The other day I wrote a post about Mint.com, an online budget and financial planning site. Later, I received an email from my husband (yes we email each other, don’t laugh) that was titled “Just Say No to Mint!” He had serious concerns about giving our account info and passwords to an internet site. It seemed safe to me, but since he knows a lot more about internet security than I do, I have decided not to sign up.
This exchange with my husband got me thinking about internet security in general. I have a blog, and I occasionally write about and post pictures of my children. Longtime readers know my geographical location, and many people know my first name.
I have some friends who refuse to put any information about themselves on the internet, they don’t bank online, or even have a page on Facebook (gasp!). I have come to realize that many of my readers (almost half) do not have a blog of their own. I now wonder why I have so many readers who are nonbloggers, and if you are a nonblogger do you put other information about yourself on the internet in the form of online banking, bill pay, facebook, and other similar sites?
I know many readers are hesitant to sign up for free offers because they do not like to give out their name and email address.
Where do you stand? Do you feel the internet can be a safe place for your information? When you make an online transaction do you think your credit card number is protected? Have you ever been a victim of identity theft because of an internet transaction?
I would love to discuss this topic with you, because it is something I think about on a daily basis and wonder, how much is too much?
Feel free to leave a comment, but I have also opened up a discussion thread in my forum because I am able to follow and respond quicker in the forum.
Michele says
I have a personal finance blog, so I blog relatively anonymously. I list my first name and the general area where I live, but I don’t have my picture of that of my children on there. I try to be as open as possible without anyone being able to figure out who I am. I read a personal finance blog once and realized I knew the person in real life! It was quite weird for me to know her personal finances. I did contact her and let her know. She was surprised that someone in real life found her blog. It was just that we had the same interests!
Mel says
I know people who set up a separate bank account with debit card for online use only. That way they can track every purchase really easily and they only transfer money into the account when they are going to purchase something. That’s another way to protect yourself since you know exactly how much should be coming out if the name of the company is not always the same as the website name…but the price is the same. Hope that makes sense.
Sherry says
Thank you for sharing this topic, Toni. I’ve of recently started to become more aware of putting our family’s name out there due to the current situation with us. I’ve had to delete certain info, so it doesn’t get into the wrong hands. Here are a few things I do presently though – Facebook (delete messages that might give too much info), online banking, online shopping although only with secure websites that I know and have dealt with before. I’ve been working with my daughter to make sure she doesn’t give out too much, too. I make sure to have access to all email accounts/Facebook, etc with her, too.
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship says
I have noticed that a lot of bloggers use pseudonyms for their kids online, but if you email them or receive email from them, you often see their last names. I realized my email, even my “work” blogging email address, included my last name (it must be default or something, because that wasn’t my intent), and I just hopped over to gmail and fixed that, so at least there’s no trace of my last name connected to my blogging account. I’m trying to decide if it’s safe to link my Facebook page to my blog – it’s important to have my last name and even my maiden name there, because the whole point is to allow people who know you to find you, right? It’s a tricky web, this Internet security thing. I’ve been interested to read your other commenters. Thanks for the balanced perspective on mint. For us, my hubby wrote a program called “LIFE” that sits on our computer, encrypted, and does all our password collection and family budget. The joys of being married to a computer programmer! 😉
Katie
TheHappyHousewife says
You make some great points Katie. My full name is on my website, since from time to time I work with companies and PR firms and I want them to know my policies before they contact me. It does not bother me to have my name out there. I am much more concerned with things like account numbers and passwords. I love that your husband wrote a program for your family! What a great idea.
Toni
Nancy M. says
I try not to worry too much about my information online, but I do only use sites with valid security, at least I hope I am. I use my name and kids names occasionally. We don’t have the best credit, so I doubt anyone would want our information, lol!
Amber says
I have read your blog for a while but this is my first time commenting. I bank online, we pay almost all or our bills online. I blog and show pics of kids, hubby and I with our real names.
