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Original poster

There is a poster that seems to be here just to harvest replies. What should I do?

207 replies

Another2Cats · 13/05/2026 21:33

Very much as the title.

There is a poster here who made her (their?) first post on 25th April.

Since then, she (they) has made 57 posts, of which 55 are starting threads that appear to be just there for soliciting engagement. This is done by way of asking a question and providing a three or four word opening post. Or sometimes only a single word in the opening post.

Should I highlight this to @MNHQ and, if so, should I link to all the 55 threads that they have started since 25th April?

For context, I am often on the Genealogy board and it was only after seeing two threads started by this person there that I took notice and realised that they had also started multiple threads on other boards as well.

This included Chat, Other Subjects, Tech Tips, AIBU, Property/DIY, Music, Sports, UK Travel, Education, Baby Names, Living Overseas, Style and Beauty, True crime and unsolved mysteries, Bullying, Parenting, Pets, Food/Recipes, Wildlife nature & conservation, and Telly Addicts.

Starting 55 new threads in the space of two and a half weeks which appear to be very much about soliciting engagement doesn't seem to really be in line with what MN is really all about.

Just to add to that, the username of this person is a direct reference to a thread that the newspapers back then picked up on. It was a thread from 2013 that people who were here then would likely remember and the poster is likely purporting to be somebody with a history dating back to then (despite their first post being on the 25th April this year).

Without giving the name of this poster, it would be like if she had called herself something like "Isle of Wight bollards" or "stacking goats".

Am I even right to call out this sort of harvesting of replies?

Are MNHQ likely to do anything about this even if I do make a complaint?

OP posts:
Wildflowergalore · 14/05/2026 11:42

DilettanteRedRagger · 14/05/2026 00:22

I find this unsettling. These aren’t innocent questions and I’m sure most users here realize that, but a few won’t. These questions are designed to illicit answers that can be put together to break passwords or security questions - favourite school subject, middle name - did they ask for favourite number or names of childhood pets as well?

Yes, unfortunately many of us voluntarily give up a terrifying amount of information to have social media and use ready-built AI, but that doesn’t make it right or okay. If these posts are as you describe in this comment, I have to assume either MN knows this user well enough behind the scenes to say they’re not data harvesting OR they’re just ignoring obvious data harvesting. Very strange as it sounds like a bot trying to break usernames’ passwords. Could be someone testing an AI out?

Show quote history

God I thought that so many times.
How much is your mortgage payment - people give it to the penny, sometimes mention bank.
All the security qs you mentioned.
It is anonymous here but actually isn't if that makes sense.

busyd4y · 14/05/2026 11:38

Twinkletoesandspaghettios · 14/05/2026 08:19

Wossssshhhhhh that’s a very good point. I hadn’t considered that before

does name changing every so often “undo” this?

Show quote history

Yes, if you are twinkletoes today and sparkleyboots tomorrow and unrulybush on Saturday there is no way to connect those users names or know they are the same person

BatchCookBabe · 14/05/2026 11:32

PrincessASDaisy · 14/05/2026 11:18

The call is coming from inside the house

😱

NotThisRecordNotThisRecord · 14/05/2026 11:28

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

SparkysMagicPiano · 14/05/2026 11:22

Feis123 · 13/05/2026 23:47

Anyone care to explain what the problem is, please?

Do you mean in addition to all of the very valid responses that were posted before your comment? What further explanation do you need?

PrincessASDaisy · 14/05/2026 11:18

The call is coming from inside the house

BatchCookBabe · 14/05/2026 11:16

@SnowFrogJelly

Why not just hide and ignore?

No. Why should we hide and ignore? When we feel a thread is being posted for nefarious purposes, we should report it. If MN says it's not breaking any rules, (which some don't seem to do,) we can then challenge on the thread. 'Why are you asking this? What the the reason for the thread? What are you going to do with all the information?' (To help, and guide other posters, who may be a bit less guarded, and help them be extra vigilant.)

Of course, it would be a crazy forum, if we couldn't talk to each other, never mention which part of the country we live, how many children we have, if we went to University, if we're married, how many pets we have (if any) etc etc... because this is a discussion board.

But sometimes it feels a bit different, and it definitely feels a bit odd when someone posts multiple threads (almost 60 over about 8 weeks I think) asking dozens of different questions about many different subjects, and then doesn't engage in the thread, or talk to people, or show any interest in it after. It does make one wonder why and what the purpose of it all is.......

Whilst it's great to talk and share stories, it's advisable to not post your real name on here, or childrens names, or pets names, or your village or suburb name, or your employer or even your actual real job (you can be vague - say hospitality, or admin, or retail, or something as vague as possible) but try to not give too much away. You just don't know who's watching, and if they go through your other threads, they can start to pick up a lot about you.

As has been noted by a few posters this morning. It would seem that all the threads posted by that poster have disappeared! They were there at around 11pm last night when I was last on here. Thank you Mumsnet.

