If those things were about you, and could impact you, would that change your answer?
Sometimes a regular check-up can reveal information that you would rather not know \u2013 whether it\u2019s getting your car serviced, and finding out that there is something expensive that needs doing, or a medical check where they find out something about your health that needs attention.<\/p>\n
These are just a couple of examples where a routine check can give you bad news, but at the same time you have the opportunity to address the issue and stop a small problem becoming much larger.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/kinetics.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ignorance.jpg” title_text=”Ignorance” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]
What does that mean to you? The chances are \u201cPII\u201d (publicly identifiable information) is out there now. Your name, your email address and your phone number will have been leaked somewhere. It might have been through a breach of some website that you used that\u2019s not important to you, and you might say that this information is published online anyway.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, for some of us, things can get much worse. The recent Latitude Financial hack<\/a> is an example, with data like date of birth, drivers licenses and potentially passport numbers. These might be used for identification, and now a hacker might have that information about you. This case is extreme \u2013 good practice is not to keep information you don\u2019t need any more and given how much of this goes back over ten years, it is an extraordinary situation that Latitude had kept this data.<\/p>\n So, what can you do? Can a hacker use this information to pretend to be you? The unfortunate answer may well be yes. They sell it on the darkweb and even the open web, and some other crook can buy it, combine it with other stolen data, and try to pretend to be you \u2013 to set up accounts in your name, or get your accounts reset and lock you out.\u00a0 It’s easier than you might think – Genesis Market<\/a> made it very easy for someone to impersonate you, your location and your device… all on an open website (no darkweb needed).<\/p>\n That\u2019s not good news. But at least if you know about it, you can deal with it. For example, you can get licenses and passports renewed with new numbers.<\/p>\n