Although some may wonder how difficult it must be to assume another’s identity for the sake of fraud, I have to ask: Why doesn’t it happen even more?
I discovered the other day through Facebook that my Rufus “Junior” Hickman, Jr. is apparently a doppelganger to another Rufus Hickman. Fair enough. This person, who really wanted to connect with Rufus on Facebook, gave me the lowdown on where the other Rufus used to live and where he’s from.
Now, she REALLY wants to reconnect with Rufus, so much so that she sent my Rufus another message:
Is Your Mom Vivian Hickman….You Lived In Reserve,la And Lutcher,la For A While..My Mom Was Friends With Your Mom Rose Marie…When You Lived In Reserve,La You Lived On Central Ave. Across From Don’s Country Store…You Had Racoons For Pets….You Brothers Name Is Stuart…….
What does she really care about this information? Of course, she doesn’t care at all as long as she can use it to get what she wants. And, when it comes down to it, is this Rufus’ identity really one that you want to steal? But here you have it, pretty important information that can be used to verify personal information when you’re filling out a computer form or talking to someone on the phone. And one has to assume that this happens quite a bit in this world with others’ identities who might be interesting targets.
If my Rufus doesn’t let her off the hook, she probably will give me his social security number, bank codes (ie coordinates to where his money is buried), selective service number, blood type… But if I do let her off the hook, how much more great information am I going to miss out on? Raccoons for pets! Seriously? And she lost touch with this guy!
When you look at my Rufus’ friends, do any of them really look like they snuggle up with raccoons?
Maybe the question is, does privacy – in general – matter at all? When you have a glut of information about people, easily supplied by the Internet, how do you begin to determine a target for your petty and major crimes when everyone is a legitimate target? I guess that’s why we get so much scam spam. It’s the only way the scammers can narrow down their targets.
