Stolen Identity: How Scary?

Imagine, when you are doing your everyday thing with your online thing – whether you’re going to chatrooms or even social sites, replying e-mail from your social and work needs – How would you react when you find out that another person out there, is doing all the same thing, but using YOUR identity? Imagine when you are using your nickname as your Fb name and a picture that purposely show only half of you, and you come across someone who is using your REAL name in the Fb, and putting your REAL full picture? IMAGINE!! Isn’t that scary? When you peek into the Info, she got your details accurate from birthday to hometown and even schools. I mean, even you yourself don’t want to share all those details but this impersonator just revealed it to the whole world what and who you are. IMAGINE THAT!! Isn’t that SCARY???

This happened to one of my online friends recently. She asked for my help the other nite to report this by using the button Report/Block This Person that is provided in all Fb page. Fb will need the Fb address of the real identity owner. That’s only something that we can do when something like this happens. But it still doesn’t do much to curb this “Impersonation” by the traitors who have nothing better to do with their time. I tell you, it would be a NITEMARE for me if something like that happens. But as long as online world is concerned, Do I have the potential to become the victim of this?

You guessed it. Mine was low. One of the reasons is because so far I have built quite a strong online identity, some of my online friends back then even think my online identity as Twofivesix[256] is invincible. I never actually thought of this crime of stealing someone else’s identity so when I finally saw it, I have myself to thank that I have been using this online identity to do my social online activities. I never imagined that because of this, I have saved myself from the risk of stolen identity because only very few people know who I am in the real life. Some people are surprised how I do it. I manage to separate both worlds. But I think that’s how it should be. I get less distraction and I am able to take a break from each world by going to the other world. But this maneuver saves me from people who want to mess with my real identity, not that I think anyone would have the reason to do that.

My advice to my friends here is… Your transparency could get back to you in unfriendly ways. Now that you guys have gone halfway being transparent especially telling your real name and everything, at least now you see HOW technology can make it easily for people to give more troubles and headache to you when someone is making a practical joke by creating your alter-ego and speaking things for you. The bad side of this is when this impersonator speaks all the wrong things that actually affect the real you. This can go back to you when other people learn something about you from someone who steal your identity. This can lead to bigger and bigger mess if the person really wants to turn your life upside down. Especially when the person is also in the same circle of people that you mingle with. I don’t want to imagine what is the worst case scenario. All I know is it’s a freaking nitemare. I have seen how my friends jokingly use my nick in the chatroom and start copying my way of expressing myself there. I felt SO FRAGILE cos anything bad that they write could affect people’s impression about me. I remember telling them jokingly, “Please watch what you write when you are borrowing my nick, ok?” Now we are talking about YOUR REAL identity. If you can tell the person “to be nice while you are using my identity”, I don’t think the person would even dare to do that in the first place. These people must have funny intention before they even have the time for this. If only you know who is that traitor among these people who you know.

You like something like this to happen to you? You don’t? Good. Don’t do it to others. Get a freaking life and if you claim to have one, go get a freaking better thing to do with your time.

NOTE: I remember back then when a well-known chatter started messaging people in the chatroom by telling them that “I have slept with ***** last nite”; who was also another well-known chatter that time. Everyone was in shocked but didn’t tell until the real nick owner came online and was asked directly about that in public. “Hey, +++ said he slept with you that nite, true ka? Nda sangka o kau perempuan mcm ni.” The girl looked really silly trying to deny it and she gained a bad name just like that. Until the guy whose nick was stolen came and messaging everyone that someone stole his nick (with slightly a different spelling) and slowly cleaned his name and the girl‘s. I tell you, this can go serious. Don’t mess with people’s identity or you wait for your karma. Fair enough?