Too much personal info in profiles - beware!

[nomorepanic]

I just wanted to make people aware that they should be careful not to give too much information away in their profiles on here as they are viewable by anyone.

Last night someone created a new user account called "aIex" and replied to Alex's chat room thread and gave his full name, our address and our telephone number out! [:O]

You may want to remove your full name from your profile if it is there - I have removed my surname now.

I am not trying to alarm anyone as we think this was done in a vindictive way but I do need to make you all aware.

They did not get my address from this forum but from reading my posts they would be able to work out what county I lived in and then get the info from loads of different sites just by googling it!

Thanks



Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

[Karen]

Thanks for the warning Nic.

As you know I had a situation which arose from me being too open in my posts and giving out too much information. I've learnt to be careful from now on.

I have been so at home here that I had forgotten the forum is viewable by anyone.

[Paddington]

wow Nic!Thanks for that info!Have changed mine ,as you know.Glad i did now !!Take care.love M.R.xxxxxxxxxxxx

we are all in the same boat and can guide each other ashore

[jill]

Oh dear Nic, I am sorry to hear what happened, thank you for letting us know.

YOU TAKE CARE

MERRY CHRISTMAS

LOVE JILLXXX

Fear is the darkroom
where negatives are developed.....


When you fear something,
learn as mush about it as you can.
Knowledge conqers fear...

[Mal]

A timely warning. Thanks
You are right but why do people take advantage of those who are trusting? Has the world always been this way?
Stupid question .... of course it has, but it has been made easier to be dishonest, threatening or whatever, by the internet .... the very medium we are using to help ourselves and others to try to improve our quality of lives.
I could and would swear but I understand why you have asked us not to. So **!!!*****

[EmmaJane]

Hmm, thanks Nic. I'll check mine out now.

broadband.cyphus.com, switchboard.cyphus.com
There are many ways to stay in touch.

Keep focused, keep positive. Emma x

[Lucy36]

thanks nic

someone added me to there msn a few weeks ago and they said they got my msn addy from google.. then i found out they lived 2 streets away from me.. and there teenagers and on drugs...

i for one didnt know ppl can add you from google... can anyone enlighten me more on this.

you do have to be careful wat your doing through the internet..

merry xmas nicola
and all the best for 2007

love lucexx

[Ross]

Hi Lucy. There are several ways for people to obtain personal information of others using the Internet.

The easiest way is by using SpyWare. Spyware will track everything you view, and if you shop online, can even intercept your Debit / Credit Card Details. How many sites have you entered your address for delivery purposes? Remember, this can all be intercepted.

KeyLogging is another method. The person will send you a file, sometimes you will knowingly open this file (Birthday Wishes, A Music Track, A Photo) etc etc. Within this file, is a small virus which will log every key-tap, every mouse click etc. So, no matter how many passwords you have on your computer, or on the Internet, you have just given them to the person who wants to get at your Info.

Jigsaw method. You probably have an e-mail address. Your address could be something inconspicuous like 'music_man@e-mail.com', but when you registered for this e-mail address, you entered your proper details (as you have to). So when you send an e-mail from 'music_man@e-mail.com' the recipient can see (usually) your real name.
Then other pieces of information can be gathered. Directory-Inquiries, Friends Re-United, Genealogy Websites etc etc.

With all this technology, there is simply NO WAY you can 100% safeguard yourself against people gathering your personal data. All softwares out there to 'help' you remain anonymous can only stop a method which is already in action. There are hundreds of companies writing software to combat ID Fraud, there are infinitely more people trying to get at your ID.

________________________________________
Is There Really Gravity, Or Does Earth Just Suck?

[keepemlaughing]

This info scares the crap out of me. I don't feel safe now. I already got a 48.95 charge to my bank from a company I ordered from once taking it upon themselves to send me another order I didn't ask for. I am still trying to get my money back. I used to use only cash for all my purchases and did not have a bank at all. That is just too hard though. Too bad there are so many bad people in the world. Thanks for the info.


Sheryl

Why stay in prison when the door is wide open?

[Ross]

Hi Sheryl. Although the info is quite scary, I have to say that Fraud on the internet is always blown out of proportion.

Its still a very rare occurance, and generally speaking (at least in the UK (although I'm sure the US is the same)) all major banks & credit-card suppliers cover you against Internet Fraud.

Most Internet based companies (the ones worth dealing with) will have a telephone number for customers who are worried about online orders. If in doubt, use it.

PayPal seems to be relatively bullet-proof. I haven't seen many reports of anything fraudulent happening with PayPal.

As for your repeat order from that company.... This is still a huge problem. Its always in the small print, but who reads the small print? By accepting the details of your purchase, you also agree to future 'trials' of other products. Trouble is, they haven't done a lot wrong, because technically you have agreed to them sending you more merchandise. I hope it all gets sorted for you!

________________________________________
Is There Really Gravity, Or Does Earth Just Suck?

[Melina]

hi Nicola
How do you change/make amendments to your profile?
thanx.
Melina

[nomorepanic]

Click on the Profile icon at the top of the screen.

Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

[Krakers]

Hi all - I just thought there was something else I should tag onto this thread. It probably won't affect many people at all (if any), but to be forewarned is to be for armed.

There are a lot of companies on-line offering prescription meds available over the Internet. I asked my doctor for some Diazepam when I was really bad a few months ago and he refused to prescribe them to me. In my time of stress and not wanting to drink vodka to cope (as I was doing daily) I thought I'd look on-line.

I found many places that would sell these tablets to me, a handful of which required prescriptions. I spent a few days looking into the first set of sites that didn't need prescriptions and couldn't find one legitimate site amongst them.

The bottom line is you cannot get prescription meds from anywhere on the internet without a prescription. And if you've got one of those you may as well go to your local Pharmacy.

If I hadn't been web savvy I'd have probably had my credit card details entered in a jiffy, and while I was waiting for the tablets to arrive my card would have been black listed.

Krakers.

[jo61]

I agree Krakers. I get daily spam from 'pharmaceutical' companies trying to sell me Xanax, Diazepam and Viagra (for which I'd have limited use lol). To be avoided at all cost.

Love Jo xx