Author Topic: Creepy message ...UPDATED!  (Read 53855 times)

geekette

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #100 on: August 13, 2017, 10:36:15 PM »
Point taken, spartana.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #101 on: August 14, 2017, 12:17:24 AM »
I'm up for being added to the detectives list. I've felt a few times like I share too much! I'll even give y'all a clue: I go by both my maiden and my married surnames. Do PM me if you have a guess!

Anyone taking my case on, or is it safe to go back to posting my personal info with wild abandon? :P

Dicey

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #102 on: August 14, 2017, 01:11:58 AM »
Point taken, spartana.
tried to PM you to give you a heads up but wouldn't go thru but figured you'd want to know. The internet can be a scary pdlace sometimes sadly.
Given your recent scary experience, thank you for reaching out to share your concern for others. You didn't have to do that. You're a good one, Spartana.

Anyone taking my case on, or is it safe to go back to posting my personal info with wild abandon? :P
Oh shit, you crack me up, SLTD. IIRC, the one to ask is Cali Nonya.

Cali Nonya

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #103 on: August 14, 2017, 10:11:13 AM »
Current update from the Scientific Creepers.

In general, what give away the most information is when we talk about jobs and employment (big ole plus for all the actual FIRE folks).  Other than Jill in San Diego, we have not cracked anyone yet.  If someone posts their actual first name, then it become easy to use people search tools and line up the dots from postings, but without a name as a starting point, it is actually rather hard to pinpoint someone even if you figure out personal details, where they live, and their employer.

So our current update is:
**  Be very careful with real names
**  Think about how much you post about work / employment
**  It's pretty easy to figure out where people live from comments even if you don't name the city / town

I have not started SheLivesTheDream yet.  And yes Braken_Joy, your size (of posts) is intimidating. 

RWD

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #104 on: August 14, 2017, 10:29:37 AM »
Okay, I'm sorry, I really am a nerd, and I find all this really fascinating. 
So ...

Who's up for the scientific creeper challenge?  Are there a few people who wouldn't mind being scrutinized by us relatively harmless fellow posters and we can see who can 'out' each other?  This might be interesting if a few people would participate and we can identify what information actually does let someone figure out who you are IRL.

Maybe?
(or too creepy?)

I would be interested in having my posts scrutinized as well. I've tried to be pretty careful about posting identifying information. Though I suspect someone that knew me in real life would figure out my identity pretty quickly if they were looking for me on this forum.

Catbert

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #105 on: August 14, 2017, 11:02:57 AM »
Current update from the Scientific Creepers.

In general, what give away the most information is when we talk about jobs and employment (big ole plus for all the actual FIRE folks).  Other than Jill in San Diego, we have not cracked anyone yet.  If someone posts their actual first name, then it become easy to use people search tools and line up the dots from postings, but without a name as a starting point, it is actually rather hard to pinpoint someone even if you figure out personal details, where they live, and their employer.

So our current update is:
**  Be very careful with real names
**  Think about how much you post about work / employment
**  It's pretty easy to figure out where people live from comments even if you don't name the city / town

I have not started SheLivesTheDream yet.  And yes Braken_Joy, your size (of posts) is intimidating.

I'd be interested if you could find me.  I've posted tons of personal info on this site.  Certainly anyone who knows me could confirm that it's me based on posts. But I don't think that a random person who somehow became obsessed with me on this site could find me.  I keep a low internet profile IRL.

slappy

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #106 on: August 14, 2017, 11:14:33 AM »
You can search for me if your are interested. I did recently post the general area I live in. Not sure if that is super helpful.

I find it interesting you are finding it difficult, and I think that's a good thing!

shelivesthedream

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #107 on: August 14, 2017, 12:29:20 PM »
Current update from the Scientific Creepers.

In general, what give away the most information is when we talk about jobs and employment (big ole plus for all the actual FIRE folks).  Other than Jill in San Diego, we have not cracked anyone yet.  If someone posts their actual first name, then it become easy to use people search tools and line up the dots from postings, but without a name as a starting point, it is actually rather hard to pinpoint someone even if you figure out personal details, where they live, and their employer.

