddenly change what they post. They just need to be aware of that risk. Maybe to offset that risk they should check their credit scores more regularly or be particularly careful with connecting their real name with their blog.
The title of this post made my heart jump a bit. This is a fear of mine, that a weirdo could spend months piecing together little details you spill out, eventually finding out who you are, and doing something bad. I try my best to be as anonymous as possible for those reasons, as well as safety reasons.
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Speaks of weirdos piecing together information, also keep in mind that all of this information can be collected by the government or corporations. I’m already a little paranoid about how much information people have about me. So I try to limit how much extra info they get, but that can be very tough while blogging. You always want to share at least some personal experiences.
I’ve often thought about this as well. I don’t share that detailed of information on my blog, partly for that reason. It’s definitely something to be mindful of and another reason to regularly monitor your credit report.
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Monitoring your credit report is one way to fight back, but sometimes it is best to just avoid some of that risk. After finding something fraudulent on your credit report, you would still likely panic and then have to fight to convince them that you were not involved in those negative items.
This is exactly why I’m always careful not to put too much personal information out on the internet. Heck I don’t even have a personal facebook page. It really does make things too easy for criminals. Even though most of the cost would be covered by credit card companies, there is still those costs you’ll just have to eat, plus all the time required to get things straightened out. A bit of prevention goes a long way IMHO.
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Good point about having to eat some of those costs. You may be able to convince them to waive the bigger debts, but some of the smaller items may not be worth the effort. The time wasted would be my concern though. I’ve got better things to do with my time than to spend time trying to repair something I didn’t do myself.
I’m not worried as much, as I don’t share my numbers online of my income, where I work or what I bring in. Sure I share certain costs (car payment for example), but that’s the extent of it.
Good post though.
As long as you are somewhat careful you should be fine. Car payment details should be safe enough on their own. It’s more of a problem when people have a vast history of spending habits. Then the risk is much greater.
I didn’t really consider this, so thanks for this post! I share my transactions but I also watch my banking activity like a hawk and monitor my credit reports. Like you, I don’t have a very common name but that also means that when you google me, there’s only one result. I think identity theft is something that you can mitigate by taking steps to protect yourself, but sometimes identity thieves just get lucky no matter how many steps you take.
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Great point about the downside of a unique name. That does certainly make it easier to find more information online. I hadn’t really considered that side of things. I’ve used my name all over the internet though. So it’s a little late to do much about that other than be safer going forward and monitor my accounts & credit history.
It’s a huge thing that I try not to get into! I used to post up my weekly transactions, but I stopped doing that because I am scared of identity theft. Since I blog not anonymously, I took my blog in the direction of writing about topics I am passionate about instead of a transaction log to keep me accountable. I save the transactions for my notebook now.
I don’t doubt that someone could find out my identity online, especially with the amount of info I share. My mom would kill me if she knew that I was sharing financial info (banks, transactions, credit limit, credit score, etc) online.
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Good to hear that you are taking less risks in that regard now. I think female bloggers in particular need to be careful about this kind of stuff. If some stalker knows where you are spending money each day, it wouldn’t be tough for them to figure out just which starbucks, clothing store or restaurant you’re going to.
Is that “the Hamburglar (McDonalds)” in the photo? Great pic! I have thought about this topic in the past; hence why I blog anonymously and don’t post any financial details about my life. People are getting very sneaky with the Internet and since most everything is electronic it wouldn’t take too long for someone to drain your account.
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lol yes that’s some guy on the street stealing the Hamburglar’s identity. You do seem like one of the more careful finance bloggers with this kind of thing. Usually at least other bloggers learn each other’s first names, but I only know you as MMD.
You’re so right! I’ve taken your advice and deleted some personal financial numbers from my blog. At least not make it so obvious! Thank you!
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No problem at all. Glad that you’ve personally taken my advice to heart. Hopefully your readers aren’t disappointed about the change. I think you can find a good balance of sharing info without getting too precise about it.
Yowza, good point. Be careful all of you pf bloggers!
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Yes hopefully this never happens to any of them, but a little bit of prevention can go a long ways.
Hmm, I do weekly spending reports but that’s all done in cash and in honesty, I tend to round up. I don’t share my income or where I work. It is food for thought though.