I have had 1 online incident and it was with Paypal. A long long time ago I had an old bank account that my paypal was connected to. When I switched banks I added my new account to my paypal. Then I got a letter from the old bank stating I owed like $60 in fees for insufficient funds. Even though I had switched banks I hadn’t closed the account. Anyway, after I talked to paypal, some other person in another state somehow had my bank account connected to their paypal account and tried to buy 2 items online. How this happened I don’t know, I have always thought it must have been a paypal employee trying to steal my money. Anyway, after long conversations with paypal and my old bank things were resolved and I didn’t have to pay any money.
Young Wife says
I do a lot online. For people like my parents, who are so hesitant to make online purchases or use online banking, let me tell you this. All it takes for someone to create on online account in your name is a check. I try not to use checks for this reason. Your check has your routing number and account number. That’s all you need to hack someone’s account.
Amy @ Tiny Blessings says
I have a blog… it tells you what state I live in and my first name. If you’re really observant, you might catch my last name on the watermark on some of my craft photos, but I try not to make it obvious.
My kids and family are mentioned by an initial or common terms of “DD” (dear daughter), etc. I never post photos of my kids… I think once I posted one as a part of a craft project, but I blurred their faces out.
I have Facebook, but I only friend people I know in real life. I post pics of my kids there because I trust the privacy settings and know I really know all the people who have access.
No online banking- my husband won’t try it. I have numerous accounts online for our cell phones, etc… but nothing that ties in to a bank account.
Sorry about the long reply, LOL! 🙂
Tara says
I struggle with this daily. I recently reopened my personal blog after closing it (making it private) about 4 months ago due to feeling too “exposed” on the web. I made sure to delete all really personal posts and pictures that I didn’t feel I wanted the world to see. It’s a tough decision. The internet is a much different place than it was 10 even 5 years ago. Identity theft is so easy these days that it’s almost scary sharing your daily life with folks. In all honesty, I was a little surprised to see how much you share pics of your kids. I don’t have children yet, but if I did, I don’t know if I would feel comfortable letting the world see them.
Luke Holzmann says
My name is Luke Holzmann. I live in Englewood, CO. I am on Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, and doing all of my banking online. I post pictures and video of myself frequently.
I try to be careful with my passwords, use common sense when browsing the internet, and doing give out information to strangers that may cause problems.
One of my friends once had her credit card information stolen. How? No clue. But from what I’ve heard, most identity theft happens from good old paper and pencil stuff (like credit card applications they mail you ever two days), and not so much on the internet.
Plus, my thinking is thus: If I’m super public, people will have more trouble impersonating me if they want my identity [laughing].
~Luke
TheHappyHousewife says
Love your comment Luke. Reminds me of the commercial where the guy gives his ss# out to prove his identity theft protection works.
Toni
Marla says
In general I would say that the web is not a safe place. I do not have a blog, but only because I don’t have anything interesting to say. If I did, I would probably post pics and a limited amount of personal info. I’m not too worried about the whole blog thing.
We HAVE been the victims of internet fraud. We do all of our banking on the web at our banks website, and we purchase a lot of things on the web. Although, I don’t think either of those were the problem. We were hit on PAYPAL. Yes, the “oh so safe way to pay”. They cleared $700. out of our checking account one afternoon, completely emptying it. It took 2 weeks to get our money back. We had to get all new accounts, cc and bank, anything linked to the paypal account. We do still use paypal though. It’s the only way to do ebay. My husband sells a lot on ebay, so we really have no choice. Hopefully it won’t happen again.
The biggest thing I think is to be sure you have safe passwords. We now have a seperate password for almost everything. It’s hard to remember all those passwords though. Before most of our passwords were the same.
Cass @ TheHouseOfSteel says
Before I had my DD, I worked at a bank processing debit card fraud. Here are a few things I noticed:
-Most people who had large amounts of money stolen were not paying attention to their accounts. Often a theif will make a small purchase first (to see if the card is active) and then go as crazy as they can before they blow all your money or you catch them. Pay close attention to your accounts! Catch the small purchase and you save yourself a lot of headache.
