Privacy

[The Mac Attack]

An issue which has been of growing concern to me here at OtakuBoards is privacy. I believe that many many users divulge information about themselves without being aware of the risks involved.

With threads such as "You", "Where are you from" and the OtakuBoards picture site, users can place themselves in great danger.

The following is an extract from NetGuide Magazine, to further my point here:

[i]Internet identity thieves don't need to steal your credit card number to defraud you. They can build a profile about you, just by using your information available on the Web.

For example, your employer might list your name, job title and business contact details on their Web site. Criminals could check this information against your listing in the White Pages to confirm where you live and work. They could use this information to create false business accounts or postal addresses under your name.

Do you post messages to Web forums or visit chat rooms? Crooks can visit these public forums and try to obtain further information about you, perhaps by reading the signature file attached to your messages, or even communicate with you directly via email or instant messaging to trick you into disclosing personal information about yourself.[/i]

I would like to see some kind of warning system; perhaps a Sticky thread or section outlining privacy/security issues in the "rules".

The main reason I've brought this up is because I've studied social and ethical issues in relation to Information Systems to death, and think the otaku here should be aware of the risks.

[Baron Samedi]

I agree with you... I am quite careful about myself. I have once let out my last name, accidentally, but I don't think anyone knows. Most know my first name, and that I live in a rural town in Western Australia. I don't let out my town name though, and I'm careful. We should all be aware of this issue, and I agree with your point. Ultimately that is up to the individual, but erhaps a warning should be put up somewhere...

Also, people slip. Like I believe I know Poisontongue's last name, as well as his first name and where he goes to school. But [i]I'm[/i] not a stalker, [fortunately], however, we must remember that there are cases of stalkers.

[Semjaza]

I don't know vB's current security (I know it's completely database driven which can add to the security as a whole), but I think you're being a bit paranoid here. The stuff you quoted is even more so. Anyone with a portfolio site and such lists contact information. Are they all subject to identity theft? Perhaps, but the chances are pretty damn small.

You don't even need to put in real information about yourself when you sign up at OB. All you need is an e-mail address, which can be spammed by things anyway. You could make one at hotmail.com and never use it again even.

What exactly would they find out about you via a birthdate, user name and a goofy signature? It's not as if Adam or James are spreading your e-mails out to other companies either. I don't think they're even directly visible in people's profiles either... if they accept e-mail through OB it is sent via some form.

If you get an IM or email from some random person demanding personal information, I'd hope you'd be smart enough not to give it to them. They could get that in so many other ways anyway.

[Baron Samedi]

I believe that Mac is referring more to people saying where they live [down to Towns] and giving out Full names etc. that is probably the main point of this...

[Semjaza]

I suppose it is worth warning people about these things... but I still think there is little to worry about. I might as well avoid every last community site in that case lol.

I can't say I've heard of a case of a criminal stealing the identity of some 14 year old on an anime message board. I'd think they'd want to get a little more out of it all than that.

Someone could look up a random name in the phone book, go online and get their address with anyone that is listed in the phone directory. I can't see myself being that paranoid, honestly. In that case, you might as well just be a shut-in because people are going to find out something about you sooner or later no matter what you do.

There are more professional forums where people actually put their full name and contact info in their sigs, but I've never seen anyone do that here anyway.

Anyway, that's my thought on the subject itself... but I don't want to make it sound like I don't agree with the idea of some sort of warning against such things.

[Charles]

Heh, most members on OtakuBoards probably don't have bank accounts or personal assets of their own that would be obtainable through identity theft.

Hence:

[quote][b]Internet identity thieves don't need to steal your credit card number to defraud you. They can build a profile about you, just by using your information available on the Web.

For example, your employer might list your name, job title and business contact details on their Web site. Criminals could check this information against your listing in the White Pages to confirm where you live and work. They could use this information to create false business accounts or postal addresses under your name.[/b][/quote]

Most of that probably doesn't apply to the general membership here.

Tony said it astutely. Those lurking about gather information and stealing identities would probably look elsewhere. Their priorities would be mixed up otherwise. An example doesn't come to mind where someone became a victim of identity theft on this site. It's safe to say it's either never happened or at the very least it's never been brought to our attention. Thus, a sticky thread or amendment to the rules probably isn't necessary from where I sit.

Especially when you consider that most are able to make a conscious decision about how much they want to reveal about themselves without being reminded by us. Right? Because truthfully, no one is [i]forced[/i] to participate in discussions that call for personal information. It's all up to the individual and what they feel comfortable in disclosing to public eyes.

Edit: :Feels kind of embarrassed for bothering. heh

[James]

[color=#707875]If there is a serious concern about privacy, I will write a small paragraph about it in our rules.

But generally, OtakuBoards is a pretty secure environment. You don't have to give out your email and you can hide various personal details about yourself. So you can participate here without being completely "open" in terms of real-life information.

Moreover, theOtaku.com/OtakuBoards does not share your details with any third party. We don't sell mailing lists or anything like that. Your email is 100% confidential when you sign up to any of our sites.

In terms of just providing information...again, it's a question of "post content at your own risk". If you choose to be more open about yourself online (whether here or elsewhere), there are obviously risks associated with that. I would say that OtakuBoards is probably a little more secure than other places, if only because of the site's demographic. As Tony said, I doubt that many people would be coming here to steal credit card details.

Still, I'll post something about it in the rules, just so that it's there for new members to read.[/color]

[The Mac Attack]

I realise the chances of identity theft are quite low, but I also wanted to emphasise the case of stalkers as mentioned by Baron Samedi.

[quote]...I think you're being a bit paranoid here[/quote]

I'm not necessarily concerned with my own privacy, but the privacy of others. I would never tell anyone my full name or post my picture on the internet (although I did say my town name once to Baron Samedi).

My concern was more for the people who don't know any better. Someone who could just rather stupidly give out their postal addresses, as an example. There are a lot of younger users here, and they may not have been educated on why they shouldn't do such things as of yet.

Like I said I've had the issue of privacy permanently imprinted into my brain after constant study of it when I was at school. Now whenever I become a part of some form of internet enterprise, I make sure I thoroughly read their privacy policies because I'm more aware of how vulnerable communication systems are.

[quote]Still, I'll post something about it in the rules, just so that it's there for new members to read.[/quote]

Thanks James. Some recognition of the issue would be greatly appreciated.

[Kanariya]

[color=chocolate][size=1]I have told my email, name, etc. I am not really worried about anything happening here to me, but I can understand how it is not really a good idea to give out personal information out in chat rooms. Who knows who's there....

My mother told me about how I have to be careful, and I can understand her. I am starting to be more careful about this too.[/color][/size]

[Guest MetalSonic700]

And now you know why I lie about half my information! Im not afraid of identity thievs personally but Im not screaming my adress to everyone.

[Patronus]

[font=tahoma][color=993366]It's the choice of the person who gives the information out. If they get hurt, then they can't blame anyone else.[/color][/font]

[The Mac Attack]

[quote][i]originally posted by Leh[/i]
If they get hurt, then they can't blame anyone else.[/quote]

But what in the case of the person giving details about others without them knowing it. If I could direct your attention to the "Aussie, aussie, aussie...and so on and so forth" thread in the Otaku Lounge, you'll see what I mean. A certain member (whom I wont mention as I'd feel too much like I was dobbing them in) started giving details about other people he knew in real life with full names and descriptions.

Maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I think people feel they are too secure here at OtakuBoards. Granted it isn't as bad as other sites, but the information divulged is on the web for anyone to access.