So our current update is:
**  Be very careful with real names
**  Think about how much you post about work / employment
**  It's pretty easy to figure out where people live from comments even if you don't name the city / town

I have not started SheLivesTheDream yet.  And yes Braken_Joy, your size (of posts) is intimidating.

Thanks for the update!

I would be interested in having my posts scrutinized as well. I've tried to be pretty careful about posting identifying information. Though I suspect someone that knew me in real life would figure out my identity pretty quickly if they were looking for me on this forum.

Yup, I worry about this. I have emoted a lot at various points about some pretty personal stuff that most of my friends don't know about, and I feel like if someone I know happened across my posts they could be certain it was me fairly quickly.

FireHiker

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #108 on: August 14, 2017, 02:12:42 PM »
Current update from the Scientific Creepers.

In general, what give away the most information is when we talk about jobs and employment (big ole plus for all the actual FIRE folks).  Other than Jill in San Diego, we have not cracked anyone yet.  If someone posts their actual first name, then it become easy to use people search tools and line up the dots from postings, but without a name as a starting point, it is actually rather hard to pinpoint someone even if you figure out personal details, where they live, and their employer.

So our current update is:
**  Be very careful with real names
**  Think about how much you post about work / employment
**  It's pretty easy to figure out where people live from comments even if you don't name the city / town

I have not started SheLivesTheDream yet.  And yes Braken_Joy, your size (of posts) is intimidating.

Yeah, I second the information here. I really didn't think I had posted enough to identify myself, and if I had kept my first name out of the picture it probably would have been a lot harder. Now I'm trying to decide if I start over with a new username or what. Decisions, decisions.

Roland of Gilead

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #109 on: August 14, 2017, 02:29:41 PM »
One other little tidbit.

If you HAM, don't post your call sign if you want to remain anonymous.

The call sign can be looked up on the FCC public database to get the operator's full real name and current address!

Dicey

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #110 on: August 14, 2017, 02:36:50 PM »
Current update from the Scientific Creepers.

In general, what give away the most information is when we talk about jobs and employment (big ole plus for all the actual FIRE folks).  Other than Jill in San Diego, we have not cracked anyone yet.  If someone posts their actual first name, then it become easy to use people search tools and line up the dots from postings, but without a name as a starting point, it is actually rather hard to pinpoint someone even if you figure out personal details, where they live, and their employer.

So our current update is:
**  Be very careful with real names
**  Think about how much you post about work / employment
**  It's pretty easy to figure out where people live from comments even if you don't name the city / town

I have not started SheLivesTheDream yet.  And yes Braken_Joy, your size (of posts) is intimidating.

Thanks for the update!

I would be interested in having my posts scrutinized as well. I've tried to be pretty careful about posting identifying information. Though I suspect someone that knew me in real life would figure out my identity pretty quickly if they were looking for me on this forum.

Yup, I worry about this. I have emoted a lot at various points about some pretty personal stuff that most of my friends don't know about, and I feel like if someone I know happened across my posts they could be certain it was me fairly quickly.

Me too, sorta. I recommend this blog all the time, so if someone had that starting point, it would be a breeze to figure it out. I don't do other social media or HAM (Thanks, Roland!), but if someone knew to start here...

That said, I know there's plenty o' personal stuff in my journal, exactly because I need a place to vent. If I want to bitch about how much I hate er, strongly dislike my MIL on occasion, I can safely vent it here, like this: Goddamnit, I just bought eight bananas and in between full, homecooked, nutritious meals, she polished off the remaining FIVE yesterday and hid the peels under a hat in her room. I'll add that I don't like bananas, and I hate the smell of the peels. Her room reeks of banana peels. Gross, and now I have to shop again, because her doctor wants her to have half of one a day. I haven't figured out a way to hide them, mostly because I hate the smell of them so much. If I put them in the pantry, the smell makes me gag. I often cut them up and freeze them, because they're easier to deal with that way, which was my intention when I bought eight last week. See that closed loop that just formed? Is it just a closed loop or is it a noose around my neck?

