# PSA: dont make it too easy to find you online



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Had a case of a user with intense paranoia threaten me on another forum. As I use the same name elsewhere I've taken down info that would allow for easier cyber-stalking. The user has threatened and cyber-stalked others before, obtaining family info and location details.

It's easy to get lax on cyber security until something happens. 

This is your PSA.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

I had a guy hounding me through Reverb messaging. It wasn't hard for him to find my home phone number. Having your name in the Bell White Pages used to be a good thing.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

DaddyDog said:


> I had a guy hounding me through Reverb messaging. It wasn't hard for him to find my home phone number. Having your name in the Bell White Pages used to be a good thing.


This was threatening violence. Not something I take lightly.


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## John123 (Jul 22, 2020)

Budda said:


> This was threatening violence. Not something I take lightly.


What did you do to piss the guy off so much?!


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

These days millions of people have migrated from message boards like this to Facebook groups where for most people, they are posting under their real names and depending on their privacy settings often some information about each person is public knowledge. Current city, etc. So I'm not really too concerned if anyone here knows my real name. Vadsy here! I live out west somewhere.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Budda said:


> Had a case of a user with intense paranoia threaten me on another forum. As I use the same name elsewhere I've taken down info that would allow for easier cyber-stalking. The user has threatened and cyber-stalked others before, obtaining family info and location details.
> 
> It's easy to get lax on cyber security until something happens.
> 
> This is your PSA.


Good advice. There's a lot of very sick people out there.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Same here. Being that I play a lot in the Ottawa music scene, it seems like there are people I don't know who know me. LOL My wife was talking to someone and when she mentioned my name, he goes, yeah I recognize that name and I've seen him around. LOL I don't have any idea who the guy is. I've also had deals on FB Marketplace where people tell me, I know who you are and I know you play with this band, etc..
So yeah if someone decides to stalk me, they will know where to find me. So I am very very careful when dealing with people.


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## crann (May 10, 2014)

Budda said:


> It's easy to get lax on cyber security until something happens.


Isn't your name in your sig? I might change that or create a new bandcamp account.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

John123 said:


> What did you do to piss the guy off so much?!


He has mental health issues and has admitted in the past to not using his meds. I started a psa thread when I thought he was being scammed by a builder, after he said he would.



crann said:


> Isn't your name in your sig? I might change that or create a new bandcamp account.


Yep that'll be a lunch edit. I had a fake fb request that was already gone when I checked it.


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## terminalvertigo (Jun 12, 2010)

if you are still using facebook, consider using a pseudonym


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

terminalvertigo said:


> if you are still using facebook, consider using a pseudonym


Good call. I have had it on pretty strict settings for a while.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Chito said:


> So yeah if someone decides to stalk me, they will know where to find me. So I am very very careful when dealing with people.


Smart thinking, it's a safe practise to believe that...if somebody is set on finding you they will, no matter how many aliases you hide behind.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

You want to be safe? Stay off the internet. don't connect your computer to the web at all, no WiFi, no wireless phones....

It's up to everyone to decide where to draw the line between paranoia and prudence I suppose.

I know, thanks Captain Obvious!


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Paul Running said:


> Smart thinking, it's a safe practise to believe that...if somebody is set on finding you they will, no matter how many aliases you hide behind.


True that. Act online like you would in real life and then don’t worry about it.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

tdotrob said:


> True that. Act online like you would in real life and then don’t worry about it.


This works until mental health issues are involved.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

tdotrob said:


> True that. Act online like you would in real life and then don’t worry about it.


I try to do exactly that.

Don't I wish that was the way we all acted.

Sadly the internet, in much the same way as alcohol, cars and guns do, gives some people all the balls in the world.

People will say things to you on the net that they would never say to your face.

It is what it is.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Bring it on. I had a guy threatening me on the phone. When I suggested we "meet in person to discuss this" his tone changed immediately. Find out where he is. If he knows that you know, that will be the end of it.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Budda said:


> This works until mental health issues are involved.


True dat. If he is really nuts then you will not be his only obsession. Maybe ignore and wait for it burn past you?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

KapnKrunch said:


> True dat. If he is really nuts then you will not be his only obsession. Maybe ignore and wait for it burn past you?


We'll see how it goes.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Guncho said:


> Vadsy here! I live out west somewhere.


uhm, what's up with this?


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I try to keep my profiles on the social platforms locked down fairly tightly, but I don’t pretend I’m untraceable. It is a good idea to be careful online.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

vadsy said:


> uhm, what's up with this?


