As I’ve written for About.com over the past couple of years, I’ve had some struggles to shape the site into my vision of something helpful in how we think about identity theft. I’ve hit topics that you would generally expect (bank accounts, credit cards, phishing, etc.) and added some things most people don’t consider when they think about identity theft as well. I’ve been able to debunk some myths, and overall feel I have provided all consumers a great place to start when looking into identity theft, as well as provided solid, reliable information for those who have been victims of identity theft.
Once in a while, I’ve been obliged to edit an article because I had just put out plain ol’ misinformation or gotten my facts wrong. That’s just irresponsible journalism, and I’ve set my bar a bit higher than that for readers who rely on me for information. This was the case with the 2011 article about the Medical Information Bureau, for example. Once that article had hit the search engines, I got an email from their corporate counsel urging me to correct certain material errors. Naturally, I was happy to get things straightened out.
But my dialogue with the Medical Information Bureau made something else clear to me: there’s another type of identity theft that I haven’t been covering – insurance identity theft. In fact, up until the phone interview with the MIB, I had lumped it in with other types of identity theft when writing my articles. It is now clear to me that insurance identity theft needs to be treated separately.
You’re probably wondering why I’m taking so much time to discuss the addition of this “new” type of identity theft. Simply put, the addition of insurance identity theft as a specific type of identity theft will require reworking some articles that have been core documents since I took over the site.
More importantly, I may be the only identity theft expert that talks about insurance identity theft for a while, because I don’t believe the industry in general sees what I do. And even if they do, the natural tendency is to keep things the way they were taught to us, so it won’t be surprising to see identity theft experts lump insurance identity theft into the category of financial identity theft, medical identity theft, of any of a dozen other categories related to the loss of one’s identity. There’s probably nothing wrong with addressing the issue this way, because the impact will tend to show itself in other areas – that’s the case with identity theft in general, and always has been.
Nobody really likes the adjustments that come with changes, and changing fundamental information shouldn’t be done on a whim. My article 7 Types of Identity Theft has been suggested reading since almost day one with About.com, so I wanted to take the time to personally explain to you, the reader, why it was changing, and give you the heads-up. 2012 will see me addressing the subject of insurance identity theft more frequently, because it is a new area, and hasn’t been given the coverage it really needs.
Likewise, it’s important to keep in mind that when core information changes with a company (or an author) it can be a good sign. It is an indication that the company (or individual) is growing in their understanding of the topic at hand, and is putting things in a better perspective to facilitate smooth communication of new ideas that will be related to the way the core information is being modified.
Finally, a note on a very personal level: it is generally considered poor journalism to talk directly to the reader (using words like “I”, “me”, etc. as if the article were a personal letter.) However, your Guide has never been one to stand on ceremony or be overly-encumbered with an abundance of social observation.
Additionally, by keeping my approach warm and personal, readers have felt confident in contacting me directly when they have identity theft issues, and I’ve always enjoyed a more trusted relationship with my readers than many journalists can claim. So, I’ll keep breaking the “rules” and talking like I know you on occasion, because in the end, it means that I can really help those who need help, when they need it most.
And being able to help is all that any “expert” can really hope for in this day and age.
