Geneaological Gem or Privacy Disaster

In this age of technological advancements and the use of social media, searching for a long last ancestor has become much easier.  But consider this, what may be a exciting find, can also be a privacy disaster.

Public records are available to anyone who knows how to search for them. A genealogical treasure trove of material is out there.   But often those same public records are misused as a form of identity theft.  Public records leave clues that can lead to other records and information that should not be readily available, except to the person it belongs to.

Imagine my surprise while looking through records at Family Search, to find my Aunt's birth certificate, viewable and downloadable.  My Aunt, being very much alive, even though she is in her late 80's and sharp as a tack,  was unhappy to find what she considered her private information, her birth date, her parents names, where she was born, and now with the release of U.S. Directories, her home address throughout the years, was very much available for public consumption. A roadmap of her life for anyone to view and misuse.

Identity theft is a nightmare for a person to clear up.  It can wipe out your finances, make every aspect of your life extremely difficult, and almost impossible to catch the person responsible.  Whether you are sharing information via FB or twitter, email or snail mail, make sure that you know the person you are sharing it with, how they intend to use or share the information.

From one ancestor hunter to another, I think we have a responsibility to protect and safeguard the identities of the living in our family trees.  Think about it, it could be your information that is out there for all to see.