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Disposable Identities #1



Speaking of disposable identities and identity trading:

Credit card issuers are beginning to embrace the use of disposable credit card numbers for online and similar transactions. This option offers more flexibility than stopgap measures such as maintaining a credit card with an artificially low limit, and offers users the comfort of knowing that their online shopping experience won’t return to haunt them.

While the words “disposable ID” bring to mind forged papers in a spy thriller, the concept is likely to represent the future of electronic payment. The basic idea is simple: You generate a new ID for each transaction; once the transaction is completed, that set of credentials becomes worthless.

See also: “Is it legal to enter into a contract using an ‘assumed name’ or ‘alias’ with NO intent to commit fraud?”







1 Reader Responses

  1. Tim Boucher Says:
    October 25th, 2007 at 12:00 am

    http://www.playnoevil.com/serendipity/...-The-Disposable-Identity-Problem.html

    The Digital Identity Forum raises an interesting cultural/generational challenge for online services, in general, and online games in particular - disposable identities. According to the article, younger Internet users are particularly willing to abandon an identity, even if it means abandoning a reputation or friends list (in the case of a MySpace account).

    First, the ability to create identities freely and easily online provides little or no incentive for players/customers to maintain a persistent identity.

    Second, there seems to be little or no reason to maintain an identity. This raises some real questions about the viability of reputation systems.

    Site operators or identity service providers will need to actively work to convince users to value their identities.



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