-If you have to give someone your credit card info for a free offer, it isn’t going to be free!
-If you get a weird email from a reputable place (ebay, paypal, your bank) asking you to update info, do not go through the link in the email! Go to the actual site and make sure your info is up to date. Call them (not a number on the email) and see if it’s legit. It’s normally not!
To me, these seem like simple things that anyone using the internet should know, but I dealt with situations that could have EASILY been avoided everyday.
After the above things, the most common I dealt with was someone physically stealing the info. Saw lots of co-workers and a disturbing amount of teenaged kids/grandkids.
Someone mentioned compromised cards in an above post. What that means is that somewhere you used your card was hacked or hacked the capability to be hacked into. It doesn’t normally mean you acutally had your info stolen, but on the off chance that it was, the financial institution will cancel cards to protect you. The biggest compromised case I dealt with was JCPenney – I’m sure none of you would think twice about shopping there.
Overall, be cautious, but understand that there are risks to these things. Paying attention to your accounts/info will save you a lot of headache.
Somebody's Mimi says
Approx 2 years ago our business checking account number was used fraudulently to make make large payments (five figures) online. The person was a temp employee, they used the payroll check account numbers (bottom left series of numbers) to make payments online! Since our checking account is monitored online the fraudulent use was caught, the account was closed, the FDIC returned the money. BUT we were informed it was hit again for the same amount the following month! So if a person is going to do a crime they are going to do a crime whether online or offline. I still feel safe using online services when it comes to using my #’s. I have a facebook account but do not give all my information, same goes for Twitter and other accounts. I don’t know maybe I have a false sense of security becuase nothing has happened to me… yet???
Diane says
Hi. I do my banking online, I have a blog although I do not keep up with it much. I do not like to post pictures of my daughter. But found out recentally she has posted pictures of herself. She is 15. I was not happy about that at all. But her myspace, facebook, and another account area all privet and pepople have to be approve before going in. I have the same things. Only family and friends getto see my face book and stuff.
I do online banking though my credit union. I have done this for a few years now with no problems. I have a visa that is a debit that I used for online stuff only. And I have to have the money in the bank to use it. And usally I do not have much in there to begin with.
I am not sure about the mint.com thing. Now I would be intrested in a program that you can load onto your computer that does not require the internet. I would go for that.
Jennifer says
Hi, it’s me again. Yes, we also are careful about HTTPS and shop online with reputable sites. We’ve never had trouble and keep our free AVG software up-to-date.
Jennifer says
I read lots of blogs, but don’t blog myself. Why? Time, I guess. I work a job where I often have very little to do, but have internet access, so I read. I have very little free time outside of work even though we aren’t parents yet.
We bank online, but don’t use sites like Mint that have our account info from various sources. We pay most of our bills online, use Facebook, and such. Our budget is a fancy Excel workbook that has the worksheets linked together, courtesy of my hubby. It works for us and I don’t see any reason to change. We’ve been married just over 1 year.
I’ve thought about starting a blog, but it probably won’t be until I can be a SAHM. Ha!
Kim G. says
I have never commented before, but wanted to come out of the woodwork to say hello. I love your site and am especially intrigued by your story. I wait with baited breath for the next installment, call me a sucker for love stories.
I do bank online and shop. I try to use safe sites with the https in the address. I have not had any trouble.
I also have a blog that is full of my kids pictures. It is not private yet, but also is not google-able. I do check my name and my kids and husbands. I am waivering about going private, but I post so long after things happen that I don’t think anyone would get anything good from us.
I think this is a great topic and have enjoyed reading the thread.
