Internet Safety and Personal Information

[Poppy]

Just curious what others think about posting personal information on some of the mail trading sites or giving out your address for swaps. Do you have any personal experience with people abusing your information/trust?
I'm new at all this internet stuff and am feeling a little hesitant to share my personal information. Thanks.

[Craft Forums]

[brdgt]

Basic suggestions:
-don't give out your real name
-don't reveal personal information, especially about your family, friends and workplace
-consider that every comment you make on here is essentially like talking to a stranger on the bus
-google yourself, you might be surprised

[Slinkster]

yes! be careful what information you give out on here. or livejournal, or any other message type boards.

I understand that it is easy to feel very comfortable in these situations but you have to remember 1. not every one who reads it is a good person 2. even the people you think are good people can turn out to be rotten and evil and 3. other people are reading it that you don't even have any ideas about!

I have googled my name and I have also googled my address, just to be on the safe side.

Recently I saw something on a live journal of someone that I do not know..they asked their friends for their addresses and they all posted them, complete with first and last name. Scary scary stuff.

[honeybee]

tangent- slinkster! i had no idea you were...you!
i get so confused with the different identities on this board and glitter. i never know who i'm talking to over here.

[Slinkster]

tangent- slinkster! i had no idea you were...you!
i get so confused with the different identities on this board and glitter. i never know who i'm talking to over here.

cause I am slinky like that...

[Katrin]

Recently I saw something on a live journal of someone that I do not know..they asked their friends for their addresses and they all posted them, complete with first and last name. Scary scary stuff.

A couple years ago I was chatting with some friends on a similar journal service...an 11-year-old girl joined the chat, acting like a brat and insulting everyone. We took a look at her journal - in it she'd mentioned her first and last name and the name of her school.

Based on only that information, it took us literally about 30 seconds to find the city she lived in, her home address, parents' names and phone number. So I CALLED HER PARENTS. I explained to them that not only was she chatting and behaving rudely with a group of adults; she'd also made it that easy for us to track her down.

Her parents had known she had an online journal, but had never bothered to learn exactly where it was, what it was or what she wrote in it. They made her take it down, and she was pissed at us for ratting her out, but it was for her own safety. Of course the kid didn't really comprehend that she was making her personal information public - but then lots of us adults tend to forget that fact as well.

[amanelle]

I've taken part in a lot of swaps. I don't post my address unless it is my business PO Box. I PM or email the swap organizer my address. If you want to participate, but don't want to give out you home address you can get a PO box pretty cheap. I have the smallest box in an out of the way post office and it costs me $20 a year.

[copygirlx]

An easy way to participate in swaps without giving out your address is to get a PO box.
I don't think they cost the same everywhere, but mine was 18 bucks for 6 months for a decent sized box. And if a package won't fit, they'll put in a little note and you can grab it from the main postal counter.

[titancia]

The main thing I did was get a PO Box. That way I can freely post my address without working about stalkers coming to my house. (I use that address for trades and when I sell my buttons)

[brdgt]

The main thing I did was get a PO Box. That way I can freely post my address without working about stalkers coming to my house. (I use that address for trades and when I sell my buttons)

That's a really good point titancia - if you have a small business a PO Box is an excellent idea. I know a lot of people who have one just because they don't like the idea of their mail hanging out on the front porch.

So Poppy, you haven't posted again, did we scare you away?