One area of the internet which is very popular but comes in for an awful lot of criticism is the social networking sector, the likes of MySpace, Facebook, BEBO, etc. But why do they come in for so much criticism?

The problem with these social networking sites is the over willingness for many members, normally youngsters, to give away far too much detail about their lives and interests. We are seeing more and more youngsters placing everything from their date of birth to their school address online for all to see. While 99% of those who view the information would never dream of doing anything with it, there are some who would. While the paedophiles quite rightly take the limelight as regulators fight to keep them offline and away from the most vulnerable of society, there are also a growing number of fraud cases involving older members of social networks.

Many people do not realise that by simply stating where you were born and when, together with your full name, anyone in the UK for example can obtain a copy of your birth certificate. Using this detail it is then possible to obtain passports, credit cards and the like, and then the real fun begins!

More and more people are suddenly finding themselves black listed for no reason or on the end of demands for repayment of monies they did not even know about. Too many of us think that it will never happen to us, and while the facts indicate that the chances of it happening to you are very low, the more you leave yourself open to attack the more chance it will happen. These fraudsters are no fools, they are ruthless, they are methodical and they will bleed you dry given a chance.

It is vital that when joining any of the vast array of social networking sites you do not give away personal information, because one day you might just regret it!

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While there is no doubt that the internet has been and continues to be very useful for a whole host of reasons, we are seeing signs that where information is concerned there are two distinctly different areas of access. We have seen a number of examples whereby large corporations, show business stars and politicians have been able to remove information from the internet, while the general pubic seem to be more exposed than ever before. So what really is happening?

There have been a number of instances in the recent past which include :-

Google Earth

We see more and more groups approaching Google to have certain information taken off Google Earth, and while some of this is justified, what exactly are they trying to hide from us?

Expenses

There is currently a major debate going on in the UK with regards to politician’s expenses and how they are allowed to spend tax payer’s money on second homes, travel, etc. While the public have been pushing for the release of the information for some time, the government have actually taken court action to block any publication. Again, what exactly have they got to hide?

Tax Returns

There have also been signs that many show business stars and top business people are receiving preferential treatment with regards to their tax returns. They seem to be more protected than the general public from the threat of people investigating their affairs.

These are just a small number of recent instances which have highlighted what appears to be a growing difference between the levels of protection the general public are afforded and those in more privileged situations. So while the internet has opened up a new and interesting arena for the publication of what should be general information, are we all playing on a level playing field or are the odds tilted in favour of politicians, large corporations and business people?

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While there is no doubt that the internet has been instrumental in a whole number of positive advances in the world of public information records, has it gone too far in some areas? Is it possible for a potential fraudster to pick away at elements of your life, bring them together and make life really difficult for you?

The internet is used in so many different ways to bring information to the attention of the masses, including:-

Government Records

Criminal Records

Child Protection Issues

Court Cases

Many countries throughout the world will list the details of all of their court cases as a matter of course, believing that all of the information – the reasons for the case and the decision – are very much in the public domain. Unfortunately, there have been situations where sensitive information such as bank account numbers, social security numbers and the like have actually been published on the internet as part of the overall package of say a divorce case or something similar.

When you consider that many of these non-criminal court cases in question will actually require the written consent of all parties, there is also a very good chance that personal signatures may well be issued as part of the settlement documentation. These are some of the very concerns about privacy which were dismissed out of hand back in the early days of the internet, but for many people they have come back to haunt them.

Too many people seem to be a little too trusting of the internet and the uses surfers will make of the information available. There are ways and means to complain to the authorities although as yet they have not been able to find a responsible balance between security and full disclosure. Until the situation is resolved we all need to be on alert for possible cases of fraud, because while we never think it will happen to us, there is every chance that it could!

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While the internet has opened up access to literally millions upon millions of web pages and useful information sites, unless you actually know where to look it can be very difficult to find the information which you are after. So where do you start and how do you actually use the information you might find?

If you are at all unsure about where to start, the US Census Finder website is as good a place as any!

This website has just about everything that you will ever need to trace a person, whether you are looking for a long lost friend, a relative or just checking your family tree. The information which is available from the US Census should give you a great chance of being successful in your search, but what do you do after you have the basic information?

Once you have even the most basic piece of information from the Census site it is really just a matter of logging onto local newspaper and state record sites in that area and doing a little digging. Obituaries are often listed in the more popular local newspapers and a quick search for an old relative who died may well show up some useful leads.

Very often these ads will mention the name of children of the deceased, possibly your relatives, and this can then bring you more chance of actually finding surviving relatives. There are also many other websites which you can access such as Graveyards online which lists a massive array of people buried in countries such as the US, legal readings which have to be placed in newspapers by law as well as tracing the owners and former owners of a home, the details of which have to be made available to the public by law.

If you have enough time and enough interest it can be very fulfilling to search for and find members of your family tree – but be very open minded about what you might find!

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