Re: Contributing to our own loss of privacy

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

IMO the very recent question as to whether someone is on AOL or not falls into this category.

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@SydneyH wrote:
@Trinity11 wrote:
What about photos? I have seen posters use photos of themselves in their avatar here? Couldn't they be easily traced?

Some have shared photos of their grandchildren.
Which is unbelievable dumb, photos can easily be traced.....

I tend to think it is unwise....

silentgirl · ‎08-19-2016

My screen just went blue, then my computer crashed and all I could think of was: OMG they found me!!!!! LOL

I get it @Moonchilde-

I think a thread like this though, is a very good approach-

Not that we need a "keeper" but I can totally be distracted or in La La Land-Although some questions I would never answer simply because they are very personal-I've also seen how they surface later and are used against posters. LOL

But thanks for this reminder.

Bri36 · ‎02-20-2017

Posters talk about restaurants and stores that "are right down the street" or they live across the street from a hospital or something else. Very foolish

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@dex wrote:
@Moonchilde I asked about the dinner time because my DH thinks I serve it too early and that most eat later...just wanted to see which was closest to the truth.I was collecting data for any purpose it was more a poll.

Like I said, @dex, it's not necessarily why the questions are asked,but that a completely innocent question like yours could be used, if someone wanted to, and none of us (including you) might readily think "uh-oh"...

And in a different world, we might not have to worry about it. (That's not a political statement, it's more about 21st C humanity globally.)

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@chrystaltree wrote:
@Noel7 wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
I'm sure that no one is going to figure someone's identity out from the conversations here. that's just silly. In all my years on this board, I have never seen anyone give out any true identifying information. You eye color and where you shop and who does your tax returns is not identifying information. The only thing here that troubles me and I've only seen it 2 or 3 times are the grands who post pictures of their grandchildren. I just think thats not necessary and intrusive, even if they don't give the children's names and where they live. It just makes me uneasy.
************************************************

@chrystaltree

It was already done, you are incorrect.

In that case, please give us the details because that could be of great help to posters.

****************************

I'm not going to give the details @chrystaltree

I'm not going to open up that mess again, nor am I going to give clues how to do it.

You've had a couple of other people on this line say the same thing I have. It can be done, it has been done, and more than once.

Caaareful Shopper · ‎10-09-2012

@chrystaltree wrote:
I'm sure that no one is going to figure someone's identity out from the conversations here. that's just silly. In all my years on this board, I have never seen anyone give out any true identifying information. You eye color and where you shop and who does your tax returns is not identifying information. The only thing here that troubles me and I've only seen it 2 or 3 times are the grands who post pictures of their grandchildren. I just think thats not necessary and intrusive, even if they don't give the children's names and where they live. It just makes me uneasy.

@chrystaltree, you are speaking from a perspective where you would never have the intent, inclination, energy, or know-how to carry out activities that are aimed at stealing your identity. The questions are supposed to look innocent. People can gather information and enter it into software programs with profiling algorithms -- or sell this seemingly innocent information to others.

They bank on you scoffing at it all and thinking it's silly. My job where I work requires semi-annual mandatory training to warn about just such things.

jaxs mom · ‎04-18-2012

That's why I posted in one of them about data mining. I don't know why people answer a lot of the questions that people post here.

Don't Change Your Authenticity for Approval

x Hedge · ‎08-18-2016

@JaneMarple wrote:
@Moonchilde I totally agree with you, I've felt uneasy about these questions for a long time. Facebook usage,paying credit cards in full, paying bills by check or online, mother's first name etc.
Has it occurred to anyone that all of these questions and answers are being collected?

Yes.

I've seen the same type of thing presented as a 'game' at a place of employment.

Week after week, dozens of people filled in the answers to questionnaires, which were distributed in the morning and later collected by a couple of fellow staff.

Many questions were silly or funny and staff enjoyed sharing their answers with one another. It was good for morale, and people who had nothing in common had a reason to talk to one another.

But scattered among those 'fun' ones were questions about birthmarks, siblings, mother's maiden name, hospital where you were born and so on.

One week you may be asked for the fifth digit in your social security number. Another week you may be asked for the 8th digit. This went on for months.

When my unsuspecting friend told me about this game they play at work on the weekend I asked who is printing those questionnaires? Who is asking the questions you're all answering? Who gets these papers once they're collected?

You guessed it. It was a criminal operation. Most of the questionnaires collected were just discarded. There were a handful of participants who were so un-guardeded in their extremely detailed answers, and they were the only ones this 'game' was really targeting.

But since dozens of people participated in filling out these weekly questionnaires those few people who were targeted never felt like they were being singled out.

The criminals admitted the weekly 'game' was created because people who refused to answer personal questions would happily volunteer the answers as part of a group exchange of information.