You just got Doxxed.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Budda said:


> We'll see how it goes.


you DID report it..... yeah? I'm going through the same thing with my kids reguarding CyberBullying. Do safe things Budda.
Thanks for the heads up.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

bzrkrage said:


> you DID report it..... yeah? I'm going through the same thing with my kids reguarding CyberBullying. Do safe things Budda.
> Thanks for the heads up.


Oh, immediately + screenshots. Pm'd a mod asap as well.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

I come from a long line of people designed to die in a wrench fight over a horse bet.

So I am pretty loosy goosy about online security.

But I’m reaching the very final stages of having nothing to lose. So if someone is going to launch an attack on me, I hope they do it soon.

As soon as I beat my girlfriends birth control or find a small used dog I will be vulnerable and I’ll likely dial back a bit on the “antagonizing strangers on Facebook” and start doing tai chi on my lawn like Patrick Swayze in roadhouse to let my whole community know that I am entering the Rick Dalton “be cool until it’s time to rip throats out with a mullet and high waist jeans” phase.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

That sucks. It leaves you feeling incredibly uneasy.

Some guy on Reddit got in my face about karma when I was talking about chicken wings. I told him that I'm not in the thread to discuss karma. He took it upon himself to research other posts of mine and came back at me hard.

Although I'm completely anonymous on Reddit, he knew my occupation history, my wife and kid's name, my education, etc. I was dumbfounded. Honestly can't figure out how he knew it all. He knew so much that I thought he might be a friend - but no one I knew has seen my reddit account.

I could tell from his profile that he was a dude who makes money doing day hiking/kayaking trips. That was all I had.

I just said to him, "if you know me well, then you know what I do on Friday nights. I do MMA and relentlessly fight about six guys in the span of 45 minutes. Would you like to chat in person? (my wife and I just separated, so I was home always alone and wouldn't have gave too much of a fuck).

Despite the MMA shit, it still fucked with my head - big time. I mean, how the FUCK could he have had all that information? I wasn't even on facebook. Still scratching my head.

Anyway, you got family there with you, so you can't really try the out-crazy the crazy person thing. Hopefully he doesn't live around your parts.

The cocksucker's probably reading this right now.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Someone I was arguing about online security with proved his point by private messaging me my mother's maiden name. The only way he would know that would be if he worked for a bank I've dealt with and that's information he should not be accessing.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Always12AM said:


> I come from a long line of people designed to die in a wrench fight over a horse bet.


this needs to go in a thread of GC quotes, it'll be something we can remember you by, not that I wish anything to happen to you

I also like that you managed to reference what I think is John Wick, obviously Swayze and possibly Leo but I'm not sure you meant to unless you plan on finishing off some hippies with a flamethrower. either way, I'm excited to learn about the next stage of your life. did you mean James Dalton?


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Guncho said:


> Someone I was arguing about online security with proved his point by private messaging me my mother's maiden name. The only way he would know that would be if he worked for a bank I've dealt with and that's information he should not be accessing.


That is definitely not the only way to find such information.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

BlueRocker said:


> That is definitely not the only way to find such information.


How else do you figure a total stranger would have quick access to that information?


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Guncho said:


> How else do you figure a total stranger would have quick access to that information?


My son has had our wifi crashed remotely from people he’s arguing with gaming online. Like literally shit down your Internet from wherever they are. I don’t think anything online is really secure.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

vadsy said:


> this needs to go in a thread of GC quotes, it'll be something we can remember you by, not that I wish anything to happen to you
> 
> I also like that you managed to reference what I think is John Wick, obviously Swayze and possibly Leo but I'm not sure you meant to unless you plan on finishing off some hippies with a flamethrower. either way, I'm excited to learn about the next stage of your life. did you mean James Dalton?


I meant to just say Dalton,
But I’ve got Tarantino on the brain lol.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Guncho said:


> How else do you figure a total stranger would have quick access to that information?


No offence, but if you have to ask the question, the answer is probably not going to help. You assumed it came from a bank, I think that's the least likely source. People who are skilled in such things know how to access information leaked through various security breaches and are good at putting things together - they only need a little bit of information about you to get started. If you're interested, here are some examples:






Google brought this one up, good starting point

Guncho Original Song Live @ The El Mocambo

Youtube channel brings up 25 more videos to glean information from

https://www.youtube.com/user/Guncho06/videos

I got your real name in under a minute (I can PM it to you if you like). 

Let me know if you would like me to remove this post.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

BlueRocker said:


> No offence, but if you have to ask the question, the answer is probably not going to help. You assumed it came from a bank, I think that's the least likely source. People who are skilled in such things know how to access information leaked through various security breaches and are good at putting things together - they only need a little bit of information about you to get started. If you're interested, here are some examples:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My real name is in my signature Inspector Clousseau. Chris Gunter hi I live in Oakville, Ontario. I'm not trying to be anonymous. I know what's online about me as I probably put it there.