That's the kind of weird thought I can vent here. If I tell stories like that one to people I know IRL, they either look at me with pity in their eyes, or they think I'm a bitch (okay, that one might have some validity). Venting here is a huge help for my sanity, so thanks to everyone who listens. I think I'm not gonna worry too much about the Creepers, Scientific or otherwise, but I really appreciate the reminders and the update, Cali Nonya.

FireHiker

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #111 on: August 14, 2017, 04:22:14 PM »
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance. Now to post a bunch to various places so that my earlier stuff is hidden and it's more intimidating like Bracken_Joy's. I don't really want to start over, but this whole thing showed me I didn't want to have my name and location out there on every post. Won't matter so much after FIRE, but that's too many years away still.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #112 on: August 14, 2017, 04:37:20 PM »
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance. Now to post a bunch to various places so that my earlier stuff is hidden and it's more intimidating like Bracken_Joy's. I don't really want to start over, but this whole thing showed me I didn't want to have my name and location out there on every post. Won't matter so much after FIRE, but that's too many years away still.

Yes, my tactic is clearly to dissuade anyone but the most *dedicated* of creepers. I insist on the finest. No lazy creepers allowed. =)

FireHiker

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #113 on: August 14, 2017, 04:49:49 PM »
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance. Now to post a bunch to various places so that my earlier stuff is hidden and it's more intimidating like Bracken_Joy's. I don't really want to start over, but this whole thing showed me I didn't want to have my name and location out there on every post. Won't matter so much after FIRE, but that's too many years away still.

Yes, my tactic is clearly to dissuade anyone but the most *dedicated* of creepers. I insist on the finest. No lazy creepers allowed. =)

Anyone who is willing to sort through 8500+ posts to determine your identity would definitely not be lazy! Frighteningly determined, though.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #114 on: August 14, 2017, 04:57:24 PM »
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance. Now to post a bunch to various places so that my earlier stuff is hidden and it's more intimidating like Bracken_Joy's. I don't really want to start over, but this whole thing showed me I didn't want to have my name and location out there on every post. Won't matter so much after FIRE, but that's too many years away still.

Yes, my tactic is clearly to dissuade anyone but the most *dedicated* of creepers. I insist on the finest. No lazy creepers allowed. =)

Anyone who is willing to sort through 8500+ posts to determine your identity would definitely not be lazy! Frighteningly determined, though.

Unfortunately that was Spartana too =( She had TONS of posts. Didn't dissuade her scary stalker.

So, I'll joke about it, but I will continue not specifying my name or where I live.

SweetLife

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #115 on: August 14, 2017, 05:04:39 PM »
Okay, I'm sorry, I really am a nerd, and I find all this really fascinating. 
So ...

Who's up for the scientific creeper challenge?  Are there a few people who wouldn't mind being scrutinized by us relatively harmless fellow posters and we can see who can 'out' each other?  This might be interesting if a few people would participate and we can identify what information actually does let someone figure out who you are IRL.

Maybe?
(or too creepy?)

Well I already know that i am easily identified lol... at least by people in Canada... however I do have a rather easy to identify job

SweetLife

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #116 on: August 14, 2017, 05:14:54 PM »
I think OP has set off a ripple effect of people deleting posts and journals, lol.

Don't get me wrong ... I love to share and get back info regarding finances and life!!! But I can't believe some of the stalker stories you guys have mentioned!!! I can't imagine what a celebrity like MMM goes through!!! ;)

Its not easy to be "stealth" these days lol...

Cali Nonya

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #117 on: August 14, 2017, 05:17:43 PM »
Yes, my tactic is clearly to dissuade anyone but the most *dedicated* of creepers. I insist on the finest. No lazy creepers allowed. =)

Oh no!  I have been labeled as a lazy creeper.  Oh the shame, how will I ever been seen here again?

