This is a hot topic and there is no easy answer. For the individual who wants to keep their online identity private, there is no question which side of the fence they will sit on. For others, the answer is not always in the negative and quite often in the positive.

When you think about online identity verification, you need to move past the conspiracy theorists who think that the government wants to track their every move. Yes, this might be an end run of this type of process, because if everyone has to verify their identity whenever they go online, it is only a small step for governments to access this information and use it for their own benefit.

Yet, there is another side to online verifications and that concerns identity theft. It is possible that people who are involved in serious cyber-crimes will still be able to find a back door onto the internet and avoid identifying themselves online or maybe they will just steal other people’s identities.

However, we all recognise that every new technology can be abused in some way, so we need to come down on the side of reason and best practice, when we think about the question of online identity verifications.

So let’s look some situations where verifying your identity online is sensible.

Online purchases

As consumers, we are steadily making more online purchases and let’s be honest, this is mainly due to the convenience of buying in the comfort of our homes, as well as cheaper prices. So online purchasing is fast becoming the norm for many people and many businesses recognise this by having their own ecommerce websites or selling their products entirely online.

Using your credit card has always been a problem online with identity theft high on the list of issues, which is why we now have more secure HTTPS protocols for secure communications online. It is also one reason why organisations such as PayPal have become very popular.

Banking online

Most of us now do most of our banking online and the last thing we want to happen is someone to steal our identity and clean out our bank accounts. So again, HTTPS protocols are mandatory when dealing with financial institutions online and no-one would argue otherwise. As you already know, accessing your online banking accounts already requires proof of identity, which is why we all need to have secured passwords.

Social media networks

You might not have considered that proof of identity is important on social media networks, but this also includes dating sites as well. As you can imagine, a lot of pain and hurt can be caused when people assume other identities on social media networks. Online bullying comes to mind, as well as unscrupulous individuals who pretend to be someone else for nefarious reasons. So proof of identity is a consideration, which is not only sensible on social media sites, but can also save lives.

Final thoughts on online identity verifications

There is definitely a real need for secure transactions online, as well as proof of identity in many situations where someone’s identity can be stolen or abused. With the increase in identity theft, cyber-crime, hacking and terrorism, proving your identity online may become just as common as having to prove your identity in the offline world.

Whatever your thoughts on the evolution of this subject, proof of identity is currently already required by many businesses today. So if proof of identity is important to your business, you can safely and quickly verify an identity with Infotrack using your smartphone or other mobile device.