BatchCookBabe · 14/05/2026 11:16

blacksax · 14/05/2026 00:01

They don't interact at all, that's the thing. Just start a thread and then never come back.

Show quote history

100% this. ^

EmpressaurusKitty · 14/05/2026 10:41

On a thread the other day, some idiot made what he considered a gotcha comment about my social media accounts.

Except none of my social media names anywhere bear any resemblance to any of my MN usernames, & what he was saying didn’t match with any of my social posts either, so whoever he thought he was looking at it wasn’t me.

It’s another thing to consider though - variety is good.

Wolmando · 14/05/2026 10:18

Name changing will greatly lessen the amount that can be found, depending how often it's changed.

if they were looking for one person you could easily put any poster that matched a couple of answers you wanted into advance search

WildGarden · 14/05/2026 10:07

Twinkletoesandspaghettios · 14/05/2026 08:19

Wossssshhhhhh that’s a very good point. I hadn’t considered that before

does name changing every so often “undo” this?

Show quote history

I'm also interested to know if name changing puts a spanner in their works.

Smallorveryfaraway · 14/05/2026 09:29

"Trust nae fucker <taps nose>" @MyAutumnCrow

I miss the laugh reaction so much.😂

Roads · 14/05/2026 09:15

I've been following this thread since last night and whilst the threads appear to have now been removed I'm quite surprised there's been no message from MNHQ to explain what action they are taking.

Westun · 14/05/2026 08:46

I got the feeling in this case the poster was trying to identify a particular person on here rather than general phishing for information. Questions like, what were you like when you were 13 and the questions about race seemed quite targeted.

Original poster
Another2Cats · 14/05/2026 08:39

Decacaffeinatednow · 14/05/2026 07:40

I think all the threads have gone

It does look like they have all gone.

There were three threads on the Genealogy board that have all been deleted.

They had titles 'Do you like your mum's maiden name?', 'Your most recent discoveries' and 'Have you ever been mistaken for a race/ethnicity/ancestry that you are not?'

OP posts:
MyAutumnCrow · 14/05/2026 08:27

PickAChew · 14/05/2026 08:13

There were two of those.

Show quote history

Yes, there was ‘what did you have?’ and ‘what didn’t you have?’ type questions. They were obviously grubbing for personal data about where posters were born and brought up, and when they were born.

I never give my location on here. Not accurately anyway! Same with age, size of family.

Trust nae fucker <taps nose>

Twinkletoesandspaghettios · 14/05/2026 08:19

blacksax · 14/05/2026 00:44

If you have posted on a whole variety of threads over a number of years, it can be worked out how old you are, whether you have kids, their sexes and ages, if you have pets, what your job is, what your DH/DP does for a hobby, that your parent has x medical condition, you can't stand olives and that you live in a house with x bedrooms and within walking distance of an Aldi. When you post about your disagreement with a close friend about their wedding arrangements, they or someone else you know can search your posting history and work out exactly who you are from information gleaned over all those previous posts of yours.

If you have mentioned the name of the small town you were born in and have lived all your life, that area has only a few primary schools, the name of one of which could be your bank's security question. If you have also answered a 'What was no 1 in the charts on the day you were born?' thread on here, and have also gaily mentioned in telly addicts that you share a first name with an Eastenders actress, someone could send for your birth certificate and find out your exact date of birth - especially if your birth announcement was in your local paper. With your surname.

Your new kitten has been posted (with pics) on the litter tray board and you've asked for names, and happen to mention that you can't use x name as it was the name of your childhood pet. Another bank security question answered.

Do I need to go on?

Show quote history

Wossssshhhhhh that’s a very good point. I hadn’t considered that before

does name changing every so often “undo” this?

PickAChew · 14/05/2026 08:13

snowibunni · 14/05/2026 07:38

I see the one asking about childhood home differences has gone this morning - citing breaking site guidelines

There were two of those.

EmpressaurusKitty · 14/05/2026 07:59

I was kind of hoping that poster would come on this thread to explain her / himself.

SixLeggedSugarBug · 14/05/2026 07:59

I’ve seen a lot of the post titles mentioned but not read any of them. Now I feel like I am missing out on a plot twist!

EmpressaurusKitty · 14/05/2026 07:41

Great. I think that’s a cue to report any future ones, then.

Decacaffeinatednow · 14/05/2026 07:40

I think all the threads have gone

snowibunni · 14/05/2026 07:38

I see the one asking about childhood home differences has gone this morning - citing breaking site guidelines

Cheesipuff · 14/05/2026 07:03

Well make sure you post nonsense reply to confuse the bots

mydogisfat · 14/05/2026 06:27

Mixed in with the random questions are those that are often used as memorable words on personal accounts eg what’s your mother’s maiden / name of first pet etc. So despite the apparent randomness of the posts there could be an ulterior motive and they could be harvesting the responses for profile building. If the Mumsnet database of registered users was hacked they’d presumably also have more identifiable information on these individuals. Sounds far fetched but cyber criminality is definitely a thing.