29 January 2006 Blog Home : January 2006 : Permalink
Leave all your goodies (In this case your life details) in one place for long enough, and someone will be bound to break in and have it away with them. Why? Because anyone with a dodgy past and a reason to hide will be able to become you. Won’t they get caught when I report my ID missing / wiped? Er, well let’s put it this way, in order to report your ID stolen you will need your ID Card to prove who you are. With the card effectively wiped, you won’t get past reception front desk. Social services won’t touch you. Your Bank won’t believe you (Long gone are the days of personal relationships between Manager & customer). Lost your National Insurance number? Can’t remember your bank account number? Can’t recall your National Health number? How many people can remember all that? Not that many.
Now do you understand why having all your personal details in one place is so bloody silly. That’s why ‘smart’ ID cards are a really stupid idea. Just keeping the database up to scratch will create a whole new layer of bureaucrats. Even then I’ll be willing to bet that the database will never be more than 40% up to date, and that’s being optimistic.
Tim's suggestion yesterday of tin foil wallets is looking better all the time. It occurs to me that something like those nice metal business card holders would be even more stylish and just as efficient. BONUS: It would also double as a bit of armour to protect you against muggers who wanted to stab you to get hold of your ID card... something that a piece of tin foil woudn't do.