I gave up talking about identity theft. That horse has bolted and the barn door has been wide open too long.
As I predicted some time ago, ID theft , and personal data theft enabling ID fraud is so rampant that sellers of such data are overlapping and the market is almost saturated.
It's time to fix it.
We've had some mention of gadgets and frustratingly ignorant and foolish consumers but we haven't really had any suggestions which could work right now, for most of us without huge capital expenditure and using what we have already - our mobile phones.
Spare me the iphone or whatever app, that won't cut it, we need the 'everyone' solution.
Real time is required.
Customer participation is required.
No call centers - no bank staff, a third party system which doesn't ever actually hold any information about the individual, nor does it engage in any other business except confirming identity.
A system which cannot be hacked into, and even if a hacker could get in they'd find an empty database - there is no personal data there to find.
Your information becomes your own, you decide who gets to see it and who they share it with and unless you participate, no-one can do anything in your name.
All you need is a mobile, and someone who knows you. It could be the government, your bank, your employer or someone we trust.
Credit reference agencies, banks, doctors, dentists, government employees would all have to get your permission to interact with your information. Unless you participate it is pointless for them because they can't know that they are really dealing with you
- unless they participate in the system. They would have to prove who they are before they could access the information you permit them to see.
The attractiveness of this solution is immense. Economy of scale, agreed identical methods and standards, a level playing field with consumers empowered to help protect their good names.
You wouldn't have to buy anything, learn anything new, do anything you can't understand or don't already know how to do. It doesn't need anything new 'rolled out' or installed or proved or tested or paid for.
It could be used to allow permission, confirm identity, confirm a payment and a host of other things too, and do it everywhere, at your front door, on the net, in the street and at No 10 Downing St.
The most important thing it could do is end identity fraud and it wouldn't matter a hoot that all your personal data is already stolen and in the hands of thieves, it would do them no good at all.
Something everyone can use, understand how it works and be empowered to take back their identities.
Anyone else have any ideas?
If not then give me a call. It's time to end this idiocy.