A lot of confusion seems to be going on with the Google+ Real Names Policy. The argument goes something like this:

“It doesn’t matter if I use my real name or not. If my name is John Smith then there’s no way Google can know which one I am, ergo it’s pointless.”

People making that argument are flat out wrong. I work in the public/private record and data broker industry. I’ve worked in it for 14 years. If I was Google and I had your real name here’s what I’d do:

1. I’d grab your IP address and trace it back to its location. Googles IP to Location database is probably the best in the world. It’s not 100% accurate but it’s good enough. So now I’ve got you as John Smith in Anytown USA.

2. I’d combine your name/location and run it against the header database.

Let me explain what a “header” a.k.a. “credit header” is.

A credit header is the top part of your credit report. It’s the part above the lines of actual creditor reporting. It contains:

• Your “real name” • Your aka’s (what your friends call you) • Your Social Security Number • Your date of birth • Your relatives names • Your current and previous addresses (with dates) going back 25+ years • Your current and previous telephone numbers

At this point the list of John Smiths is reduced dramatically. If I needed to narrow it down even further I’d take a look at your date of birth. If you have Gmail you may have already provided this to Google. There’s also a bazillion other places this is available.

Another place to deduce your approximate age is where you attended high school and what year you graduated. So now I’m looking for John Smith currently located in Anytown USA who once lived in Mytown USA and is between the ages of 38 to 40.

If I couldn’t find your date of birth I’d run your addresses and look for other people with the same last name living at that address. Then I’d scan your communications looking for people with that name.

On top of that if I have your phone number (think Gmail again) I can run that too.

Most of the time I’m GOING to find you EVEN if your name is John Smith.

From that point it’s as simple as cross-referencing data. I can run you against:

• Bankruptcies • Tax Liens • Judgments • Defaults • UCC Filings • Property Values • Relatives and their above information • And on and on and on

At this point I know who you are, who your relatives are and what kind of spending power you have. I have your whole life history. I can decide your level of influence while I keep tacking on additional information to your dossier. How much do you think that list is worth?

This level of sophistication is almost impossible for spam bots and fake profiles to duplicate.

For those that say “Well there are other countries, not just the US.” My answer is:

1. This type of information is available in many countries. It may not be as freely available but it’s there.

2. I don’t necessarily have to have this information from other countries. I can simply watch my initial network grow. If I have a “high influence” individual in the US and they communicate with you on a regular basis it’s pretty easy to deduce I should also assign you some value and on down the line. It’s easy enough in a global economy.

P.S. The credit header file has been ruled in court cases to NOT be part of a credit report therefore it is free of the FCRA laws preventing it’s access by unauthorized individuals. It can be free traded and sold. The last time I checked the file was less than $200,000 US plus the cost of updates. However many companies can get free access in exchange for reporting their data back to the bureaus.