Recently TrustedID launched StolenID Search, a nifty little search engine that lets you check to see if you social security or credit card numbers have been posted online. Sounds great, right? But wait, you have to type your social security or credit card number into the site for it to search. Trust issues aside, this is a horrific idea. By getting its users to enter their information on the site StoledID is conditioning them to give out sensitive personal info online. How long before ID thieves and phishers set up site ostensibly offering similar services? With a pool of users being trained to give up the most private of personal information, I can't see it taking long. All in all, I think this is a really bad idea. Even if TrustedID had only the most noble of intentions in launching this service (though personally, I think they launched the StolenID as a way to scare people into using their identity theft prevention products, which in and of itself is despicable) they missed the mark entirely. Instead of helping to make the net more secure, they have created something that will end up helping ne'r do wells in their illicit endeavors. I think launching StolenID was short sighted and irresponsible. For what it is worth, I have included a link to StolenID below , so you can look at the site, read their FAQ's, and ultimately make up your own mind about the service (which I would love for you to share in the comments).

StolenID Search [via TechCrunch]
 Internet, security, identity theft, TrustedID, StolenID