Caution - Too Much Information
 

I know that diary discussions have been done to death recently and that there is a range of opinion as to their appropriateness etc. I am not going to go over old ground, but I did want to share some concerns/thoughts that a friend and I were discussing recently regarding the amount of information we all give away in our posts, specifically diary posts.

BE is an open forum whereby there are no check as to who signs up, it is open to the whole of the www etc. That means that whilst I am sure that 99.999% of posters are all good people (i don't have figures to back this up) with only the intention of gaining and giving information, meeting new friends etc, there is always the small chance that someone could visit the forum whose motives are not innocent. We read about dodgy people on the Internet all the time and BE has no protection from them.

My point is that quite often we post information on this forum about our lives which in itself is innocent, but which when combined with a history of comments (and potentially photos), builds up a picture of someones life. Lots of posters are quite careful about the information they give away, others not so.

I am only making this point as I wonder if people are aware of the pictures of their lives which they are building up which potentially could be exploited by evil people. I am not trying to scare anyone, but I did think it was important to make people aware that what they post is available for anyone on the Internet to see.

Things which I would advise that people don't mention:

* Exact time and dates of meet-ups / night-outs etc - I know that is difficult on here as that is what many posts are about, but that info combined with other info (see below) which may have been posted previously could indicate to a burglar that a house is empty on a certain day/time. Although more awkward it would be better to email or PM this info
* Details of partners being away from home
* Address & land line phone details
* Information which could be used to ascertain an address (e.g. the exact date details of a pool installation)
* Photos with captions naming the people in them

Although each one of these things on its own would mean diddly squat, if you were to combine several I am sure you can see that this can build up quite a nice little picture for a potential burglar, etc

Again, I have NOT posted this to scare anyone, I merely thought that in todays society it is worth being a bit vigilant. It is easy to feel that BE is one big family of like-minded individuals, which for the most part it probably is. The problem is you just don't know who is reading the site!

Your Cyber-Neighbourhood Watch Officer

Dave

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

I know thats all sensible advice, but 99.999% of burglars are opportunist (I don't have figures to back this up ;) ). They walk past your house and look and see if its empty, try a few windows etc. We are not dealing with the pink panther here, they don't do hours of research collating people previous posts, marital status, partner away from home, and if they are away on a drinking night etc etc. Unless someones dumb enough to say "I've done a massive forex exchange and I'm keeping the proceed of my house sale in my new house in cash under the duvet in the guest room.

Having said that, I agree about not giving away too much personal information on forums. But I'm not quite as paranoid as you .... yet :D

JTL

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

I put photo's up on the photo post but got some strange responses, so they went.

I have had someone call my old place of work in Australia (I have posted its name on the site), ask for my e-mail address (small office, didn't take long for someone to work out the pommy bird was me) then send some very strange e-mails using info gleened from this site. Coincidence or true, who is to say????? I am 98% convinced.

My theory is do place your meet up threads on the Forum. Keep bumping up, have the person who started the thread as your co-ordinator and yes minimise the details you give away.

And remember the world is full of nutters.

M :D

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Oooppps! They might now :eek:

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Ahhh, well its a well known fact I have a mad dog. Any burglar is welcome to him, his favourite foods include arms legs and testes. :D

JTL

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Just to add my two pennies worth - there are quite a lot of adverts on the TV over here (sunny UK!!) about Identity theft. Some of the details mentioned in the original post would facilitate ID theft quite nicely. And this sort of crime is ( i imagine ) a well thought out, planned exercise....

Still you've got man eating spiders and crocodiles walking through the streets over there so i wouldn't worry about the chances of being robbed etc :)

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

I think you do have to be careful, especially with the amount of 'trolls' on here. Good thread darkless many thanks

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Big enough for a website:

http://www.identity-theft.org.uk/htm...tyourself.html

Didn't Professional Princess have probs with this? I know someone going through a LOT of stress with this.

M :(

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Good post. I agree entirely. It's not the people who post on here so much I worry about but who is on here and not posting. A new member recently stated they had been coming on here for something like 18 months (or thereabouts) before they had the bottle to post on here. Who knows who else is lurking around :scared: .

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Be like the equivilant of those dodgy blokes who knock on your front door to say "Hey missus, did you know that there are tiles missing from your roof!", while they eye up your new TV system through the window.

M :)

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

OMG we get this Irish gang round my way every couple of months asking about driveways. They really freak me out cos you can't get rid of them. Hope they're not lurking on here :eek:

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

A few Thursday's ago on a day off we had them, I freaked them out twice as I wrote down their van number then the second time got out my digital camera. I was taking a pic of the cat in the garden but for some reason they got a bit freaked.

Dodgy as hell they were. 3 rough looking bods.

M :mad:

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Anyone posting their e-mail address is asking for a torrent of spam and viruses to fill their in box.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Just to explain that one further BP, when you say e-mail address do you mean say on your signature?