Anne-Marie says
I don’t think emailing your husband or him emailing you is weird at all. My husband & I IM each other in the house…and used to sit in the same room & IM too. It’s a thing for us. It’s like dating all over again. 😀 I’ve even been known to call him…his surgically attached cell phone anyway…in the house. “Hey, hon, are you joining us for dinner in this century?”
Organizing Mommy says
I started my blog with the idea of keeping my and my children’s identity unknown. Well that is kind of crazy since my kids are old enough to facebook and be on the news/ newspaper for their activities. Also, their gross weight combined is probably the size of a 1/4 ton, not that someone with an oozy couldn’t take them out in one fell swoop. So, I’ve loosened up on that end. The giving away of financial information is not as great sounding, not that we (or anyone else these days) has anything to pine after. It would be a huge inconvenience to have the account drained and my identity stolen though.
Rachel says
I’ve not had a problem, but try to keep a lower profile and don’t bank or stuff – dh does a little like that through internet. We do order things from ebay and stores online.
I figure that problems can occur no matter what. My sister had her credit card information taken and later used while paying for a meal at a fairly high ranking steak house here in our town – what I would consider expensive – but really it’s more mid range, pay $20 – $40 a plate for food.
Cindy says
I do everything on the internet. Pay bills, open bank accounts, shopping, sign up for all kinds of sites. I am even using Mint.com and have been for about 6 months as well as I use Turbotax online for my yearly tax return.
My credit card was duplicated and stolen about 1 1/2 years ago but it was from a local gas station where they were swiping the card in a little hand held machine that copied everything need to duplicate it. So it can happen anywhere not just over the internet.
As far as the kids and family photos. I gave up on that a long time ago. Both my girls are college athletes and their photos and bios are posted up on the internet for all to see. My son is constantly in the local newpaper (internet addition) for his high school sports with his picture and name. And these are things that are not even associated with my blog.
I do understand peoples concerns but this is the way it is now. We are living during the facebook/twitter/myspace era. 20 years from now we will look back at these decision and not be able to believe that we even thought it was something we should or shouldn’t do.
Toni…great post!
Mama Bird says
I do bank online and do use mint. That really doesn’t worry me. People get their cards stolen all the time without being online.
However, I draw the line at posting photos of my family. I have a personal blog on blogger that I do update with family photos, but you have to have permission to access it.
I have also just deleted all photos on my facebook account except for 3. There letting 3rd party advertising use the photos on there unless you select no on your privacy settings (without actually telling anyone this, mind you) just put me over the edge on that one.
There are just too many weirdos out there to risk it.
linda says
Hi ,
I love your blog and yes the pictures of family are great to see, but I am hesitant, I don’t mention my kids name on my blog or post many if at all pictures of them. You are right someone can figure out where you live geographically when you post info w/ pictures. My husband was a former cop and he does not want our kids pictures available. He says lots of crazy people out there and you never know.
Great topic, because like I said blogs with pictures are enjoyable to see and read, but how far is too far for our kids safety?
Laura says
My personal feeling on financial data is that it is more likely to be compromised by your bank, insurance company, or accounting company–if you use one–than by random folks learning that you use one kind of program or another on your blog. Which means that I probably wouldn’t use Mint for the reasons your husband listed. We do bank online and even have a savings account that is totally web-based.
I also think that internet stalking and other skeeviness is more likely to be initiated by someone you know personally than from a random oddball trolling the web. So, if there is an angry ex in the picture or you end a friendship badly, it probably makes sense to be more cautious online for a while. Particularly if you have reason to believe that the person unstable.
As long as reasonable precautions are taken, I don’t think the web is an unsafe place.
jamie says
I am very wary, but that is my nature normally. Better safe than sorry.
amore says
i have a blog- and try to blog semi-regularly. we bank online- in truth, it is my favorite thing in the world and has saved our tails more than once. my husband and i are facebook junkies. we’re trying to reform. and for the most part we use variations on our names. my husband’s is way too common so he blends in with the crowd and i have dropped my maiden name because of its distinction. we live abroad and the internet (blogs, facebook) keep us connected to friends and family. its so much easier than it was back in the day.
now our son is another matter entirely. we don’t want the world to know about him or where we are and then we screwed up and gave him a VERY distinctive name. i guess internet security wasn’t on our list of concerns when baby naming:) so we use a symbol. our son’s internet identity is @. when friends get in touch that don’t know him, they are very confused by @. but we come clean with friends. curious to hear what other people do.