(Though now that I say that, 'lazy creeper' sounds like a type of bird.  I think I found my avatar.)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #118 on: August 14, 2017, 05:27:12 PM »
Yes, my tactic is clearly to dissuade anyone but the most *dedicated* of creepers. I insist on the finest. No lazy creepers allowed. =)

Oh no!  I have been labeled as a lazy creeper.  Oh the shame, how will I ever been seen here again?

(Though now that I say that, 'lazy creeper' sounds like a type of bird.  I think I found my avatar.)

I was just hoping to goad you into your highest level of creeper. It's character development.

And I will *always* support more nature photos on the forums =D

Optimiser

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #119 on: August 14, 2017, 06:21:21 PM »
You could always occasionally make some posts that claim you live in a different city or work in a different field so someone who was searching your posts would find conflicting information and not know which clues to follow.  I'm sure you could find threads to post in where doing this wouldn't derail the thread or make it less valuable.

That's what a lot of performers I work with in Las Vegas do.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2017, 06:23:19 PM by Optimiser »

Zikoris

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #120 on: August 14, 2017, 08:08:34 PM »
I sometimes wonder if my openness will come back to bite me in the ass. It would be extremely easy for someone to find out my name, where I live, and maybe where I work from my posts. But then, they could also find out all of that from just coming to one of our local MMMeetups and chatting with me for five minutes. I do think you have a certain degree of additional security living in a secure apartment complex with cameras and electronic access for the doors/elevators.

I suppose only time will tell.

FinallyAwake

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #121 on: August 14, 2017, 08:12:53 PM »
You could always occasionally make some posts that claim you live in a different city or work in a different field so someone who was searching your posts would find conflicting information and not know which clues to follow.  I'm sure you could find threads to post in where doing this wouldn't derail the thread or make it less valuable.

That's what a lot of performers I work with in Las Vegas do.

This is what I do, too.

I'm one of the members working on cracking the IDs of people (who have requested) here.  It's super fun!!  :)  But it takes quite a bit of time...especially if the person has a bunch of posts.  Though, my DH saw my notebook and got kind of freaked out about what I was doing!  ha

Optimiser- I know Cali Nonya tried you, and I started the other day; I'll resume soon. 

After that I'll work on the others who have requested, too.  In the meantime, if anyone has any super-sleuthy-work-from-home-high-paying-job offers they want to send me, I'm ready!  :)


Vertical Mode

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #122 on: August 14, 2017, 08:26:35 PM »
This thread is great for inspiring Punk Band Names of the day:

Banana Peel Vent

Lazy Creepers

Stalky McStalkerface

How about:

the Scientific Creepers

Remain Anonymous

Cali Nonya and the Detectives

that's all I've got. Fun thought exercise, though.


Cpa Cat

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #123 on: August 14, 2017, 09:45:46 PM »
I've had a few people contact me to enlist my professional services. Obviously they all find out who I am, where I do business, etc. None of them have been weirdos. I didn't feel like it was creepy for them to send me a message and ask for my contact info. But I offer my services to the public, so I suppose I'm somewhat inoculated against being creeped out when strangers get in touch with me.

I have creepier clients than MMM forum users :)

I just Googled my username to see what I could find... and I found a stuffed tiger who travels to CPA conferences... and I like what I see.


Moonwaves

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #124 on: August 15, 2017, 05:37:07 AM »
If someone wants to try and find me, that'd be interesting (but not to mention my real name here in public, please :) ). Actually, I think I have a link to my blog in my profile so I'd be interested in both aspects, can I be found just due to my MMM posts, can I be found if MMM leads to my blog. My blog has a lot of personal information that I think would actually make it pretty easy to find me, based on what I've read here.

Actually, I have two main online personas and it would be really interesting to see how easily a connection was found between Moonwaves and the other one. I suspect it'd be a whole lot easier than I think, too.