M :confused:

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Anywhere it is publicly readable whether in a post or signature. There are programs that trawl the net that look for e-mail addresses to sell to spammers or for targets in a virus attack.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

OOoooo a bit nasty, thanks for that info.

M :eek: :scared:

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Yes, I agree that people posting their real names/addresses/phone numbers/emails are asking for trouble - and I have asked the mods to remove these in the past to protect people.

But by the time we follow these rules, plus leaving out all the threads that have been previously complained about, we end up with a very boring impersonal forum. Might as well say bye bye forum now as it folds through lack of interest.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

The Mods seem to be on the ball with closing down possible hot potato threads (no pun intended).

My question is "Where do you draw the line?"

M :o

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

It is obviously important to only give away the right information, such as:

"Oh yes, we will be at the meet at the weekend, but we will be a little late as I have to repair the fence to stop Fang and Lucifer getting out again..."

"Our electric bill was pretty much the same as in the UK before we had the fence wired up, now it is much higher...."

"We really get on well with our new neighbours and coincidentally we have policemen on both sides of our property..."

"We had to get the second phone line put in for the alarm system ..."

You get the idea :D

Cheers,

DagBoy

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Oh, I forgot to say. NEVER EVER tell them that Fang and Lucifer are your Guinea Pigs.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Yes I have had it done twice.

When I go on holidays I pay someone to stay in my house to secure it plus I have someone stay there in the day to look after my dog, gives her a chance to catch up on work plus keep an eye on things.

Also, my dog has to be muzzled in public, so bearing in mind she smashed my bedroom door trying to get through the door to attack the gas fitter, she is not one to be messed with.

You do have to be careful on here and yes I have written tales of my bus route and it wouldnt take a brain surgeon to put two and two together.

BUT, I am a firm believer that if you break into my home and I happen to be there, I will do what I have to to defend myself. I believe that you enter my property and you lose the rights as a human being and I will take the law into my own hands.

I will hurt you and what I cant do, my dog will. I come from a large family that extends from the UK to Algeria to Cypress. They will support me and you wont know what has hit you.

Try and mug me and you're in for a shock. I will track you down. I am totally disturbed from things done in the past. I have a memory like an elephant and I don't forget those that hurt me or mine.

Sick people come from all walks of life and I have met a couple of fantastic members from this site and have been proud to do so. I am also well aware that you should trust people with caution.

I might look like a bimbo and sometimes write like one, but I can be a bitch and I don't make a good victim.

This is a very well written post and fair play to the person that started it.

But an open mind with whoever you meet in life and wherever you meet them should be considered.

Oh yes, I am very hormonal and potential weirdos should sod off.

From a damaged-by-life Expat member.

Sam

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

It's weird this thread is here today - over brekkie in a cafe this weekend I read an article in 'Madison' about a 16 year old boy who created several characters in a chat room and ended up convincing someone to kill him. Very dramatic story (it might have been a huge story in the UK press but I hadn't heard about it) but did get me to thinking about the fact that I hadn't considered anyone on here wasn't who they said they were. Still can't find it in me to be suspicious though. I've never used a forum before but think this is probably one of the safer ones. Will probably think twice about mentioning if the other half is away though.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

A commonsense approach is what is needed. Meeting people from here is just like meeting anyone else you don't know. I personally like to keep myself anonymous however some here know that isn't a hard and fast rule that I keep. Not publishing meet up times is IMO a bit OTT.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Agreed.

You put your address/email address/phone number on here, then yes, you probably will get crank calls/email or worse. Not being able to put a group meet-up time and public place up on the forum does seem to be a bit OTT.

On my first girlie night out I arranged for my partner to pick me up at midnight from the city. Not because I really thought anyone was going to be an axe-muderer, but because I didnt know anyone there or exactly where they lived to be sharing cabs home etc... Now I know the girlies we arrange via email/phone our way in and out of the city etc etc... just like you would do whenever you meet someone new I think.

Like anything you just need to take the right precautions, then go out and have fun :)


I like Dagboys approach too; In future I will post that I will be meeting for drinks but may run late as my three very scary guard dogs need to be fed first ;)

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

I think the chance of somebody coming and well... doing what...?? at one of our meetups for example, is smaller than than having a car accident on the way there.

I post quite a bit of personal info, but no last name, and no address, no email address, no mobile phone!!!!
I think if someone is going to take the trouble of looking for my house(going by the photo's) through my whole suburb.......... well, I think the chance is much bigger we'll just be randomly robbed.


But, there's some good points in there, and we do have to be aware of these things.

I saw somebody posted an echo (of baby in tummy) on the photopost. Problem was... it had the name and everyone on the echo thing.
I should've said something.. Now I don't even remember who it was... It's probably still up... I think it was someone on this Aus forum...

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

I didn't mean not to publish meet up times! What I said was this information combined with other information (such as an address, etc) which could be ascertained from earlier more careless posts, could then potentially cause problems.