Denise C. says
This is a great post!
First, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the internet! Way back in the day (1997), the only way I could access my bank account or credit card accounts was through an 800 number.
I enjoy being able to login and see my bank balance.
Knock on wood, my identity has never been compromised.
My husband and I check our credit reports twice a year. We scrutinize them for anything out of the ordinary.
My husband likes using Mint.com. I never do. I just check my bank balance and budget off our bank account.
The Happier Husband says
I haven’t read the whole thread yet but I wanted to respond to Ruby: It’s not that I don’t trust Mint, I’m sure they are a reputable company. I’m concerned that Mint has set themselves up as a huge repository of very lucrative data and therefore a very large target for hackers and other data stealing types. I’m very conservative about these issues. I’ll write more later.
Thanks,
TH Husband
Susie G. says
Well, this *is* a great topic. I don’t blog because I’m shy (lol) and don’t know what I’d say. I don’t think my kids would like their photos up on a public blog, but my youngest is almost 18. I do love reading blogs.
And I do all banking and bill paying on line that I can, and also order things willy-nilly – but mostly from major vendors. I signed up for a free Quicken Online account but I don’t like it. I guess I put in my banking information, didn’t bother me to do it. I am currently using YNAB for my budget program; only for the past couple months, tho, so I’m not sure how much I like it. I bought it and downloaded it – not on-line. Our information has never been compromised, incidentally.
HHW is still my favorite blog!
Heather says
I do have a blog using our real names. I’ve posted photos of the front yard that probably allows you to see my street address. I’ve even mentioned when hubby is out of town—later thought maybe that was dumb. I do my online banking through my credit union’s website. BUT I do feel uncomfortable putting account numbers and passwords for everything all into one program. Although I guess really the only thing that would matter is the credit card. It’s not like someone can use my electric bill account to acquire money or loans.
Cheryl says
Having just had my debit card compromised last friday I am also analyzing the amount of info I have online. I’m not sure how my card was compromised, but this is the third time it has happened for various reasons. I can say in confidence that the only way I purchase items online is using my Paypal account and I have never had a problem. Any tips for better ways to protect myself would be much appreciated but as of last friday Mint.com is out of the picture!
Carrie says
We do as much as possible online–bills, banking, ordering–my husband loves the thought of saving a stamp! :o) We haven’t had a problem (yet). I like what others have mentioned about theivery being old–it didn’t crop up with the internet. I do try to be careful and deal through reputable companies.
I have a blog. Before we moved to Alaska, I did not mention the city where we lived. I use our real names, and post pics of my kids, but don’t put our last name on it.
Christian Mommy Writer says
I blog regularly, but I do not include my name, my husband’s name or my son’s name. I also do not give any information out about where I live.
I do pay some bills online and occasionally shop online, but only at trusted sites.
This is a good topic to discuss. Was this mentioned at BlogHer? I would be interested to hear what they would say about this.
Amber says
I think it is odd that you think think it is odd that you have some many readers that don’t have their own blogs! Most of my friends IRL have facebook pages and use online banking and online shopping, but few very write a blog of any kind.
TheHappyHousewife says
Maybe that came off incorrectly, compared to most of my other blogging friends, my readership has a higher # of nonbloggers. Blogs are very time consuming… I can see why people do not have them, lol.
