You'd be suprised what kind of information you can get for just $10 dollars...

Actually it was I who first posted the link to that specific website* (which I had only learned about from a similar thread at Sim Outhouse), but also thank the OP for starting this thread to begin with... :Applause: *Note: What is truly annoying is that there are without doubt similar websites/databases of which we remain unaware. :mad:

You did Fr Bill and my apologies for not crediting you. I once 'googled' my full name but I'm not sure I would want to do that now. Not being a member of these accursed social networking sites does have its benfits.

*Note: What is truly annoying is that there are without doubt similar websites/databases of which we remain unaware. :mad:

Yes there are plenty and unfortunately I have had to visit some of them to establish whether some of the users that I support have had their details compromised, unfortunately they had. I might add that these users are not your average teen facebook user, these are well respected scientists and academics who are used to collaborating and sharing information amongst their own community. Sadly the internet is not a closed community, as they have learned.p.s. thanks for posting that link, I was looking for one that didn't carry a payload - i.e. malware as most of them do. I have a machine running Ubuntu that is only used for accessing these types of sites, it still gets re-imaged once a week, just in case.

If I only help one person avoid this identity scourge then I'm happy. Too many people are unaware of the dangers and the arrogance, or is it ignorance, exhibited by the operators of a sub-forum of Avsim is not helping.

You failed to help Ulf B, who's identity I've stolen.Best regardsJohn DoeP.S. I should mention that I'm schizophrenic and I've just recaptured my identity. /Ulf BBest regardsGeorge Washington:LMAO: Seriosly. I guess that the risk of identity theft is something we all have to accept when using and communicating over Internet. The greatest risk is not using your full name here on Avsim. It's using internet to communicate with unencrypted data. In my neighborhood there is one unprotected wireless network operating. The data traffic sniffers have a gold mine at hands compared to using full names on Avsim.Yes. Using full names on Avsim do expose you. But compared to the risk of walking the streets of a city or driving a car, your'e pretty safe here :P Just my 2 cents, gents :Peace:

Thanks for that link Fr. Bill. I didn't check to see if the email address was right but they did have my phone number wrong.I think a lot of information can be gathered on a person if they own a house. A lot of that information is public.I won't sign my real name in a forum and I almost never use my real birth date. I have had my identity stolen and it is a real PITA. Some low life actually used my identity to open up a mortgage on a house he didn't own. Of course, he defaulted on the mortgage, took the money and ran - about $90,000. I cleared my name but the poor woman that actually owned the home lost it to the bank because of the fraud. It took them 4 years to find the guy and I met the woman who lost her home. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to face that thug in court because he mad a deal with the prosecution. I hope he is enjoying jail right now.In addition to the mortgage, he opened credit accounts, bought jewellery and a bunch of other stuff. How he got my info I have no idea. The prosecutor said he probably bought it somewhere.

Thanks for that link Fr. Bill. I didn't check to see if the email address was right but they did have my phone number wrong.I think a lot of information can be gathered on a person if they own a house. A lot of that information is public.I won't sign my real name in a forum and I almost never use my real birth date. I have had my identity stolen and it is a real PITA. Some low life actually used my identity to open up a mortgage on a house he didn't own. Of course, he defaulted on the mortgage, took the money and ran - about $90,000. I cleared my name but the poor woman that actually owned the home lost it to the bank because of the fraud. It took them 4 years to find the guy and I met the woman who lost her home. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to face that thug in court because he mad a deal with the prosecution. I hope he is enjoying jail right now.In addition to the mortgage, he opened credit accounts, bought jewellery and a bunch of other stuff. How he got my info I have no idea. The prosecutor said he probably bought it somewhere.

Good to hear you got everything sorted out. For those scoffing at the fact that revealing a full name on an internet forum can't contribute to identity theft, you are wrong - rarely is identity theft the result of the capture of a single data source, although it does happen, more often it is a case of data matching from multiple sources.

This thread raises some very real issues with online privacy. I am extremely wary about revealing my identity online. I don't use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc, because I don't want every aspect of my life being stored on Facebook, Google Cache, or any other site. I use an obscure email address to register accounts. I only reveal my name when legally required to :PFurthermore, I don't "get" the appeal of sites Facebook. I do my own thing ...........

And I wonder how many had their details stolen from SONY?

I revisited this topic after reading it earlier this year. I went back to that Spokeo website and found that even after having it removed in January, it has since reappeared. If any of you have asked to have your information removed, you may want to double check to see if they put it back up.