You can be anyone you want!

Did you know that when you create an account online or off, you can be anyone you want? Well, it's true, for now at least! Try it out!

Fake it 'til you make it...

When you sign up for a new site or to get that fresh reward card from the local bakery, they tend to ask for way more information than they need. In so many cases, there's no reason to tell the truth. Your government ID is rarely needed.

Here are some pieces of data that you can either fake or ignore in most cases:

Email Address

Ok, so you can't fake it per se, but get yourself an email address that isn't firstname.lastname@gmail.com and use that to sign up for stuff. Doesn't matter what it is, a series of letters and numbers will do the job. crapbag6789@gmail.com really rolls off the tongue.

I use Fastmail which lets me set up as many 'alias' email addresses as I want. I have a handful that I use for slightly different occasions, but they're all linked to my actual inbox for simplicity's sake.

Name

Are you applying for a credit card or an apartment? Are you buying airline tickets? No? Then make something up! Your Starbucks rewards account does not need your government name, ok? The Starbucks police aren't gonna come after you, I promise. Plus, think of how fun it will be when they call out for "Princess Consuela Bananahammock" and you go strutting up there to grab your venti white mocha, quad shot, 2 shots on bottom, two on top, almond milk, extra hot, caramel drizzle INSIDE THE CUP, with extra whip cream. Real power move.

Name/Email Side Note: I know I said before you should Sign In With Email, but if you're an iPhone/Apple user (and you're planning to continue being one), I actually DO use the "Sign In with Apple" option when it's available. They actually set up a relay email address for you if you choose not to share your email address, and you can also put in whatever name you want when you sign up. That's actually a really great, privacy-forward service.

Phone Numbers

This one is actually so hard to avoid faking. If it's required to enter one, you'll probably have to use your own. You can create a Google Voice* account (free) that will give you a different phone number (which can be forwarded to your personal number), but I have to admit this will not work every time. Many sites block the use of VOIP numbers, so if you feel really strongly about this one, maybe get yourself a pre-paid burner phone.

*Google Voice is just one VOIP service. If you've been here awhile you know how I feel about Google and "free" services. That said, there are many other VOIP services you can choose from, but most of them are paid and will likely still give you the same issues, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Title

Ignore this every time. For one thing, it's totally biased against women. If I pick 'Mr.' it's fairly easy to assume I'm a man, but you're not getting much else from that. If I pick Miss, Ms., Mrs., Mx. etc, suddenly there's a pretty good chance you can glean not only my gender, but also my marital status and even age to an extent. Just leave this one blank. Or pick Captain if it's available. Captain KL has a nice ring to it.

Zip Code

Ok, if it will make your life easier to enter a zip code, like, say, trying to find the nearest Starbucks (yes, I'm sitting in a Starbucks right now, ok? Don't judge me.), then pick a zip code nearby. Zip codes are surprisingly small, you'll probably get the same results picking the next one up or down (e.g. 90210 becomes 90211).

Gender

Rarely needed, but if it's required flip a coin, roll a die—just randomize it.

Age/Birthday

Why are they asking for this? Birthday rewards? Why not spread it out and get your free birthday discounts year round!

If age matters, just pick something that's old enough. If you think you'll need your 'birthday' to verify the account again sometime in the future, pick a date—not your own birthday—and just use that every time so you'll remember what it is.

Super fun fact: With just zip code, gender, and birthday 87% of Americans can be uniquely identified! Neat! Source

When to tell the truth (maybe)...

Ok so sometimes you'll need to tell the truth. A good time to use your full government name is on a full government document. Credit check? Background check?—gotta use the real data. Airline tickets? Of course.

There's a couple maybes in there too:

Online Payments: Do you have to use a personal credit card? If you do, that generally requires some data—typically name, billing address, the credit card details, etc.

If you really want to avoid giving them your personal info, you can always get yourself a Visa gift card (or the like). You don't need to link your personal info to those gift cards. OR, if you're into that sorta thing, you can sometimes pay with cryptocurrency. See what the site allows before you just throw down your plastic.

Shipping Details: If you're ordering something online, you'll likely need to give them an address to send it to. You could give your home address, or you could get yourself a PO Box at the local post office, you can use a parcel locker, or you can get a private mailbox from a UPS store, etc.

There's usually a fee associated with these types of services, so look into what you can get near you for the best deal if you want to go that route.

Everyone loves a good alter ego, so have some fun with it, Mr. Anderson.

Keep on keepin' on,
Captain KL