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The cash spending should be a lot safer in terms of identity theft. Still, I don’t know if you want to advertise where you will be frequenting on a regular basis. That may carry risks beyond just identity theft.
A lot of what I do say is “gas station” or “bookstore” which is pretty generic but I did notice that I do name some stores. I think I’ll have to start changing them though. Rather be safe than sorry.
bogofdebt recently posted..Spending Report 5/14-5/20
Being more generic about stores is a good idea. It’s an easy enough change that doesn’t change the experience for visitors, but it does provide a bit of extra protection.
wow I’ve actually never thought of it before!!
Now I’m grateful I don’t share purchases or exact details about my income or spending. I do share my student loan balances, but I don’t update that information very frequently.. or at least not as frequently as I make payments.
Hmmm I’m going to be more careful in the future I think..
I think I have had a bank ask me to verify how much I owe on a specific loan. So there might be a degree of risk for sharing that exact figure. If it’s not updated very frequently, it’s probably fine. It’s something to be aware of though.
I can appreciate a lot of what is in this post, as I used to think about it often and some of it is why I don’t reveal exact balances of all my individual debts. But I’m not generally concerned about things like weekly spending reports, etc. because I make most of my purchases with cash. To help protect myself, I have never put my legal first name on my blog.
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Avoiding your legal first name probably helps a bit. Just know that a persistent hacker can usually find that kind of info other ways. As mentioned to some other female bloggers above, I think the cash spending reports is more of a problem with stalking related risks. If someone with a warped sense of reality gets obsessed with someone from reading their blog and seeing their photos, you don’t want them to know anything extra about your regular visits anywhere. I guess something like that becomes more of a problem when your blog becomes more popular and more random people find it.
Me neither!
One of the reasons I stopped posting really personal info online is because I’ve seen too many people get carried away with “full disclosure”
For sure. Some people are just way too open tracking every last cent publicly. Readers would probably appreciate some of that, but so would any identity thieves.
I don’t blog anonymously and am definitely not going to share my exact income/expenses on my blog. I think it does create a unique connection when you share actual numbers, because theory is only so interesting. When you walk the walk and show actual numbers to prove it, it does build credibility (IMHO). That being said, I think it’s wise to NOT share everything and to practice a bit of reservevation when it comes to sharing personal info on your blog, because of the risks you pointed out above.
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I do agree that it helps a lot with credibility. So I have some mixed feelings about giving this advice. On one side I like that bloggers can be so open and honest, but on the other side I don’t want them to later regret that unnecessary risk. If they do take this advice to heart, I hope they can keep the same personal connections without as much risk.
For accounts we already have, my wife checks transactions rigourously. Plus, our bank seems to be pretty good about flagging odd charges and calling us. So far they have all been us, but it’s nice to know they’re looking out.
But I’ve never had anyone ask me to verify recent transactions. My wife and I make so many <$2 charges I don't think I'd be able to do that without having the online account open in front of me.
That’s actually part of the problem. The bank service reps can be quite understanding of not being able to remember every transactions. As long as you correctly list 2 or 3 specific transactions, that is usually enough for verification. Perhaps your bank doesn’t use this verification method though.
I could definitely see an increased risk of identity theft for some bloggers. You just have to be smart, but even then there is the possibility of becoming a victim. You have to be proactive and reviews your accounts on a regular basis to catch anything early.
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Yes since anyone really can be a victim of identity theft, preventative measures only go so far. With blogging though you have direct control over some additional risk factors. So you might as well take those steps.
I have thought of this often. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t get too specific with details about myself. I do enjoy reading actual numbers from financial bloggers though. I think as long as they don’t put what banks they use they are not at as much risk.
That might be true. Including the bank name too would be an even greater risk. I think it would be easy enough for someone to find something like that out if they were to go as far as stealing mail.
I worry about this, although I put no specific financial details about my life online.
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As someone mentioned above, just putting your name out there makes you a bit more of a target. Limiting the personal details you post is sure to help protect yourself though.
I think I’m one of these naughty bloggers you speak of.
I put way too much info on my blog, but I do it because I’m hoping it will help people. Maybe I’m way too trusting.
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Yes unfortunately you are one of those bloggers who is quite open. I hope I didn’t get you or other such bloggers too worried. It is easy to be trusting with your regular readers, but you do have to remember that anyone can stumble across your blog and those specific financial details.
