IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Royal wedding guest name game invites only trouble

A Facebook message has been making its way around the social networking site, instructing people on how to come up with their very own guest name. But the seemingly innocuous message also has the potential to assist cyberthieves in stealing your identity.
Before congratulating William and Kate in the receiving line, be sure you haven't given away state secrets in the Facebook royal wedding guest name game making the rounds.
Before congratulating William and Kate in the receiving line, be sure you haven't given away state secrets in the Facebook royal wedding guest name game making the rounds.Officialroyalwedding2011.org
/ Source: SecurityNewsDaily

If you happened to score a last-minute invite to the royal wedding, you'd certainly want to introduce yourself with a better name than the boring one you've got. You'd want something regal, refined and posh.

To that end, a Facebook message has been making its way around the social networking site, instructing people on how to come up with their very own royal wedding guest name. But the seemingly innocuous message also has the potential to assist cyberthieves in stealing your identity.

The game instructs you to begin with "Lord" or "Lady," and then use your grandparent's name as your first name. Your last name is the name of your first pet separated by a hyphen with the name of the street your grew up on.

Mine, for example, is "Lord Arnold Georgie-Diamond." Pretty aristocratic, no?

It's all in good fun, but if you're looking for a way to steal someone's identity, it's also a goldmine, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for the security firm Sophos, said.

Considering most websites ask for a secret password when trying to verify your identity and login credentials, creating a name that incorporates answers to several of these frequently asked questions — and then posting it to hundreds of millions of your friends — makes you an easy target.

"If you tell everyone your Royal Wedding Guest name, then you are giving away information which might help someone break into, say, your email account," Cluley wrote.

"The few seconds worth of amusement you may get by telling people your Royal Wedding Guest name are not worth the potential pain of having your identity stolen," Cluley added.

So can you still participate in this game and not end up in trouble?

Sure, Ed Goodman with Identity Theft 911, said. All you have to do is lie.

"Pets' names, your high school — these are the keys to the kingdom," Goodman told SecurityNewsDaily.

In creating security verification answers, Goodman said, "Don't use the name of your first girlfriend. Use who you wish your first girlfriend was."

To put it more bluntly, "You can't answer honestly about anything on the Internet anymore," he added.

(By the way, that wasn't my real Royal Wedding guest name. So don't come looking for me, Facebook scammers. You won't find me.)