I used to be almost unfindable as a real person online but since I started my side-business and got a website, that time has passed (rules where I live require you to have a page on your website with the actual address of the business and since I work at home...).

Also, this would probably be an amazing sidegig for somebody. Monetising creepiness....well, if former hackers can get jobs as security consultants why not?

With This Herring

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #125 on: August 15, 2017, 09:02:51 AM »
Current update from the Scientific Creepers.

In general, what give away the most information is when we talk about jobs and employment (big ole plus for all the actual FIRE folks).  Other than FireHiker [Herring changed this], we have not cracked anyone yet.  If someone posts their actual first name, then it become easy to use people search tools and line up the dots from postings, but without a name as a starting point, it is actually rather hard to pinpoint someone even if you figure out personal details, where they live, and their employer.

So our current update is:
**  Be very careful with real names
**  Think about how much you post about work / employment
**  It's pretty easy to figure out where people live from comments even if you don't name the city / town

I have not started SheLivesTheDream yet.  And yes Braken_Joy, your size (of posts) is intimidating.

Yeah, I second the information here. I really didn't think I had posted enough to identify myself, and if I had kept my first name out of the picture it probably would have been a lot harder. Now I'm trying to decide if I start over with a new username or what. Decisions, decisions.
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance. Now to post a bunch to various places so that my earlier stuff is hidden and it's more intimidating like Bracken_Joy's. I don't really want to start over, but this whole thing showed me I didn't want to have my name and location out there on every post. Won't matter so much after FIRE, but that's too many years away still.

When I look at your profile, all I see is FireHiker.  Posts of yours that were quoted show FireHiker sometimes and your old screenname other times; I don't know why this seems inconsistent across the forum.  Any post with your name just typed out, as above, still shows your old username.  You could consider asking anyone who has your name in a post to edit that post, but I think it would be difficult to catch every instance.

You should PM a mod for a second opinion.  It would be a pain, but it might be best to delete your profile and start over...

FireHiker

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #126 on: August 15, 2017, 09:33:59 AM »
Current update from the Scientific Creepers.

In general, what give away the most information is when we talk about jobs and employment (big ole plus for all the actual FIRE folks).  Other than FireHiker [Herring changed this], we have not cracked anyone yet.  If someone posts their actual first name, then it become easy to use people search tools and line up the dots from postings, but without a name as a starting point, it is actually rather hard to pinpoint someone even if you figure out personal details, where they live, and their employer.

So our current update is:
**  Be very careful with real names
**  Think about how much you post about work / employment
**  It's pretty easy to figure out where people live from comments even if you don't name the city / town

I have not started SheLivesTheDream yet.  And yes Braken_Joy, your size (of posts) is intimidating.

Yeah, I second the information here. I really didn't think I had posted enough to identify myself, and if I had kept my first name out of the picture it probably would have been a lot harder. Now I'm trying to decide if I start over with a new username or what. Decisions, decisions.
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance. Now to post a bunch to various places so that my earlier stuff is hidden and it's more intimidating like Bracken_Joy's. I don't really want to start over, but this whole thing showed me I didn't want to have my name and location out there on every post. Won't matter so much after FIRE, but that's too many years away still.

When I look at your profile, all I see is FireHiker.  Posts of yours that were quoted show FireHiker sometimes and your old screenname other times; I don't know why this seems inconsistent across the forum.  Any post with your name just typed out, as above, still shows your old username.  You could consider asking anyone who has your name in a post to edit that post, but I think it would be difficult to catch every instance.

You should PM a mod for a second opinion.  It would be a pain, but it might be best to delete your profile and start over...

Thanks, Herring! I think I'm just not going to worry about the handful of instances where I was quoted before at this point. It wasn't much, and I'll just be more careful in the future. Knowing that my old username doesn't show up in my public profile is good; I had FinallyAwake check that also. The longer I am active here, the more buried any of those posts will be.

