Staying Safe online and on Wattpad

PUP #1: YOU

Or should I say, us!

We humans are a trusting species. We believe goodness could exist in everyone; because either the wise prophets we might follow encourage non-judgmental mind-sets, or if we're not religious, other influences, perhaps our parents or our peers, shape our moral compass and convince us to trust our fellow human.

We love the internet because it satisfies our every need with a click of a mouse or a swipe of a screen. We have to rethink that.

I'll probably add to this chapter later and welcome any contributions – we are all liable to encounter many PUPs. Let's look at a rearranged version of identifiable information from the list in chapter 3:

• Full name (if not common)

• Date of birth

• Home address

• Email address (if private from an association/club membership, etc.)

• Telephone number

• IP address (in some cases)

• Face (picture ID)

• Digital identity (digital identifiers include online log-in profiles we have with websites we use like WP. We can have more than one.)

• National identification number (Some countries like the UK don't have ID cards)

• Social security number (In UK National Insurance Number)

• Passport number

• Vehicle registration plate number

• Driver's license number

• Fingerprints

• Handwriting

• Credit or Debit card numbers

• Birthplace

• Genetic information (DNA profile)

• Login name, screen name, nickname, or handle (I recommend you have more than one)

Here's a breakdown of PIIs from chapter 3:

Full name

It is a Potentially Unwanted Problem to use our real full name online. There, I've said it. Trolls never use their real name, nor do criminals or hackers, especially as a USERNAME (if you can't beat 'em join 'em?). Yes, if you have a cool real name and want to be totally honest about your identity, by all means go for it. But remember, it will be recorded and filed. It will be easy to track. Using the same real name(and same avatar) for your FB page, WP, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, etc, gives you a consistent internet profile (especially if you want to sell something) but makes you recognisable to ALL, and could make you vulnerable. This also applies to your Login name, screen name, nickname, or handle.

WP seems to allow its users to have more than one account, perhaps because this boosts its membership, and many Wattpadders take advantage, while some sites (more rarely these days) insist we only have one. Encouraging multiple accounts is an open invitation to trolls. I am probably the only one among the WP millions who only have ONE account but, believe it or not, I am not using my real name. :)

PUP = Identifiable name or username easily found, stalked or hacked.

Layer = Use different usernames for each social network account

Date of birth

Many websites ask for this, including official bodies like medical services or insurance companies but also social network sites. They are mainly trying to adhere to US law, which prevents anyone under 13 from enrolling. I don't know why 13 is the internet age for 'adult' but it is. I'd be grateful if any experts in child protection can enlighten me as to why a 13-year-old is fair game for all the horrors the internet can throw at them in the comment section or PM me.