I just get back from Plugg in Brussels and The Next Web in Amsterdam, that I’ll be speaking tomorrow at ad:Tech Paris at 10:30 am about Digital Identity and Reputation Management with Alain Bensoussan, Xavier Moisant, Stéphane Billiet, and Franck Sitbon.
Come if you wanna talk to us about Digital ID, we love that!
When a friend of mine called me, asking if I wanted to make the pilot of a series of entrepreneurs podcast named Horizon Entrepreneurs that promote entrepreneurship in France, I immediatly answered yes. Looking at the result, I’m really glad to have made it. It’s in French.
Well, the problem when you’re not native in a foreign language is that you think that a baseline is awsome when in case it means exactly the opposite of what you think…
A friend of mine catch me at Lift08 and told me that our baseline “Just trust me” is the favorite sentence of the snake in the Jungle book… ouch that hurts, expecially when your service is about trustworthness.
So here’s our new baseline, which actually should have been obvious in the first time:
Thanks to Nicolas Charbonnier who recorded more than 50 interviews at Lift08 this year, for giving me the possibility to explain in english (yes, this is english… despite my really bad accent, it was recorded at the Fondue Party) what MyID.is is trying to do.
Radio Canada reported a sad Facebook story:
A student at the University of PEI (Prince Edward Island), Adam W. Morrison, has been suspected of wanting to commit a killing because of a false Facebook profile published on a Web site popular networking.
When the young Morrison has created its profile on the site Facebook, he was unaware then that someone would use his picture and his identity to create a false account in his name.
He learned, earlier this month, when four police officers appeared at his home asking him why he had written on Facebook that he wanted to kill large numbers of people, as in the massacre committed to the Columbine school in the United States, almost 10 years ago.
Indeed, it was comments written without the knowledge of Morrison on his false profile. Adam Morrison underwent an interrogation. He claims that police showed him a copy of the document and they were waiting for him to confess. Adam Morrison added that he was afraid and he claimed his innocence.
After conducting an audit of the computer’s student, investigators found that in fact, these comments were not those of Adam Morrison.
Such identity theft is easy because it only takes an email address to create a Facebook account. The user can then enter any name and any picture that’ll be published on its homepage.
The police say they have continued to pursue their investigation with Facebook administrators, but without success. According to the deputy chief of police in Charlottetown, Richard Collins, it will be difficult to find the perpetrator of the identity theft, unless Facebook will reveal the IP address of the usurper.
Adam W. Morrison had since decided to cancel its real Facebook account.
Another example of what can happened to you on Facebook if you do not have certified profile:
On dating websites, people are most often with a simple nickname. This culture of anonymity has several consequences. Of course, you think of the danger of the bad meeting. But we can also mention the case of a friend who does not necessarily want you well and that encourages members to contact you…
Identity Theft and moral harassment:
In its yesterday edition, the Parisien (French newspaper) reported Aurélia, a victim of harassment following the theft of her identity. A person of his entourage had indeed created an account on VivaStreet and Meetic by posting an announcement very slutty.
This person incited these men on dating sites to contact her by the phone and even through Aurélia postal address.
I let you imagine the enjoyment by being awakened at night by a man who has been promised a torrid night… Aurélia says that some people have even come directly from ringing at her door…
Harassment hardly avoidable…
Aurélia was obviously eager to write to Vivastreet and Meetic urging them to withdraw the profile of the person who communicated his personal details and encouraged people to get in touch with her. If VivaStreet executed itself, Meetic told Aurelia she had to complain to the police so her request will be taken into attention.
Meetic has not hidden his helplessness, saying: “We do not have the possibility to protect people from this type of scam.”
Aurélia, a none isolated case:
In June 2006, someone who had been stealing her colleague ID had already been convicted of a similar case. She subscribed on Meetic and was encouraging members to contact her colleague. The usurper was then convicted to pay more than €10,000 in damages.
Once again, this type of misbehavior only indicates the need to provide more guarantees to singles so they can finally go to dating sites in confidence and not to have doubts about each profile…
This is a good question, why someone would left a comment on a blog with my ID and without my permission except for playing around with my online repution?
What happened to Doodee’s Thailand might be a good answer too:
I Did Not Leave a Comment on Your Blog or Forum
If you’ve arrived at this blog by clicking on a link in a comment left on your own blog or a comment left in a forum (a comment supposedly left by me) then I’m sorry to tell you that you have been deceived – but not by me.
I rarely leave comments on blogs other than my own.
I have not left a comment on anyone’s blog other than my own for at least six months.
I have never placed a comment in a forum.Someone is impersonating me
Doodee’s Thailand usually receives a few hundred hits per week. During the last twenty four hours it has received over four hundred hits, and most of them are coming from comments sections on a multitude of other blogs (I have not left comments on any blogs other than my own during the last six months) and from forum postings (none of which have been made by me).
Likewise my own comments section is being swamped with messages mostly saying, “Thank you for your comment left on my blog” – but I haven’t left any comments on any blogs for longer than I can remember.I’m sorry to have repeated myself in the above paragraphs, but I want to be sure that no-one could possibly misunderstand what I’m saying here.
I have no idea as to why this bizarre situation has arisen. I’ll do my best to keep you updated on developments.
