You Can’t Be Anonymous

Average users do more than protecting their computers. They are also taught to protect their identity. This has a two-fold purpose. First, it protects them against identity theft, and second, it protects them in the physical sense. Unfortunately, Internet Marketers cannot be anonymous and expect to remain in business for long, even if they manage to get their business off the ground in an anonymous way.

This is another reason that Internet Marketers have to be even more cautious than average users – they can’t be anonymous in most cases. Your name will be out there – hopefully in bright lights – but there is still a way that you can protect yourself from identity theft.

While your name must be out there for the whole world to see, this doesn’t mean that other information must be made available. Most Internet Marketers are very open about where they are physically located in the world. They have to be because the CAN-SPAM Act requires that they include their business address in every single piece of commercial email that they send out.

Furthermore, you can’t use a post office box. The law requires you to use your physical address. Most Internet Marketers work from home. What this means is that a potential identity thief not only has your name, but they also have your home address. An average user would never throw this information out there to the public – you are required to.

So, with your name and address out there for anyone in the world to find, how does an Internet Marketer protect their identity?

They do it the same way that everyone else does but with a great deal more caution. Never store your credit card information or banking information online, for starters. Second, never give out your social security number or any personal information that is not required from you during the course of business.

Remember that you are already a target because your name and address are out there. If you keep that in mind, you will find that you are more cautious about sharing other personal information. In fact, you may be more cautious than the average user, as you should be, and therefore better protected from identity theft.

Finally, always look to see who is looking. While most people are urged to check their credit report annually, an Internet Marketer would do better to check their credit report every three months. This way, you will be better able to stop identity theft before it gets out of hand, and you find yourself in thousands of dollars worth of debt!