Dumb blonde

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #127 on: August 15, 2017, 09:50:36 AM »
So I was totally one of these creeps. On this board. And I am female.

There was a poster a few years back who gave just enough information for me to figure out that her husband played in one of my all time ever favorite bands. She never actually identified him by name or what the band was, but if you were a fan of this band it wouldn't have been hard to figure out. So I sent her a private message that 1. I have been a fan of her husband's music for over 20 years and 2. She might want to be careful about the info she was sharing if she was trying to remain anonymous. I was a well-intentioned creep, but I am sure it was still totally creepy to her.

O man, this sort of thing is turning me into a creep. 😱  This is a mere challenge for the research journalist that I once wanted to be. I wanted to see if I could figure this out. I spent only 30 minutes digging on the internet, and guess what, I found out. Never heard of the guy or the band, and next week I will probably have forgotten again (so don't worry about my creepiness), but it's troubling to see how easy it is.

I guess after this confession my name will probably be next on the list, some other creep may be trying to figure out my identity. 😳

Cali Nonya

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #128 on: August 15, 2017, 05:59:07 PM »
Got one!

10dollarsatatime

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #129 on: August 15, 2017, 08:41:21 PM »
I realized today how easily one could figure me out.  I use a service only available in a few places, have definitely mentioned my state before, and have interesting employment.  Time to go back and edit some posts, I guess.

Dumb blonde

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #130 on: August 16, 2017, 02:17:21 AM »
I realized today how easily one could figure me out.  I use a service only available in a few places, have definitely mentioned my state before, and have interesting employment.  Time to go back and edit some posts, I guess.

Yeah, I did this, edited some of my old posts, I am easy to find because of my job. I never realized how easy it is to track someone down. Disturbing.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #131 on: August 16, 2017, 02:42:10 AM »
Got one!

Ooh, how did you track them down?

cerat0n1a

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #132 on: August 16, 2017, 04:03:43 AM »
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance.

This what I have done - changed some letters to numbers - not because I'm worried about creepy messages, but because I have used this name on other forums and know people on real life from those forums. It's enough to defeat google, anyway.

On the detective front, I managed to track down the mother and half-siblings of an adopted family member, whom she had never met, including pictures of them, mobile phone numbers etc. It's surprising how much information is available here in the UK - electoral roll, birth & marriage certificates etc. can all be searched without much effort.

Cali Nonya

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #133 on: August 16, 2017, 10:07:49 AM »
Another small update from the Scientific Creepers.

First we are taking a small break, its fun, but distracting to analyse people.
As far as I know, FinallyAwake and I are the two main searchers, if someone else is trying, please let us know so we can track the lessons learned.

As for people wanting to be anon:
FinallyAwake and I ran a quick trial.  Her first attempt at me failed, but then I gave my first name and she had me in about 15 seconds.  It was LinkedIn informtion from a Google search that flagged me.  Job Title + Location + Name, and LinkedIn servers you up on  a platter.

Also, I am finding that property record searches are the other easy way.  A lot of people are discussing property, so if you have an idea of where someone lives and the date and price of a property (and some additional info like sq ft or age of home helps), the county assessors office sales records are an easy way (and it provides names!).  I did figure someone out that way, and have another person that I could back-track that way (but in a much more populous county, so since I am the lazy creeper, I haven't bothered yet).

So be a little careful with property records.  Date, price and county is all that is really needed.  And though many people that don't name the town/city they live in provide enough other details to where it is possible to narrow down the locations.  Hint: Braken_Joy mentioned shopping at Trader Joe's, there are only so many Trader Joe's outside of Portland, so the list of places to look was narrowed down.

dreams_and_discoveries

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Re: Creepy message ...UPDATED!
« Reply #134 on: August 16, 2017, 01:41:08 PM »
I've been following this thread, (hopefully in a non creepy way), and it's been fascinating...... I'm sure you could work out who I was by anecdote alone, if you happened to hear me tell a story I've also mentioned here. I'm sure there are a few stand out things you could google hidden in posts, but it would take ages to find them, and you may not know the significance of them. My name is actually really common, there are thousands of me, especially around my age, and people struggle to find me on linkedin with name and location alone.

