Now, what was that name, again?

A recent issue of Reader’s Digest was full of tips, including one that got me thinking about how we might not be keeping secrets about personal financial affairs and transactions.

How hard would it be, for example, to figure out someone else’s mother’s maiden name?

I think I’ve used Mom’s maiden name as a way to confirm my identity when I’ve conducted business a few times.

I know I’ve sometimes used my husband’s mother’s maiden name. Not long ago, I was asked to give her maiden name for some account, and I went blank. I knew it was Irish or Scottish, but for the life of me, I could only be reasonably certain of the first syllable. I was pretty sure it was a three-syllable name, but the luck of the Irish wasn’t with me that day. The person on the other end of the phone was doing his job and kept me from transacting further business without the correct response. I could describe and tell special things about the good woman, but until Paul got home to remind me of his mom’s maiden name, I couldn’t do any more business in that account. It was a secure system, and if I’d been desperate, I could have dug through obituaries or other family information and uncovered the secret locking me out of my account. Thankfully it wasn’t that important at the time.

But, after reading concerns about how easily we reveal maiden names, my work at the newspaper makes me to realize how frequently people across the USA provide their maiden names. Class reunions, obituaries and some news stories could make it fairly easy for others to have that information. Without getting paranoid, is there a step we should take to make potential identity theft more of a challenge?

As one who has sometimes searched family history, I’d hate to see us give up the trails that might one day enlighten genealogical hounds. I’m in favor of keeping records straight about who our parents were or what our own maiden name used to be.

But perhaps we should consider a pseudo name and “fudge” a bit when we give a maiden name for security purposes.

Next time I open some new account and am I’m asked to provide Mom’s maiden name for security purposes, I hope to remember to get very creative about my ancestry.

Marge Warder is a general assignment reporter. Email her at news@redoakexpress.com