Dear LPG readers,

I recently wrote about the way that I could have paid more than double to get a copy of my marriage certificate.  As we get older and start thinking about putting our affairs in order, I am sure that I am not the only person who has lost a certificate or two which they find the need to get a copy of.

There is something else that we all know but often ignore for the most part.   I wonder if we really should be more economical with every detail of the truth when filling in application forms and answering questions about ourselves.

When trying to get that marriage certificate, I also needed to produce the birth certificates of each of my children but one was well and truly lost and I needed to apply for a copy of his too.  It was then that I was reminded that all I had to do was apply.  I did not need his permission to get that copy.

I suppose that, when I think about it, it has to be possible to get some personal information about other people because, as we all know, researching family trees involves searching family members and it has become quite the hobby for some. 

I am sure that we have all heard of the Data Protection Act 2018 and everyone has to remember all the news that was generated when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into being.  I think that we all thought we would be safer after that and the reduction in the amount of cold calls and emails was very apparent for a while.  

When I think back, I have looked up the history of a second hand car I was thinking about buying and found the odd friend’s address with the help of the Royal Mail website.  When I went on holiday to France I looked up the house I was going to stay at and took a picture with me so I would recognise it, and thought nothing more of it, and I was able to do that for free with Google.

But if I can see all that information about others, it is obvious that they can check me out too. and while none of us think that anyone would ever think of stealing my identity, it makes you think. 

When you come to think about it a lot of our pretty private stuff is considered public records and is accessible to anyone. 

A Birth Certificate gives information about when and where you were born and the names of your parents. Marriage Certificates link you and your spouse no matter how secret you would like that bit of information to stay, while property records can give a perspective scammer information about how much you own and where you live.  You can get a copy of anyone’s house deeds these days and the electoral register can help anyone to work out how many people share your home or if you live alone.

Anyone can find out who owns a particular car, which company manufactured it, its registration number and when its tax and MOT need renewing.  You can even find out about all the defects that have caused it to fail that test over the years.  This is very relevant information if you are thinking of buying it second hand but, a couple of years ago, mine was cloned.  Someone worked out that a car they planned to use for a robbery looked much like mine and so they put false registration plates showing my car’s number on theirs, and drove and parked it in all the wrong places leaving me to receive all the driving violations and parking fines that the CCTV cameras assumed were done in my car even though it was parked outside my front door during the whole time those things were recorded.

If you are involved with a registered company as a director or shareholder, you can be found and the financial dealings of the company will be publicly accessible through official registries such as the one at Companies House, while quite a few Court records, such as judgments, orders, and some legal filings, can be accessed too.

The laws we have are supposed to keep our ID safe and accessing one or two of those personal details is sometimes necessary and helpful.  The big problem is that when you put all that information together, if it gets into the wrong hands, anyone can find themselves with enough information about you to pretend to be you electronically with a bit of know-how and without having to spend that much time or money.  

Some people will say that they have nothing to hide and others live in the knowledge that no one would be interested in’ little old me’, but Perhaps what I am trying to do is remind readers that we all have to be really careful about sharing our personal basics casually.  I am not by any means suggesting that anyone should lie when filling in any form, but if  N/A (not applicable) is an optional answer, think about if you really need to add all the detail.  Think twice before adding your real address, email address and phone number to the same application form, remember the to only offer needed information and limit what you tell someone who asks for any personal information, until you are sure who you are talking to and why they are asking.  

PD, Grove Park