Feel free to have a go at finding me, love to see what you find. I may do some detective work and see what I can find on others.

And to the bigger point, I'm not too into social media for these sort of reasons, but given how some people post absolutely everything about their lives online, I'm sure I'm going to be really boring compared to them. I do also wonder are we now raising the  next generation where oversharing is normal? Taking open-ness to a new level.

dreams_and_discoveries

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #135 on: August 16, 2017, 02:09:26 PM »
Hmm, so you CAN change your name that displays on your posts, although I'm assuming that the username doesn't change when you look at someone's profile so it's still there, but not as obvious at an initial glance.

This what I have done - changed some letters to numbers - not because I'm worried about creepy messages, but because I have used this name on other forums and know people on real life from those forums. It's enough to defeat google, anyway.

On the detective front, I managed to track down the mother and half-siblings of an adopted family member, whom she had never met, including pictures of them, mobile phone numbers etc. It's surprising how much information is available here in the UK - electoral roll, birth & marriage certificates etc. can all be searched without much effort.

Yeah - I've found your running PB's, some of which are might impressive.  ...... Then I got bored. I do not make a good stalker...

cerat0n1a

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #136 on: August 16, 2017, 03:43:37 PM »
Yeah - I've found your running PB's, some of which are might impressive.  ...... Then I got bored. I do not make a good stalker...

Impressive for someone 20 years older than me, perhaps. No real detective skills needed to find me, though, I don't expect anyone to bother to look. Running times seem like a pretty good way to stalk people. From those, it's easy enough to get to my job, home address, social media profiles, whereabouts in south america we've been for the past month etc etc.

In your case, you've posted about doing a particular event last year and how many marathons you've done, a PB figure, your age and a rough location. I reckon that would be enough to identify you, given a sufficiently determined stalker - particularly if they scraped some race results data and scripted it.

BTDretire

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #137 on: August 16, 2017, 07:39:22 PM »
You could always occasionally make some posts that claim you live in a different city or work in a different field so someone who was searching your posts would find conflicting information and not know which clues to follow.  I'm sure you could find threads to post in where doing this wouldn't derail the thread or make it less valuable.
I thought I found you, then this turned up. ;-)
Quote
That's what a lot of performers I work with in Las Vegas do.

Sibley

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #138 on: August 16, 2017, 08:15:23 PM »
Okay, I'm sorry, I really am a nerd, and I find all this really fascinating. 
So ...

Who's up for the scientific creeper challenge?  Are there a few people who wouldn't mind being scrutinized by us relatively harmless fellow posters and we can see who can 'out' each other?  This might be interesting if a few people would participate and we can identify what information actually does let someone figure out who you are IRL.

Maybe?
(or too creepy?)

Me! <squirming in chair with hand raised as high as it can go>

If someone doesn't mind. I suspect that I'm screwed though - I suspect that I've been careless enough you could actually ID me.

FinallyAwake

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #139 on: August 16, 2017, 09:06:04 PM »
Okay, I'm sorry, I really am a nerd, and I find all this really fascinating. 
So ...

Who's up for the scientific creeper challenge?  Are there a few people who wouldn't mind being scrutinized by us relatively harmless fellow posters and we can see who can 'out' each other?  This might be interesting if a few people would participate and we can identify what information actually does let someone figure out who you are IRL.

Maybe?
(or too creepy?)

Me! <squirming in chair with hand raised as high as it can go>

If someone doesn't mind. I suspect that I'm screwed though - I suspect that I've been careless enough you could actually ID me.

Ok, we'll add you to the list!  So far, we have found everyone that we've worked on.

We still have shelivesthedream, maryw, & moonwaves.  Waiting on RWD to confirm my "hit".  Am I missing anyone?

RWD

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #140 on: August 16, 2017, 09:34:22 PM »
Waiting on RWD to confirm my "hit".