Toni
Bree says
I have never had a problem with any theft online due to banking or shopping. I did have fraud charges to my bank account. We had moved to a small military town without a local phone company that you could go in person and get an account. My husband gave our debit acct number over the phone as the security deposit. One month later we had $900 in charges to Verizon. The bank immediately returned our money. I do not have a blog if I did it would probably be a family/friend personal blog just because I am not sure what I would write about in a public blog. I learn so much from the few blogs I read and I hope fear doesnt scare off the good women who put so much time and effort into them. I researched Mint yesterday and it really intrigued me. I even saw that Kiplinger recommended it, but still…. I am leary. You know the saying about putting all your eggs in one basket.
Tanya says
We use Mint.com and I use the web for all of my bills, banking, etc. And, actually, my debit card information was stolen once. It was stolen in Fall 2002 by a bad employee at a small Mom & Pop gas station near the college I was attending. Luckily, I was a poor college student so the large fraudulent charge made on my card was declined.
There are certainly risks to be had with the Internet, but there are these same risks everywhere.
Joelle says
I used to have a personal blog that was quite public. I blogged there for years. But then we had an extended family member who went crazy, started reading things into what DH and I were posting, and made threatening statements to us for ridiculous reasons. So we took down our blogs and made a separate personal blog which a limited number of friends and family may access by password only. We have also made our Facebook pages, Myspace pages, etc. extremely private. My Twitter is public, but I don’t mention much personal info and I monitor who follows me closely. I do have a blog now that is much less personal for my “fun” homemaking and recipe stuff, and I don’t give out where I live or much personal info at all.
I do online banking and feel fairly comfortable using my CC online. If a place doesn’t look reputable or safe, though, I pay using Paypal.
Amanda from Faith Food and family says
Great post! I am careful about security on my blog. I wasn’t going to post pictures of my children. Then I decided to but I am giving them nicknames and not their real names. I don’t post exactly what city I am in and never my last name. So I am careful.
I do pay some of my bills online and have to enter my checking account for that. However, if using something like mint.com would require them to have my account number when it’s not my electric company, etc., I would not do it. That’s just too much of a risk in my opinion.
You hear all the time about companies having data stolen. So every time we use a check (many are submitted digitally) or credit card we’re taking a risk of having our info stolen. So I think it’s important to be cautious but in the end it’s hard to avoid being out there a bit.
God bless,
Amanda
Courtney says
What a great question to bring up. I have a blog about my kids and our family adventures, but it is private so only our closest family and friends can view it. My husband is in law enforcement so we have an unlisted phone number and do not list our location on sites such as facebook and ning.com. That being said, we do all of our banking and some shopping online and have not had a problem…thus far!
I enjoy your blog and the thought provoking questions!!
Jaz says
I have several blogs, and my old domain was my first and last names. I think the reason so many of us are okay with putting personal information out there, but not risking access to our bank accounts is because while there are certainly bad guys who might want to do us bodily harm, there are many, many more who would absolutely love to get their hands – nonviolently – on our money.
Jaime says
Hello!
I do have a private blog for family members that I post pics of my son on as well as other things that might interest family/friends, but it’s not public. I think public blogs are a wonderful way to meet new people from all across the world, but if even 1 bad apple were to visit my blog and take an interest in my son….it’s just too scary and not worth the risk. But thats just how I feel and by no means think anyone else is doing the “wrong” thing by being more open in public blogs.
As far as facebook and online banking, I do both. My facebook is private and only friends can view anything on my page, including my pics. I do use mint.com and LOVE it!
Sarah says
Hello! I do not have a blog but I have found out lots of interesting and fun things on many blogs I have read. One thing that has surprised me on blogs I have read is how much personal information, pictures, etc. people are willing to display about themselves on the internet. I think that it’s obviously true that much of this information can be found out if someone wants to look for it. However, it seems to me that one makes them self a greater target by openly giving a potential predator easy access to so much information. I would be especially careful about pictures of my kids. I personally give out as little personal information on the internet as possible.
