Search for "Stolen" Identity info

[krissel]

This place will check to see if any of your info has been found in the hands of known crooks. Good suggestions also on how to use Google search to see what is on the web about you.

http://stolenidsearch.com/faq.php

[Xairbusdriver]

Uhmn...I suppose you'll have to give them at least some of your personal information (apparently, the more the better!)? Who are these people and why should I trust them to do anything good with the exact information I am trying to protect?

I'm not too keen on starting a search if I don't already think some info has been compromised. Then, should these 'detectives' report that they have found evidence of a problem, they will only tell me what/how/when/etc. if I pay them? Isn't this process very close to "mutually consensual blackmail?!"

Sorry, I can certainly see how this kind of service would require a minimum amount of info about me, but I already try to provide that sparingly and safely. I need to know more about anyone I provide that kind of info to much better than simply reading their web site.

One thing that should be obvious is that one not only use secure passwords but they should be changed often. A good password manager will make this extremely easy, BTW. The other obvious thing is to avoid, like the plague, "social networking" sites.

[krissel]

You only have to use your email address or your name and address, items that are already "out there". The intent is to identify if that particular information has been found in the "hands" of known criminal organizations.

I searched for several email addresses that I use and my name/address and all came up clean. No payment needed.  

The information regarding the use of Google for searching and for warnings is worth the read.

[Xairbusdriver]

Well, what I read is that they won't tell you what they found, other than your email address and password until you first give them the information they say they've found. If you want to actually see what they've found, you must pay. The only thing free is the initial "Clean/At Risk" report. I'm not even arguing about the service, but it seems strange to me that they would require you to tell them all the information they say they have before they tell you that they've found it someplace. Where's their proof? Of course they can show you what they "found," you just gave it to them! "Just trust us." Just smells to me...

Now, if this type of service was offered by my bank/credit union or one of the three credit reporting agencies or something like those entities, I might be more inclined to pay up front while not giving them any additional info. They should already know who I am and not need anything more.

Of course, this is just my opinion, YMMV and there may even be some here or that some one knows who has saved a lot of hassle with this very company.

[Paddy]

Jim, there are lots of people who agree with you:

http://www.itsecurity.com/blog/20070131/is...om-a-good-idea/
http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/2007/01/stolen...-personal-info/
http://ha.ckers.org/blog/20070125/stolen-i...ur-id-to-steal/
http://silverstr.ufies.org/blog/archives/000999.html
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/900...amid_skepticism

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

Jim, there are lots of people who agree with you

Now that's a dangerous thought! OTOH, I always say just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean there aren't people following me...

[Paddy]

QUOTE

OTOH, I always say just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean there aren't people following me...

I guess you shouldn't join Twitter, then.

[jchuzi]

I'm not, personally, paranoid but I know that the paranoids of the world are conspiring against me.  

[krissel]

Did you notice that all the links Paddy listed were from when the site first launched a couple years ago?

From one link:

QUOTE

Most of the negative responses are the result of a "combination of a lack of information and irrational fear in the blog echo chamber," he said.

Another:

QUOTE

Before anyone asks, this company is genuine with what it is claiming to do. It will search their records and it will help (read:charge) you to sort things out if the worst is discovered.

But the way it asks users to enter their credit card and SSN as the very first interaction with the site begins to break down in the continued positive reinforcement we’ve been trying to educate the wider public about only giving away your social security number or credit card into sites you know (like an online retailer or bank, etc).

It does not ask you for that kind of information immediately. In fact it recommends only using your email or home address. I suspect that when it first launched it may have originally asked for that information thereby causing all the negative responses at that time. That's logical.

If anyone is dumb enough to willy nilly give out credit card numbers or social security numbers, then they get what they deserve. But your email and home addresses are pretty easy to find. At least they aren't a scam that would tell you that they have your information in order to get a fee.

And I thought the suggestions for searching at Google were quite interesting.

[Paddy]

I do understand that they've changed their modus operandi since they started 2 years ago. While I understand what they're doing, I also know that in my case at least, of the 3 times my CC has been compromised over the years, only once would it have been in association with my email address or a street address (actually NOT my street address as it transpired!), so a search at stolenidsearch is no guarantee of anything either, but a possible weapon in the arsenal against the forces of evil out there. However, I also find the possibility of copycat scammer sites, as many of the articles mentioned, somewhat alarming.

I've become very, very cautious over the years...