More than a few people were posting birthday wishes this morning as soon as I logged on. That’s very kind of everyone, and I appreciate it… but it’s not my birthday.
Facebook is telling you that October 23 is my birthday. Twitter will tell you it’s October 19. Other social networks will report other dates. It’s not. It’s relatively close to my birthday, but not in fact my birthday. I use these online in lots of places because it’s convenient, easy to remember, and most importantly, it allows me to know which companies online have compromised my privacy based on who starts sending me birthday offers, etc.
The Holy Trinity of Identity Theft
Date of birth is one of the holy trinity of identity fraud. Name, date of birth, and social security number will get you VERY far as an identity thief. Combine it with an address, and you’ve got just about everything you need. It’s also a highly-prized piece of marketing data.
Do you trust social networking companies like Facebook to not resell your information, or to have their databases compromised by hackers? I certainly don’t, especially given recent privacy breaches. I wholly expect them to compromise my privacy and then cite some obscure clause buried deep in the terms of service that allows them to do so. I trade with them. You can compromise my online privacy and resell my data, and in return, I’ll give you bad data. We’re both happy that way, and chances are your marketing partners won’t know the difference anyway.
Is it my intent to deceive my online friends? Not at all. It’s to deceive the companies that aggregate personal data online – including the major social networking services. Hence, thanks to everyone for the UnBirthday wishes.
What are YOU telling data aggregators?
You might also enjoy:
- The Basic Truth of Mental Health
- Almost Timely News, 17 October 2021: Content Creation Hacks, Vanity Metrics, NFTs
- Marketing Data Science: Introduction to Data Blending
- Best Practices for Public Speaking Pages
- What Is The Difference Between Analysis and Insight?
Want to read more like this from Christopher Penn? Get updates here:
 Get your copy of AI For Marketers |
Can you say which sites you’ve caught sharing your birthday data? How can you tell?
Can you say which sites you’ve caught sharing your birthday data? How can you tell?
Please do tell, I would love to know how you can tell as well!
Please do tell, I would love to know how you can tell as well!
I’ve gotten some suspicious birthday messages for October 2, which is the date on my MySpace profile. October 1 is Facebook. Keep a sheet of sites with slightly different dates. I also use two letter codes for my middle initial for sites when registering if possible – i.e. Christopher MS Penn, Christopher FB Penn, etc.
I’ve gotten some suspicious birthday messages for October 2, which is the date on my MySpace profile. October 1 is Facebook. Keep a sheet of sites with slightly different dates. I also use two letter codes for my middle initial for sites when registering if possible – i.e. Christopher MS Penn, Christopher FB Penn, etc.
Happy birthday whenever it may be. I don’t think it’s the actual day that is important more than the fact that we want to send you wishes.Thanks for sharing your birthday and name strategies with us.
Happy birthday whenever it may be. I don’t think it’s the actual day that is important more than the fact that we want to send you wishes.Thanks for sharing your birthday and name strategies with us.
Well happy Un-Birthday! And best wishes when your real birthday rolls around.
Well happy Un-Birthday! And best wishes when your real birthday rolls around.
Nice. Very clever.
Nice. Very clever.
Smart tracking techniques–I use different names as well. Whenever your birthday is, have a good one!
Smart tracking techniques–I use different names as well. Whenever your birthday is, have a good one!
Great tips. Take it a step further, I’d say, and start using the SSN of that guy from LifeLock, the one who has a 1MM identity fraud guarantee.
I did the same sort of thing with any site that requires SSN — which, btw, it’s technically illegal to use for anything other than social security data.
Great tips. Take it a step further, I’d say, and start using the SSN of that guy from LifeLock, the one who has a 1MM identity fraud guarantee.
I did the same sort of thing with any site that requires SSN — which, btw, it’s technically illegal to use for anything other than social security data.
Clever 🙂
Clever 🙂
Ha! Nice one Chris. Very smart. I was wondering too, because I didn't see your birthday listed in Facebook, yet I saw messages wishing you a happy birthday. I was curious what was going on, but not curious enough to research the *real* birthday of Mr. Christopher S. Penn – if that IS your real name! 🙂
I think I'm going to start referring to you as Christopher “Keyser Söze” Penn.
Ha! Nice one Chris. Very smart. I was wondering too, because I didn't see your birthday listed in Facebook, yet I saw messages wishing you a happy birthday. I was curious what was going on, but not curious enough to research the *real* birthday of Mr. Christopher S. Penn – if that IS your real name! 🙂
I think I'm going to start referring to you as Christopher “Keyser Söze” Penn.
Chris, that's a good reason. Then take my wishes for a happy birthday today for whenever it really is! It is the wish that counts no matter the day.
Chris, that's a good reason. Then take my wishes for a happy birthday today for whenever it really is! It is the wish that counts no matter the day.
Awesome. I do the exact same thing, and advise others to do this as well. Happy birthday, whenever it is (was)!
Awesome. I do the exact same thing, and advise others to do this as well. Happy birthday, whenever it is (was)!
Awesome. I do the exact same thing, and advise others to do this as well. Happy birthday, whenever it is (was)!
Chris,
I hear you. I do the same thing but on Facebook they have my real birthday. I’m too attached to the wishes and celebration…and love sending wishes to my FB friends. I’m sure our sentimental ways are leaving us open to exploitation. That’s too bad.
I enjoy your contribution to Six Pixels/Media Hacks podcast. Thanks!