I am impressed.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #141 on: August 17, 2017, 12:45:27 AM »
Ok, we'll add you to the list!  So far, we have found everyone that we've worked on.

We still have shelivesthedream, maryw, & moonwaves.  Waiting on RWD to confirm my "hit".  Am I missing anyone?

Impressive!

Dicey

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Re: Creepy message ...UPDATED!
« Reply #142 on: August 17, 2017, 02:23:57 AM »
All you guys and your sleuthiness (is so a word!) have properly creepered (is also so a word!) me out so that I deleted many of my posts. Not as many this time fortunately. Due to Stalky McStalkerbuttface I was considering deactivating my user name and starting fresh with a new one so might do that soon since I have a new life beginning anyways. This thread has been fun and enlightening though.
Oh, this makes me sad. And glad that you stood up to that creep. I'm relieved  you're okay, and using this incident to move on to your next adventure. I hope that you find your next patch of paradise quickly and easily.

Trifle

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Re: Creepy message ...UPDATED!
« Reply #143 on: August 17, 2017, 03:34:52 AM »
All you guys and your sleuthiness (is so a word!) have properly creepered (is also so a word!) me out so that I deleted many of my posts. Not as many this time fortunately. Due to Stalky McStalkerbuttface I was considering deactivating my user name and starting fresh with a new one so might do that soon since I have a new life beginning anyways. This thread has been fun and enlightening though.

I'm sad, and will miss you.  Best of luck with your travels and life!  Pls PM me if you ever want to take me up on that invitation I threw out a while back. 

Raenia

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #144 on: August 17, 2017, 06:21:42 AM »
Ok, we'll add you to the list!  So far, we have found everyone that we've worked on.

We still have shelivesthedream, maryw, & moonwaves.  Waiting on RWD to confirm my "hit".  Am I missing anyone?

Not everyone - Cali Nonya found some correct info about me (i.e. where I work), but did not identify my real name.

Sorry to see you go, spartana!

With This Herring

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Re: Creepy message ...UPDATED!
« Reply #145 on: August 17, 2017, 07:47:03 AM »
Not going anywhere guys just going to change names to protect the (not so) innocent ;-). After sleuthing myself it was scary to see what I found (which was everything!). So by deleting posts, which sadly doesn't delete them from Google just makes them harder to find, and changing my name and posting less identifying inform it'll be easier to be a bit more anonymous.

I could be wrong, but I thought that Google re-looks at things as time goes by, so what may show up in its searches now won't necessarily do in the next day/month/year.  However, Internet Archive might cause you trouble there.

ketchup

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Re: Creepy message ...UPDATED!
« Reply #146 on: August 17, 2017, 08:22:08 AM »
I feel like I haven't been as careful as I should be, certain details in particular.  Feel free to add me to your hitlist, creepers!  I'm really curious about this...

CheapskateWife

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Re: Creepy message ...
« Reply #147 on: August 17, 2017, 08:57:47 AM »
Okay, I'm sorry, I really am a nerd, and I find all this really fascinating. 
So ...

Who's up for the scientific creeper challenge?  Are there a few people who wouldn't mind being scrutinized by us relatively harmless fellow posters and we can see who can 'out' each other?  This might be interesting if a few people would participate and we can identify what information actually does let someone figure out who you are IRL.

Maybe?
(or too creepy?)



Well I already know that i am easily identified lol... at least by people in Canada... however I do have a rather easy to identify job
PM Trudeau...is that you?    :)

PoutineLover

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Re: Creepy message ...UPDATED!
« Reply #148 on: August 17, 2017, 09:19:48 AM »
Now I'm curious about this.. anyone want to look me up?

Inaya

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Re: Creepy message ...UPDATED!
« Reply #149 on: August 17, 2017, 09:34:17 AM »
Oooh, add me to the sleuthy list! I suspect I'll be pretty easy, but I have one thing in my favor that might trip you up a bit.