Fun with Identity Theft

A friend writes the Boston Downtown Women's Club blog. Diane's blog post about how society obsesses with the clothing choices of female politicians is definitely worth a read.

Now, on to today's blog topic...

For many people, identity theft is a scary topic. However, several identity theft web sites prove that a serious and scary topic can be presented in an engaging and entertaining manner... and still be highly informative. Listed below is my short list of the best online ID theft quizzes.

What makes a good ID theft quiz? In my opinion, an outstanding quiz:

• Presents a mix of visual and textual content, since some users are visual while others love to read. Poor quizzes tend to be all text or all images.
• Provides clear and easy-to-read feedback both during the quiz and at the end. Feedback during the quiz includes a "progress meter" to inform the user how long the quiz is, where the user is within the quiz, and how much of the quiz remains to be completed
• Allows the user to print and/or save quiz results
• Is short in length. A long quiz feel like work, which can be intimidating. If the quiz must be long, then it allow the user to complete the quiz in segments
• Provides feedback at the end of the quiz, which is easy-to-read, easy-to-understand, and actionable: the user can take action immediately to better protect his/herself from identity theft
• Is easy to find. With a simple keyword search at any of the leading search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo), the user should be able to easily find the quiz in the first search results page
• And most importantly, the online quiz should not require the user to disclose personal data

My short list of quizzes is from sites for users USA residents. I'm sure that there are many more quizzes worldwide. If you've found a good quiz, share it. I've Been Mugged readers want to hear about the quiz you think is best.

Now, my top picks:

1. ID Theft Faceoff (the music and animation are a hoot!)
2. Identity Fraud Safety Quiz by the BBBOnline and Javelin Strategy
3. Identity Theft Protection Quiz by TD Banknorth
4. Phishing IQ Test by SonicWall
5. Honorable mention: Identity Theft IQ Quiz by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (the "mother" of all quizzes which many sites and blogs reference)

Next entry: New Hampshire Does It Right