[2011CrazE89]

For the hell of it I did a search on my name. Keep in mind that I don’t have a FB account, Twitter, Instagram, etc. To my surprise, on the second page my name pops up, along with my address, PDF files of all of my signed closing docs to my home. You could see where I live, a picture of the house, how much I paid for it, What my closing cost were, and they also make it convenient for you to get there with their “directions from here” link.

WTF?

[Joekerr]

LULZ

Post up your real name. Srsly...we won't do anything. Cross our internet hearts.

[Billup]

Nothing pops up for me, because I live incognito. My real name is a mystery to the world.


Oh shit, its Billup. Look me up.

[Revartr]

Originally Posted by Billup

Nothing pops up for me, because I live incognito. My real name is a mystery to the world.


Oh shit, its Billup. Look me up.

You're a retired professional basketball player?

[Quicksilv3r]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

You could see where I live, a picture of the house, how much I paid for it, What my closing cost were, .

WTF?

This is public information. The cost of owning property in 'merica.

[2011CrazE89]

Originally Posted by Quicksilv3r

This is public information. The cost of owning property in 'merica.

I can understand the pics of the house, but my actual signature all over PDF files? They even have copies of cancelled checks!

[Crimson92]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

I can understand the pics of the house, but my actual signature all over PDF files? They even have copies of cancelled checks!

I could be wrong but I think these are public record.

[MYovichZ4]

The first three records for me were all funeral homes... I guess they know something I don't.

[3.0L]

Yeah. I learned that I'm a CPA.

[M_Six]

Real estate transactions are public record. Most states have databases where you can see all that stuff. Want to know how far in debt your neighbor is for his McMansion? Look it up. Almost all state employee salaries are public record, too.

I have a very common last name and in the year I was born my first name was the most popular one for boys in the US. My parents lacked imagination. So my name is common as dirt. Even using my middle initial gets you nowhere. There are just too many of us. I walked into a bar in NYC once because they advertised someone with my name as the live musical act. When the bouncer checked my ID, I told him I had to see my namesake. He pointed me to a table with about 8 guys and said they're all named the same, too. Security by obscurity. The knife cuts both ways, though. One of the thousands of guys born the same year as me with the same name is a wanted felon. So I get the evil eye every time I pass through customs. I had to have an electronic flag put on my passport to tell C&I agents that I'm not the felon. They still ask me a bunch of stuff and look at me real hard.

But even with common names all you need are a few other known facts and you can usually find out more than you want to know about anyone. My name is inexorably linked to my ex-wife and her family as well as the places I've lived. If you know someone's name and a former address, you can find out lots of stuff. The internet is a scary place.

[Whostheboss]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

I can understand the pics of the house, but my actual signature all over PDF files? They even have copies of cancelled checks!

Damn that's crazy. Mine comes up with my home phone number and the city i live in.
It also showed my linkedIn profile.
A few years ago, when i googled my name, it had a PDF file of all the work i did a few years back as an intern. It also had one of my college courses with my homework, quiz, and test grades.

[Mr Tonka]

8 pages in and not a peep from google results. Just how i like it.

And i've bought 2 properties in the past 5 years. Even if you list my name and city there is still nothing.

[P1]

Just did a search. Apart from my LinkedIn profile, not much to find.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by Revartr

You're a retired professional basketball player?

BINGO!

I drive a 128 to keep on the DL. Plus, it makes me look like a white person.

[NEFARIOUS]

My last name is the 3rd most common name in North America, and my legal first name is frequently confused with some faggy glittery wannabe vampire, so I just go by the 2 letter contraction thereof... But either way, it'll probably take a while before you find me; I tried 10 pages into Google results for each and still haven't found anything. However, if you put my full name or even my initial, my Facebook is the first result.

[Rotorocious]

Originally Posted by NEFARIOUS

My last name is the 3rd most common name in North America, and my legal first name is frequently confused with some faggy glittery wannabe vampire, so I just go by the 2 letter contraction thereof... But either way, it'll probably take a while before you find me; I tried 10 pages into Google results for each and still haven't found anything. However, if you put my full name or even my initial, my Facebook is the first result.

Edward Williams?
EW? eewwwww

[NEFARIOUS]

Originally Posted by Rotorocious

Edward Williams?
EW? eewwwww

LOL That's Ed Shields Williams, or ESW, thank you very much.

[Repoman]

I googled my friend once. He had some trouble with getting a job and was wondering why. I asked him a couple of questions, revamped his resume, and did a full google search on him (10 pages). I found things on him during that google search that I would have preferred not to see.

The photos on his google plus page were synchroized to his mobile phone. lol

I had a laugh, he was mortified.

[954Stealth]

Originally Posted by Crimson92

I could be wrong but I think these are public record.

No, you are correct.
Depending on the county and state you live in (meaning their infrastructure) quite a few of them will post whatever documents you filed in the process online in a searchable database.

[m3ray]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

For the hell of it I did a search on my name. Keep in mind that I don’t have a FB account, Twitter, Instagram, etc. To my surprise, on the second page my name pops up, along with my address, PDF files of all of my signed closing docs to my home. You could see where I live, a picture of the house, how much I paid for it, What my closing cost were, and they also make it convenient for you to get there with their “directions from here” link.

WTF?

I am completely off the grid, none of that social media crap, if and when I used aliases. A friend of mine is not so lucky, he has a mugshot that comes up on google...lol

[Lups]

Originally Posted by m3ray

I am completely off the grid, none of that social media crap, if and when I used aliases. A friend of mine is not so lucky, he has a mugshot that comes up on google...lol

A picture of me was stolen from a server 12 years ago by a stalker (One of my older friends was getting married, and the bachelor party was a bit wild haha), and because of that I spent two years getting really bad texts. While getting grocery he advised me on nutritional values, while partying with friends, I got shit for dancing close to someone, and my personal favorite was in my favorite relatives funeral that asked me if I was sad to see her go, or was I only waiting for my time.

The best thing was, I went through tens of phone numbers, I moved, I changed so much and turned cold towards everyone. After he broke into my house the second time, and I was there, it got easier, I had a face to match and then my Ex handled it from there and I didn't hear from him for six years.

The second guy was easy. he started his shit at the same time as the first, but he mainly attacked me via net. he hid his IP via really good shit, but I have solid friends. I paid him a visit with my dog, and he also decided to come back later, but only sat in front of my house for a few hours.

No, I do not do social media, I do IRC (IRC.NET), my friends never text me, they email me, and even after army, being through a lot and knowing me and what I can do, I still miss that damn dog who took care of me. I'm getting an other as soon as my family has gone the usual allergy testing for the breed and the individual, but as of now and forever, no social media.

[Billup]

You can do social media if you have an alias. It's like being a secret agent, except nobody really cares.