Now I really don’t know whether this has been conceived as a phishing scheme at the outset or as a reinvention of the playground/pub conversation. However, the fact remains, giving out things like your mother’s maiden name, name of your first pet, the street you grew up on is a Very Bad Idea. Giving them out online in a public forum that is indexed by search engines is Even Baddererâ„¢.

 

This sort of information is gold dust to those people who have an interest in breaking into your online accounts through reseting the passwords, see my earlier blog post here where it happened to poor old Salma Hayek.

 

For the record, I don’t remember the name of my first pet, but I grew up on Donkey Street. 

 

Next trend? #twitterluckynumbers post your Credit Card number, CVV and Expiry Date.

 

UPDATE:

 

The “man behind the hashtag” goes by the name of PembsDave. I asked him for his views on the furore surrounding the trend…

 

 

“It genuinely was set up as a fun thing to do and of course become a “trend” – but chinese whispers changed it. OK “proper” porn name is pets name + [mother's] maiden name but I felt that was too personal – hence head teacher. I have trended a few times to gain awareness of JessicasTrust their hashtag is #maternalhealth – and often cross-pollenate the trending # hashtag to theirs.”

 

So, Dave’s view and my own is, let’s hope some good can come of this, both in a raised profile for this worthy cause, and an increased awareness of the value of the information that we share far too readily on the internet.

 

Before you post anything, anywhere, ask yourself this “If a stranger called me on the phone asking me for this information, would I be happy to share it?” If the answer is “No“, then step away from the mouse.

 

UPDATE:

From the “Defies Credulity Dept.” this storm-in-a-teacup made it into the US Department of Homeland Security daily report (check page 15)