Are you saying I shouldn’t post the draft that I have been working on about “Why I love my Social Security Number?”..
… Just kidding!
Yeah, we all have to be careful. While it is great in many ways to have our dirty laundry aired, we can’t be stupid about it.
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lol at the social security number post idea. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it stupid. It’s more just naive and being overly trusting. At some point you have to accept that you can’t trust everyone online. With the massive amount of people out there, there are bound to be some bad apples among the crowd.
All bloggers are vulnerable, not just financial bloggers. Unfortunately, the average person probably does not understand the data connections that can be inferred. For example, in the United States, researchers have shown that if you know a person’s date of birth and town where they were born, you’ve typically narrowed down the possible list of social security numbers for that individual to less than 10 – in some cases, to the exact number.
So all it takes is one post where you mention you grew up in Town X and another post a year later where you mention you celebrated your 30th birthday last night at your favorite restaurant. Effectively, you’ve just posted your social security number.
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Very good points SB. I don’t know if Canadian SIN numbers are as easy to crack, but that’s a bit scary for Americans anyway. I don’t know why they would use a number system that could be cracked like that. Someone obviously wasn’t thinking ahead. Mentioning your birthday or home town is very common. Just think of how many people publicly share that info on their facebook profiles and don’t think of making that info private. I guess with so many easy targets out there, bloggers become less of a risk.
I don’t share any of this kind of information. I don’t think I need to in order to get my points across. To me the principles are what matter.
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Yep it is the principals are what matters the most. Some bloggers just think they have to share specific numbers to basically prove that they’re legit and honest. Maybe others relate to them more if they can see that their own spending habits are similar. That all comes at a cost though.
I could definitely be vulnerable to this kind of thing. I put my first name out there only but I know I’m very Google-able by my full name so I’m sure if someone really wanted to, they could find me by just the information I post in my blog. I just hope that I don’t post too much personal information that I wouldn’t be a candidate for identity theft.
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I hope not too. I’d hate for one of my blogger friends to get hit with something like that. Just be careful with what kind of stuff you post going forward.
Not just identity thieves. You also let current and potential employers learn a lot about your personal finances.
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Yes employers are a whole other story. Since I put my blog on my resume I am especially aware of that, although I probably still post some less than ideal comments and posts.
I’ve never thought about this threat but you bring up some interesting points! Thanks for calling attention to this and helping financial bloggers protect their identities!
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With how friendly the financial blogging community has been, I hope I’m able to help some of them out.
Just mentioning this is a huge help!
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I hope I don’t get my identity stolen, considering how many articles I’ve written about my free do it yourself identity theft plan. Honestly though, there are so many completely free services available these days to monitor your credit report, check your score, get your report, etc. I don’t see how someone could open a credit card without me knowing?
I hope I didn’t just jinx myself
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Yes it would be ironic if someone writing about identity theft were to get their identity stolen. I’ll knock on wood myself. If you are regularly checking your credit report, you are much safer that most people.
I agree exposing too much and delivering your personal information is highly at risk. That is one of the things that thieves target. People should aware of this especially those working online.
Ashleen Moreen recently posted..tax information investors
Yep, it’s not just bloggers, but anyone doing things online. Any information that you expose publicly can be picked up by identity thieves. The information shared by bloggers is just easier to find.
This has been a concern for me for a little while. I’ve tried to clean up my internet footprint, but I know that my personal information is out there. I don’t specify which banks most of my stuff is in, and I don’t specify which credit card I have, but I know I’m opening myself up to trouble. Good post.
At least you are aware of it and taking preventative measures. I’m sure there’s lots of bloggers out there that even let their bank name slip. I’ve mentioned which bank I deal with in the comments on another blog, but it’s probably not too risky since I never reveal any financial figures.
Most bloggers do give to much info about their finances. But I have to thank them for it. We have all learned a lot from them and have been encouraged by watching their journey. The chance of identity theft is nil or even less. I don’t believe their in any danger.
Perhaps identity thefts are busy with tactics that can get them many identities all at once. I wouldn’t go as far as saying there is no danger. If people are too open with their personal info they might just be too tempting a target if the wrong person comes across it.