In Britain, two CDs with a total of 25 million names and went, uhhh, missing in action. That’s right, they contained names, addresses, birth dates, Social Insurance Numbers, even bank account data, and no one knows where they are. They might have been stolen, or just misplaced.

The list is of people receiving family allowances, and everyone on it has been warned to watch their bank accounts closely for the next little while. Sometimes your is compromised through no fault of your own. So what can you do?

Minimize the spread of your information. Never give out your confidential data unless absolutely necessary. Many companies ask for it, not because they need it but simply because they can.

Two critical pieces of data, your birth date and your Social Insurance/Security Number, should only be given to government agencies, your employer, banks, and the like.

Perhaps governments could learn a lesson from some companies, who now keep sensitive data in their computers only, and never allow it to be written to , or even laptops.

In , the Government is proposing new laws to protect your identity, and make the crime of identity theft easier to prosecute.

What do you think? Leave a comment, if you like, by clicking on “Comments” above.

To all my American visitors, a very happy and safe Thanksgiving to you!

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here: => http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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