Something SERIOUS to bear in mind

[allthegearnoidea]

I cant beleive how common my user name is, anything from fishing to motorbike riding.
Joking apart my freind has just had her bag stolen from her place of work, the robber rang up pretending to be her bank asking for pin numbers etc, bag theft from workplaces is getting very common, please all be carefull

 

[pengapenga]

This is something that really worries me! As a parent I have drilled internet safety down my kids throat.

They assure me, particularly the elder one who is a difficult sod at times, that they don't give out info, I trust that this is so. Neither of them have computers in their rooms, but I still wonder sometimes I find it so difficult being a parent in the day and age I guess I will just keep going over and over the internet saftey. My OH checks what goes through the computer - which amazes the kids that he can find this information out a good lesson perhaps.

 

[Welsh_Girl]

I cant beleive how common my user name is, anything from fishing to motorbike riding.
Joking apart my freind has just had her bag stolen from her place of work, the robber rang up pretending to be her bank asking for pin numbers etc, bag theft from workplaces is getting very common, please all be carefull

Happened in my old office, the receptionist had her bag nicked, luckily the theif only took the small amount of cash she had, even left her cards!

It could have been sooo much worse.

 

[coss]

This is something that really worries me! As a parent I have drilled internet safety down my kids throat.

They assure me, particularly the elder one who is a difficult sod at times, that they don't give out info, I trust that this is so. Neither of them have computers in their rooms, but I still wonder sometimes I find it so difficult being a parent in the day and age I guess I will just keep going over and over the internet saftey. My OH checks what goes through the computer - which amazes the kids that he can find this information out a good lesson perhaps.

just make sure he doesn't show them how he find it otherwise they'll be able to delete it

 

[CER1389]

Well I just tried the google thing. All that came up is my NR account. For which I try to be very careful about what I say, and what can be pieced together about me. However if someone looked long enough then I reckon they could work out a lot about me...which is frightening.

However I learnt the hard way...well not quite, but: a school pal of mine was 13 when she met up with a "19year old" (she had already lied and said she was 16. We knew she was talking to him online and tried to discourage her. Friends even told her mum. What we hadn't realised was that she had given him her mobile number. So even when her mum banned her from online she had his mobile and was contacting this "19year old" that way. She eventually told her mum she was seeing me one weekend (me and her weren't even that close! Just had a few lessons together) but she went to meet him. This 19yr old turned out to be a 42 year old man...who assulted her in ways that younger members on here need not think about.
Makes you pretty careful who and what you say online since! There was enough evidence to find this man was grooming 7 other girls and had indecent images. He was put behind bars for 4 years (?) and is on the sex offenders list for life. However it's a tough way to have it drummed into you.

I have met one person from this forum. Except I'd met her twice before knowing she'd come on here (only tied it in with talks of horse shows, and recognising pictures) and then realised she was at a friends yard...but it was scary cause I still recognised that from pictures!
We then met in the middle of the local town market. Wearing jods to be distinctive, but with enough people around just in case!

 

[titch_]

im the one in charge of the comp!
i have the full acount and mum only limited

i'm lucky because i think i have the most common full name in history (i just googled it!!)
1,990,000 hits for my 1st last and middle name!
399,999 for just my 1st and last name!

 

[coss]

im the one in charge of the comp!
i have the full acount and mum only limited

i'm lucky because i think i have the most common full name in history (i just googled it!!)
1,990,000 hits for my 1st last and middle name!
399,999 for just my 1st and last name!

pleased don't tell me you go on the internet on the full account so many problems can be caused that way....

 

[titch_]

what do you mean?

 

[Tanyajayne]

Ok, I got:-

1. Full name (including middle names but I didn't tell that)
2. Location, down to which local area
3. Age - I also know colour of hair and eyes (so if I was a perv, I could hand-pick my target according to my wishes!, Ugh!)
4. Real name of horse (registered name) plus other names
5. Email address
6. Other like-minded similar aged friends

Quite alot really. From that, I could find out person's phone number. Not difficult at all.

It is just too easy and I didn't try very hard.

Fx

Frances thank you. I will show this to my daughter and also to my mum tomorrow who thinks I am untidy and have a messy house because my computer is in my lounge and not in my 12 year old daughters bedroom (see my earlier thread on page 1)


As I said before rather a messy house than an abused daughter.

Please think about that if you are young or physically unable to protect yourself.

 

[sonnet]

thats what put me off doing the secret santa - you don't know who will end up with your name and address

Same!! e.g. I PM coss on another site (known each other quite a while on there) and know her simply as coss- no first or last name, only the country she'd from and the names (reasonable common) of her horses and what they look like- any pics of her are old, so the only thing she has to fear is me nicking her horses!!

That thread with the new man and the girlies was gross!!

ETA: If anyone can piece together anything about me? I think I've been careful. London's quite big.....and there are many Italian restaurants....think that's all I've said- left my old yards too so can't trace me through them...

 

[sonnet]

OH MY GOD, I just googled my name and a site came up from the Electorate Roll, just with my full name and the word "London" you can get my full address and the other people who live in my flat including my flatmate Granted you have to sign in but if someone was determined enough....anyone know how I can get rid of that?

