If you're a canny internet user, you'll know the value of being vigilant and anonymous on the web. You'll have heard the stories of people posting details on their blogs that got them fired from their jobs, and you'll be aware of the increasing trend among employers to check up on candidates' MySpace and Facebook profiles when considering whom to employ.

So you make an effort to keep your slate clean. Wherever you use your real name, you are polite and charming and don't make mention of your drunken escapades; in other situations, such as on MySpace and in your blog, you use a pseudonym and ensure that nothing you write can link you to your job or your name.

But all your care and hard work could be going to waste if someone else is, for whatever reason, impersonating you on the web. It's so easily done: anyone can sign up for a Yahoo! Mail account or a Faceparty profile, and before you know it, they can be posting incriminating material – true or otherwise – while pretending to be you.

The problem is that future employees will have no way of knowing that an impersonator isn't you, and it can be very hard to get the information taken down. MySpace is one of the most impenetrable systems; trying to get a profile taken down can take several weeks. Many sites have a system for the removal of copyrighted material, but not for material which is falsely claimed to have been posted by a particular individual.

There are companies available who will check up on your online reputation on your behalf, rooting out links between websites and informing you of any possible dangers posed either by impersonators or by you. However, a simple vanity search (that is, googling your own name) can help you to spot content that shouldn't be associated with you.

As an email recipient, you should make sure you check that you know from whom you are receiving emails, especially if you receive emails with unexpected or abusive content. It may also be wise to register your own name email addresses on the most popular free mail, social networking and blogging sites.

By Helena Henderson

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