Do I know 100% that this information could only be gleaned by someone who works at a bank I deal with? Of course not but it's totally possible they did. There's not very many websites/businesses that would have that information. These days I make up answers for security questions and I keep track of what those answers are per site.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Guncho said:


> My real name is in my signature Inspector Clousseau. Chris Gunter hi I live in Oakville, Ontario. I'm not trying to be anonymous. I know what's online about me as I probably put it there.
> 
> Do I know 100% that this information could only be gleaned by someone who works at a bank I deal with? Of course not but it's totally possible they did. There's not very many websites/businesses that would have that information. These days I make up answers for security questions and I keep track of what those answers are per site.


If you ever used your mother’s maiden name as a security question for accessing something on the internet would be my best guess where the person got that info and once they know your email or real name finding that wouldn’t be hard for them to find.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Guncho said:


> My real name is in my signature Inspector Clousseau. Chris Gunter hi I live in Oakville, Ontario. I'm not trying to be anonymous. I know what's online about me as I probably put it there.
> 
> Do I know 100% that this information could only be gleaned by someone who works at a bank I deal with? Of course not but it's totally possible they did. There's not very many websites/businesses that would have that information. These days I make up answers for security questions and I keep track of what those answers are per site.


I found your mothers maiden name and a little history about her. I see she was a orphan who became the greatest chess player in the world. impressive.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

tdotrob said:


> If you ever used your mother’s maiden name as a security question for accessing something on the internet would be my best guess where the person got that info and once they know your email or real name finding that wouldn’t be hard for them to find.


I don't really think it is that easy. My name's Chris Gunter, what's my mother's maiden name?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

For me, using the same username across forums isn't helpful in being remotely elusive lol.


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## terminalvertigo (Jun 12, 2010)

good tip:

Check your email address' here:


https://haveibeenpwned.com/



If there's been a breach, it can tell you if data has been spilt.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

I don't really understand why people find it so hard to believe that the person could have worked for a bank.


Budda said:


> For me, using the same username across forums isn't helpful in being remotely elusive lol.


Are you trying to be anonymous?


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

terminalvertigo said:


> good tip:
> 
> Check your email address' here:
> 
> ...


Everyone has been pawned. Just be careful about what data you give out. If a website requires security questions just make up answers and keep track of them.

What's your mother's maiden name? 
Pineapple
etc


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## terminalvertigo (Jun 12, 2010)

Guncho said:


> I don't really think it is that easy. My name's Chris Gunter, what's my mother's maiden name?


Work









OWNER/PRODUCER at Trailer Park Films
2004 - Present·Oakville, Ontario
Corporate Video Production
College









Studied Film and Television Production at Humber College, Toronto
Class of 1991
High School









Went to Grenville Christian College
Class of 1988


this took me literally three seconds to find.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

terminalvertigo said:


> Work
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's totally not me. Sounds fun though.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Guncho said:


> Are you trying to be anonymous?


I wasn't, but given everything happening today I'm interested in making it a little harder to find me. That doesn't help with any past stuff though...


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Guncho said:


> I don't really think it is that easy. My name's Chris Gunter, what's my mother's maiden name?


I couldn’t do it! I’m just saying there are people who can.

Wasn’t saying it definitely wasn’t a bank employee either. But I have friends who have dedicated their wholes lives to computers that can find out and access everything about someone in a short time if wanted.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Budda said:


> I wasn't, but given everything happening today I'm interested in making it a little harder to find me. That doesn't help with any past stuff though...


Yeah you would have to delete any mention of your band name.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

tdotrob said:


> I couldn’t do it! I’m just saying there are people who can.
> 
> Wasn’t saying it definitely wasn’t a bank employee either. But I have friends who have dedicated their wholes lives to computers that can find out and access everything about someone in a short time if wanted.


Sure there are people who can but which is more likely? This one person was a super hacker or he happened to work for one of two of the largest banks in the country, or Rogers, or Cogeco, etc.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Guncho said:


> Sure there are people who can but which is more likely? This one person was a super hacker or he happened to work for one of two of the largest banks in the country, or Rogers, or Cogeco, etc.


Couldnt say. Anything is possible.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

My money is on NOT super hacker.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Guncho said:


> Yeah you would have to delete any mention of your band name.