 

[stressedmum]

A good site to take a visit to is called B4U it even had my home number till i took it off.... Dont panic, its another "good thing" the goverment have dreamt up ( Ruthie is sarcastic) Anyway, quick, run and be shocked like i was, my parents and i are ex directory but our phone nums are on!

 

[Tots N Dots]

I think its something us adults need to think of too?
lord knows how many mad axe murderers there are out there
I am terrible for chatting
I have met a few people off here, but always at very public places with lots of people around, so i deem it safe.
but you never really know who you are talking to

 

[KAB]

You really do have to be soooo careful. My 10 year old son gets frustrated because on the laptop I have barred certain things from his account and it has to ask for my permission and password before he can go into something. I am not very popular but its peace of mind for me!

With my surname, because it is so unusal our family come up straight away on the net. I googled the surname some months ago and details of my employment came up because I am an authorised signatory for them and allowed to purchase things. I was rather shocked Then my son google the surname at school in IT and a picture of his dad came up. Like I say, our name is very unusal.

At this present moment at 7.15am on a sunday morning there are 9 members on here and 83 guests are these fiqures accurate? I can not believe there are 83 guests just looking in! Come out of the closet you lot!

 

[Zingy]

OH MY GOD, I just googled my name and a site came up from the Electorate Roll, just with my full name and the word "London" you can get my full address and the other people who live in my flat including my flatmate Granted you have to sign in but if someone was determined enough....anyone know how I can get rid of that?

You can request to be taken off the electoral register that anyone can see, though you still have to remain on the full list. I did it a couple of years ago - I think there's a box you can tick when the form comes round, or there's a phone number & email address as well. I'll try and find the details

Edit - found it. If you search for electoral register and the name of your council, you should find out how to do it as it's all done by local councils. It's the edited register that you can be removed from, which is the one that allows public access or access by companies for mailing purposes. The full one you have to stay on but access to that is highly restricted.

 

[bexj]

However I learnt the hard way...well not quite, but: a school pal of mine was 13 when she met up with a "19year old" (she had already lied and said she was 16. We knew she was talking to him online and tried to discourage her. Friends even told her mum. What we hadn't realised was that she had given him her mobile number. So even when her mum banned her from online she had his mobile and was contacting this "19year old" that way. She eventually told her mum she was seeing me one weekend (me and her weren't even that close! Just had a few lessons together) but she went to meet him. This 19yr old turned out to be a 42 year old man...who assulted her in ways that younger members on here need not think about.
Makes you pretty careful who and what you say online since! There was enough evidence to find this man was grooming 7 other girls and had indecent images. He was put behind bars for 4 years (?) and is on the sex offenders list for life. However it's a tough way to have it drummed into you.

That is very frightening indeed. I hope your friend is ok. What a horrible way to learn this lesson.

 

[Tesh_Tesh]

It is very good that this thread has been brought up.

It is something me and my family feel very strongly about, and I am only aloud on NR when there is someone in the house who knows what I am doing and what threads I am posting on. I hardly ever use the computer anyway, especially MSN, and there is a reason for that..

A distant family friend (my dad's cousins' sister in laws' neice) was 14 when she started chatting in a chatroom online. She got a few people addresses and stsrted talking to them on MSN. When her mum and dad asked her what she was doing on the computer she would say homework or computer games to cover up the truth, because she knew she shouldnt have been doing what she was doing.
Anyways, she arranged to meet up with a 15yr old girl from the nearby 2ndry school - she had seen her on webcam so was al in all pretty convinced of her existance. She got to the place and there was a man sitting there in a red jumper (they had agreed to both wear red to make it easier to spot one another) and before it was too late he saw her and ran after her but luckily nothing happened. He got arreseted. She said she heard him whisper in her ear something along the lines of 'if i dont get you now, i will in the end'.

And its scary because she told him her home address, mobile phone number (thats changed now though) and her full name.

We know she wouldnt have told him all this if she had known it was a man, but hse hasnt really been near a computer since.

Thanks for bringing up this thread. Its a very important issue.

 

[Wally]

I can vouch that Frances is indeed a lady of certain years with 2 daughters, one teen age end the other teetering on the brink......not a dog!

If she were though with her seek and find skills she'd be a border collie!

 

[april89]

If I google my first and last name together I'm the first result google comes up with.

Another thing I've realised is that even if you are really careful if there are other people who also know you on a forum then they might mention something that you would have kept quiet. I find it very sad however that people have to hold back from sharing things and making friends just because of the odd sick few.

 

[Portia]

Excellent thread, and sadly necessary.

I have two teenagers, and am ashamed to say they're far more advanced than I in terms of techological skill. They both have lap tops, they both have internet (although that's set with net-nanny and firewall limiters on what they can access) yet I couldn't honestly sit here and say that I know what they're doing when they're online.

I'm lucky, they're good kids and sensible, but come home with horror stories of their friends who met myspace contacts. It seems our children's childhood is being eroded by the necessities of keeping them safe.

It doesn't just stop with computers though - those with internet enabled mobile phones are being solicited and tracked in a similar way, consider the blue tooth device for example.

And Sat-Nav? How about that? I was about to enter my home postcode and label it as 'home' when my 14 yo son stopped me, warned me that anyone stealing the car would know where I lived, and would have the house keys (they're on my keyring) & and a car to carry off the loot!

I think the only rational behaviour is to educate and explain the dangers. Programmes (and indeed posts) like this help to us all aware.