Identity Exposure Index

ID Analytics Service Validates Identity Exposure Index

A new, free service offered by ID Analytics, www.myidscore.com, validates my Identity Exposure Index concept I proposed last month (What’s Your Identity Exposure Index?). While the results of the iEi investigation give you an index between 0 and 5, the MyIDScore.com results range from 0 to 1000. In both tests, the higher the score, the more at risk you are.

I compared iEi results for myself and my wife with those obtained from myidentityscore.com and was a bit surprised at the correlation: my iEi is exactly 4 times my wife’s; my My ID Score is 3.9 times my wife’s. I consider that a pretty strong case for my method. ID Analytics’ technology is patented, but they do reveal that they rely on real-time, cross-industry compilation of identity information, some other identity-specific analytics, and a database of reported identity frauds.

I don’t question the validity of their method and it’s certainly easier to go to their web site and enter a few pieces of basic information than it is to figure out your iEi, but it sure is interesting that my little “invention” appears to be just as valid.

You be the judge; do your own test and please let me know what you find.

Can Your iEi be Improved?

Last month, I posted “What’s Your Identity Exposure Index?” I’ve had some interesting feedback. This one stood out:

I was really interested in your article about online identity exposure. Since I’m on the web most of the day – for my job, Twittering, creating a brand for my jewelry business – a Google search for my name delivers all accurate results on the first page. However, after taking your suggested test, my iEi was still only 1.6, which made me feel a little better. Do you have any suggestions for lowering that score…or is the damage already done once it’s done?

I’m still researching this issue, but I can tell you from personal experience that once something is on the web, it’s likely to be there for a very long time. I have managed to get some erroneous public records removed from the web, but some very old USENET postings have resisted my efforts at removal.

Public records are just that, public; but governments are prohibited from revealing, willy-nilly, sensitive information about their citizens. This means that if a “public” record somehow shows up on the Internet with sensitive information revealed (SSN, police reports, legal information, e.g.), a complaint on the proper channels will usually get the record removed.

I’ll give you the best solution I know, one that I’ve been using for some years now: If you are on line regularly, do everything you can to post and reveal the information that you *want* people to find. A blog is great for this. Using my blogs, over the past five years I’ve managed to push the junk well beyond the third page of most search engine results. I can live with that.

What’s Your Identity Exposure Index?

Quick: On a scale of 0 to 5 (0 being nearly invisible, 5 being at risk), how much of your identity is exposed on the Internet? If you’re wondering, there are some tests you can try that will give you a good idea of you Identity Exposure index (iEi). Here are the tests I performed and some calculations you can use. I chose these tests because they could give an identity thief enough information to impersonate you under the right circumstances. For example, knowing your mother’s maiden name and a former address might be enough to get past a security question or two. Heaven forbid your Social Security number shows up anywhere on line!

Keep in mind that this isn’t absolute by any means; it’s more of a quick-and-dirty estimate. But what you find might surprise you.

Use any top search engine. I used Google. My test results are shown in parentheses.

1. Search your name in the form you commonly use; e.g., Ken Harthun, not Kenny, Ken G. or other variants. Count the number of accurate hits on the first page. (9)

2. Search your full legal name as it appears on your birth certificate. Count the number of accurate hits on the first page. (3)

3. Search your mother’s married name, with and without her middle name and middle initial. If her maiden name shows up anywhere on the first page, count 10; if not, count 1. (10)

4.  Search the last six digits of your Social Security number, including the dash. If your name shows up anywhere on the first page, count 10; if not, count 1. (1)

5. Search your home phone number with area code. If your current address is shown, count 10; any former address, count 5; else, count 1. (5)

Now, add all the scores. Maximum score is 50. Divide by 10 to get your iEi. It’s your choice whether or not to round off.

As you can see, my score was 28, so my iEi is 2.8, which is above the median. For comparison purposes, I also did the tests using my wife’s information and her iEi is 0.7. That makes sense because she does almost nothing on the web, save for checking her one Yahoo! mail account.

I’m interested in some feedback on this for a future article and to further refine the tests.