Last year, I started receiving some comments from a “troll” who signed his/her identity as ‘Sunny Stewart’ (see Meet My First Troll and The Troll is Back!). It wasn’t really a big deal to me back then, but it looks like it is a big deal to the REAL Sunny Stewart. Here’s an email I received a few days ago:

I am writing to inform you that my identity was hijacked last year and emails were sent to you (and others) under my name. I tried to contact you with my hotmail account, the address listed for me in the links to my work that you have in you blog, but I have not received a reply. I ask that my email address be removed from you links, and that it be made clear that the “Sunny Stewart” you are talking about was a fraud. I do not like having my good name slandered by others (likely my ex), and ask that references to me, my picture, and my work be removed.

I’ve never encountered identity theft in the past. But, I know that it does happen. And, I sympathise with those who have experienced this. That’s why sympathise with Sunny Stewart.

Anyway, as a respect for the Sunny who emailed me, I am abiding by his request and updating my previous posts.

To Sunny: I hope that you managed to change your account details so that no one can access it anymore. And, I wish you well.

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As a general comment on this topic:

This really emphasises the importance of guarding one’s personal information online as best as you can.

Some of my thoughts on this are: Never share a password with anyone. If you do end up sharing a password with someone that you end up at odds with for any reason, make sure that you change your details immediately. Only give information to individuals, organisations and sites that you trust.

There are many other ways to protect one’s identity. It’s always good to stay vigilant.