My post was not warning about meeting people from the forum. I would hope that people on here are sensible to exercise precaution in that respect. I was talking about the information which is often divulged in general postings by some posters.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Yep, good points :)

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Yep, I posted once the where I work. THat wasn't the smartest move.... Deleted it though!

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

So does that mean you don't wear your seatbelt? No, you still take precautions!!

Given we have a wide range of people on the forum who quite regularly don't 'get on' and argue a lot, if someone should take major umbridge with someone, I would think that they could with a little bit of effort find out where that person lived, whether they has posted their address, telephone number or not.

This is only a bit of helpful advice... you can take it or leave it

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Yes, after I posted I realised I was not making much sense... :o

As I said later, yes, we need to be careful that tidbits of info don't add up to more.

And it's definetly good you posted this thread, as some post more personal stuff than others.

:)

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Totally agree. Do you know how easy it is to find some peoples addresses? in the UK especially as this can be done online . You don't need to be the worlds greatest detective to do this.

All you need is two things; their real name and the general area they are living in. "easy" in some cases. With the more common names , it will take you bit longer to find the right person that's all.. You'll get the info online with the UK , with a search and a couple of quid to access the official info.

I've done it myself , nothing sinister about my motives for my searches; one was to track down a "lost" rellie (a grandmothers brother), all I had is his name, and the council area he was living in - I found the rellie within half hour.I needed the address to get in contact with him. Australia , again you can do this ( but not online), Just means going to the council offices that's all.

It amazes me how much info people do give out, pictures, names, the smaller area where they live - down to the estate they are in. All it takes is a nutter who has s a grudge.

Not trying to scare anyone either, and the chances of something happening are small, but it does happen.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Yep, I think not putting your last name is definetly the most important.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Most definitely. That's all you need for some people plus the general area.

Having tracked someone's exact address down in the past for threatening my life, just in case I needed it to hand over to the police if this person took it further . The person had used their surname plus the general area where they are from , and even a picture; Not the smartest move by this person to use threats having given out all that info about themselves in the past, but there again these people who make threats tend not to be the brightest bulbs in the box.
Some people are easy to track down. It's a small world these days.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

If you have a website you can see on "whoisit" or similiar to get someone's address.

M :(

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Totally sound advice!! and something we had overlooked on a couple of items on our own site.

We have modified our website to suit and are wondering if it is possible to password protect all but say the home page? Then give password to trusties, ours ie just really a page for the relies

Dave will give you a ring later this week

Speak soon

Paul J

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Good one Paul, I've been meaning to bump this up all day :)


A tip for everyone: to check you haven't put your surname in any old posts, use the search function.
If you find some, and the post is to old to edit, pm a moderator to edit it for you.


I found somewhere where I had used it(it was from a newspaper article I typed up about my family), and I believe someone is has changed their username because of this thread.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

...while some of us have just barricaded the door against them pesky burglar types..... :scared:

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

If you see any lions in Queensland it isn't me ;)

But if you see any zebras I would be glad to here from you. :rolleyes:

Please send notification to my personal email address

[email protected]

or you may wish to view my website WWW.lionking.com.au


Very valid points BTW Darkless :)

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Thank you our kindly Neighbourhood Watch Officer!!

I agree with your concerns and have done from the start of joining this forum - which is why I did not use my 'real name' as my user name. Must admit though there are times when I have been drawn into or pm's/ discussions when it falls by the way side and feel the need to say 'my name is not Marie' and even then (especially with pm's suddenly think 'who is this person I am giving this info to??) In hindsight(although I have met a few from this sight through a couple of 'meets' and who were quite 'sane & normal' albeit a mit 'mad'!! (just like me!!)I am sure if someone really wanted to follow my life they could do it from this site (and I feel I've been a little over cautious!!)
It's probably because I have second hand experiences of horrendous things happening to people via the 'net' as to why I remain very wary of giving away too much detail or information. Must stress though this site does become a bit of a comfort zone for those attempting to get to Aus or for those of us lucky buggers that are here, but sometimes we do feel the need to relate/communicate with people who have shared the same experiences!!

Without freaking peole out my bad experiences of the net (albeit second hand) are :-
1) Hubby's best mate was murdered by someone she met via a web site - she met him, did not like him but he stalked her and then murdered her in her own home
2) My sister's neighbour (UK) (who is a police constable btw) is awaiting trial at Crown Court for downloading indecent pictures of children - 145!! of which he transposed from a variety of sites - imagine my sisters anxiety and stress finding out this when her 8 yr old & 3 yr old have been friends with his kids since they all moved onto the same estate 6 years ago.

Anyway- as I said -agree with the word of caution - even though I beleive the majority of people who post are good, decent honest citizens whether in the UK or here in Aus- just be careful because you just never know.

Re: Caution - Too Much Information
 

Hello mate,

Look forward to speaking to you. Just in case you forgot it my number is 93.... haha only kidding!!

I can regail you with stories of my f**ked motor and the repair costs. If only I had that Haynes manual of yours!! :)