Kristi_runwatch says
We do a lot online, but I am pretty cautious about what I put on my blog. I like facebook because my pictures are limited to friends that I approve; I use mine and my husbands’ name on my blog (no last names), but have gone back and switched all the references to my children to their initials and I never post recognizable pictures of them. My husband has a job where people could potentially want to track down our family with ill intent, so I’ve tried to be as careful as I can without being paranoid. 🙂
Ultimately no matter what we do, it still boils down to the fact that we live in a dangerous world and have to use wisdom and then trust God to guide and protect us as He sees fit!
Elizabeth says
I have never commented on your blog before, but I enjoy reading it. I don’t have a public blog of my own, but I have no problem putting my information on Facebook, Twitter, etc. I used to keep most of my profiles open to the public, but now I keep them private because I am near graduating from college and I wanted to make sure potential employers could not Google me and find any personal information I had not meant to share with them. So I think it’s important to keep a healthy balance: I keep track of what’s coming up on me when someone Googles my name, but I don’t worry if pictures of me and some of my information is out there. I think of the internet as any other public place, and I exercise caution but I don’t panic over it.
Andrea_R says
I do all my banking & bill-paying online, and in fact I do my *job* online, get paid online and transfer money around – online.
Also, since I’ve been blogging & posting photos online for years, it;s very easy to find out exactly where I am.
Not once have I run into an issue. The only times we;ve had bank screw-ups have been from people in the bank, not from anything online.
It’s far easier for thieves to steal info offline, and thieves are lazy. 😉
Kelly @ Wisdom Begun says
Dana said “I think we fear the internet because it is relatively new.” I think she is completely right. Hackers will continuously find a new way to breach security, but people also find clever ways to steal money in broad daylight (think Madoff).
I personally do not put photos of my children on the internet. I also do not post their names, my husband’s name, or where we live (except for the state), nor do I even say where he works or what kind of job he holds. I think I am a bit overprotective about this, though.
Dana says
Sorry. Three w/ bank, two with insurance. I can add. Just not type and talk to kids at the same time.
Dana says
And an interesting contrast, perhaps. Our information has been compromised three times, my parents twice. Four of those instances were at normal banks, two with an insurance company. None of those were internet based.
We have one account online and it has never been compromised.
Alyssa @ Keeping the Kingdom First says
Toni, you bring up a very valid point. I have also mentioned Mint.com on my blog, and my husband said the same thing! Since I am also a big Dave Ramsey fan, I trust his advice. He recommends staying away from web-based accounting programs like Mint, since you can never be too sure about the security. With that said, I do post my full name, pictures of my kids, and general geographic location on my blog. Go figure!
TheHappyHousewife says
Glad to hear our husband’s think alike! I haven’t heard Dave Ramsey say anything about web-based accounting, thanks for letting me know. I also trust is opinion when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Toni
Dana says
No, I don’t think it is safe, and that is coming from someone whose full name and geographical information is posted online.
All the same information and more can be found in a phone book, but we don’t have many concerns about that. Stand in line at a store, and you can frequently hear the names, zip codes or phone numbers of the people in front of you.
What I really don’t like are gas stations that make you prepay and if you want to fill up you have to leave your credit card unattended with them.
And most of the cases of identity theft I know of personally occurred when a purse or wallet was stolen. In fact, this is the season for identity theft because of all the travel.
I think we fear the internet because it is relatively new, but all this information is “out there” in other areas as well. But we grew up using our information that way so it seems “safe.”
Lynn says
Interesting topic. We don’t bank online and I thought your Mint post sounded neat, but did not feel ok giving all that info to them. I do have a blog, so a lot of people know my name and state where I live. I don’t say the city however. I also don’t post pictures of my kids, well I post a few, but not ones that you can tell what they look like. They are always ones from a distance or ones that do not show their face. I am sure we don’t want to know how bad internet security really is. :)I am curious what others will say on this one.
Ruby says
I have been using Mint for almost a year now and have had zero problems. I use WOT(web of trust) to judge whether or not a site is secure. It’s a firefox add on.