I'm not actively promoting them so that was already done lol.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Guncho said:


> My real name is in my signature Inspector Clousseau. Chris Gunter hi I live in Oakville, Ontario. I'm not trying to be anonymous. I know what's online about me as I probably put it there.
> 
> Do I know 100% that this information could only be gleaned by someone who works at a bank I deal with? Of course not but it's totally possible they did. There's not very many websites/businesses that would have that information. These days I make up answers for security questions and I keep track of what those answers are per site.


My point was, and is, that you shouldn't be that surprised when someone comes up with your mother's maiden name. If you want to believe it was a bank, enjoy that. You asked "How else do you figure a total stranger would have quick access to that information? " and I tried to answer your question. You may know what information is online about you, but probably not what can be inferred from that information, allowing a moderately skilled person to pivot in many directions and obtain additional details.

Bowing out of this one now - Inspector Clousseau out.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)




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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Guncho said:


> I don't really understand why people find it so hard to believe that the person could have worked for a bank.
> 
> Are you trying to be anonymous?


Because the odds that the worked for YOUR bank, accessed YOUR data including security profile, is so low as to be laughable, though not impossible. More likely they figured things out by facebook contacts or ancestry done by a relative or something like that


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

I just find it funny, people on here are so concerned with being anonymous but the majority of people who are interacting like we are, are on Facebook groups where pretty much no one is anonymous.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

keto said:


> Because the odds that the worked for YOUR bank, accessed YOUR data including security profile, is so low as to be laughable, though not impossible. More likely they figured things out by facebook contacts or ancestry done by a relative or something like that


I've dealt with two major banks in my life so they would both have that info, possibly Rogers has this info as well.

Believe what you want though.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Guncho said:


> I just find it funny, people on here are so concerned with being anonymous but the majority of people who are interacting like we are, are on Facebook groups where pretty much no one is anonymous.


I don't think many people if any on here are concerned about being anonymous. There's a difference between anonymous and being easy to track down in real life based on what information you put online.

Feel free to put all your info out there, it's entirely your perogative. I had a guy threaten me, who's threatened many others today, and I'm not messing around with it.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

That's crazy that someone would threaten you. You seem like a super nice guy. Called the cops?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Guncho said:


> That's crazy that someone would threaten you. You seem like a super nice guy. Called the cops?


He's in the US.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

I've been through two instances of this now, and that was the final reason why I really pulled back from public social media.


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## terminalvertigo (Jun 12, 2010)

www.facebook.com/deactivate

you can still use facebook messenger


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

Guncho said:


> which is more likely? This one person was a super hacker or he happened to work for one of two of the largest banks in the country, or Rogers, or Cogeco, etc.





keto said:


> ancestry done by a relative or something like that


The family tree is the most likely source I think. If you've never had first hand experience with the family tree info online (like ancestry dot com etc.) you would be very surprised. It would be odd for anybody to find that their full family info is *not* on there. And now possibly a close enough DNA match for legal purposes.


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## PBGas (Jan 14, 2017)

Holy crap Bud! Hope you are ok! Seriously, some folks out there need some serious help! 
Hope you contacted the proper authorities on this to get some help. 
Keep us posted & Stay safe!


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I always kept a very low online profile, mostly thanks to another whacko in the states.

I don't go there much anymore, but I used to hang out on another board, for almost 20 years and I'm 50K+ posts into it. There's a guy on there who has made a sport out of finding peoples identities, lives, jobs, and photos. And posting them of course. He wasn't always that way. It just sort of grew over the years. The site doesn't host photos, so his favorite way is to wait for someone to post a picture and then follow the trail back through the photo host. He's fairly good at it too. Probably has lots of other tricks as well.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Budda said:


> He's in the US.


sorry to hear that J-----........Silence is a great deterrent. don't repond, ignore. If persists and you have his name, contact the police and see what they suggest.


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

That is why I am only on some music forum besides eBay and reverb.
No facebk, instagrrrr, tweetzer, etc. for me !
My relatives have my personal email.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

I guess I'd be not super hard to track down. I mean, I have a band, I promote said band online, that means some enterprising individual could probably connect the dots. 

I've had my social media pretty locked down for a long time. I don't have my full name in my Facebook profile and I generally avoid a lot of public groups (as the comments on them devolve into trash almost immediately on every post). I just recently rejoined Twitter but I don't tweet anything or have anything personal on there. I do not have a Linkdin account. My Instagram is private. I google myself periodically and I've managed to have almost no presence.

It's funny how back in the 90's/00's the Boomer generation was like, "Don't trust anyone online! You don't know who they could be!" and now they're like, "I saw on facebook that Hillary Clinton eats babies that were kidnapped after ANTIFA used 5G to murder their parents!"


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