Internet safety: who should be your friend online?
Posted in Commentary on February 12, 2009
I was included yesterday in a report for Salt Lake City’s KSL radio about being careful when accepting social network friend requests.
The reporter had a friend who thought she was talking with an old high school boyfriend on Facebook, then learned her old boyfriend actually wasn’t on Facebook and she was being duped.
The interview caused me to consider whether or not there should be a type of verification of identity for social network sites.
It could be as simple as what Google Maps does to verify a business location. Their system calls the business phone number and gives you an authorization code. Then you enter that code online and it connects your physical place of business to your spot on the virtual map.
I suggested to the reporter that an individual verify as much online information about the person they’re befriending as possible.
A simple Google search for the person is probably most effective at identifying details about the individual. It may be easy to fake it on a social network or two, but it would be nearly impossible to fake an entire online persona.
Do any of you have suggestions for verifying identity online or know of any good verification services?
Photo: Big Eagle Owl on Flickr
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