It's Not the Same as Lying to a Real Person

(WSJ illustration)

Yes, I have lied, and continue to lie, to websites. Like most others, I do it for my own protection. [bold added]

When you sign up with a social network, e-tailer or other service, you often have to give your name, email or phone number, and birthday. Some sites ask for a street address and more personal or private items, such as gender or mother’s maiden name.

The demands can feel intrusive, and giving sites all that information means that hackers could get access to it. So, a lot of people just sidestep the issue: They lie. When websites ask for information, they make up names, birthdays, street addresses and anything else you can think of.

“It’s a common technique for individuals to use false or pseudonymous contact information and birthdays and other personal details,” says John Davisson, senior counsel and director of litigation at the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center. “So that in the event of a breach, or in the event that the company you’re providing information to wants to use it in some way, like targeted advertising or to sell to a data broker, you’re protected because the information is not high-fidelity information and not going to be of use.”

I give restaurant and retail websites fake identifying data whenever possible because the information doesn't seem crucial to the business that I want to do with them. If they catch me and kick me off, well, I can live without their product or service.

At financial institutions I have to be truthful in order to access the accounts. Although they have much more security than websites in other industries, they're not impregnable; therefore I check the activity and balances once a month.

The virtual, online world has brought many conveniences that also carry new risks. Only give out the minimum information necessary; websites are not your friend.