The Internet is a mess and similar to a mine field in an Arnold Schwarzeneger movie.

Here's my brief story.

I take great pains to keep all personal ID info off the NET. I post NO info, no tel #'s, nothing in emails. etc.

A few months ago I GOOGLED my birth name. This came up:

Name ABC (me) associated with (all my family members and their addresses and phone #'s). Here's the kicker: I have one bank account and I named my father the beneficiary about 15 years ago. So my bank info reads: "Name ABC POD (payment on death)to (my father's name and address and all HIS personal info).

Now the only person/company who had that POD statement was the bank. So how did that get out there on the Internet? Any way and all ways.

You might say "who cares" about who knows "what" about me. But when Identity Theft rears it's ugly head and someone requests a tax refund from the IRS under your name, well, I'm hoping your tax refund is under $5.

This Internet system is the best thing and the worst thing that ever happened to honest people. It's a playground for villains!

Mark