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AIBU?

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Original poster

Please read if you use Facebook

298 replies

RoloAddict · 20/02/2018 23:56

So this week we had a new IT manager start in our department at work. Met him for the first time yesterday.. Today was called into a meeting with him along with other staff. He then proceeded to reveal that he'd taken a look at each of our Facebook profiles the previous evening. What he revealed about mine was shocking Shock. By using my Facebook profile and nothing else but good old Google (he proved this by showing us how he did it) he had managed to find out..

My full address including house number!
My DHs full name
My maiden name
Our wedding date
My Dd's names, dates of birth and the sports club they attend.
My stepdaughters name and the school she attended
That I have a stepson.

Needless to say I was horrified. This man was a virtual stranger. We had no mutual friends and I'd never met him until yesterday. I've obviously changed my privacy settings entirely since then. Before I just assumed they were set so that only friends could view them. Can I PLEASE remind and encourage all of you (plus family and friends) to check your settings throughly. We were lucky this time that the person in question didn't mean us harm but it's been a huge wake up call.

OP posts:
KadabrasSpoon · 20/02/2018 23:59

Yes - I'm often suprised how much people make public. Even a locked down profile has public elements such as profile picture.

coconutlimesmoosh · 21/02/2018 00:00

Well thanks but you clearly had a public facebook account. Who does that?

DreamyMcDreamy · 21/02/2018 00:01

Blimey. Full addresses are easily doable without the aid of Facebook, but the rest of it sounds entirely your doing, sorry! How is he finding out your maiden name, your wedding date,your children's names, DOB's and sports clubs if he's not even friends with you?
I'll never cease to be amazed how open some people's profiles are and they seemingly have no clue or seem to care.
Total randomers could (and probably are!) scrolling through and being nosey.
As you say,always check your settings and have everything locked down to friends only, otherwise it can default to public or friends of friends (which is basically the same as public.)

JustHereForThePooStories · 21/02/2018 00:02

He sounds like a right dick.

DreamyMcDreamy · 21/02/2018 00:05

Even a locked down profile has public elements such as profile picture

Yes,mine's all locked down (even to the extent that nothing I'm tagged in gets posted to my timeline before I approve it)but there doesn't seem to be any way of making profile pictures and cover photos private.
You can hide them from your timeline though when you update your picture so it makes them invisible if prowling nosy people try looking to see what you've posted.There'll be nothing there but they'll be there with any comments underneath as public if you don't.

Ivebeenaroundtheblock · 21/02/2018 00:06

he sounds like a really cool IT manager!! i bet lots of people came away having learned a few good things.

MexicanBob · 21/02/2018 00:07

I'm sorry but the only thing surprising about this is the fact that you're surprised by this. Facebook has always been an open door to your private life. I don't really understand why anyone uses i.

Scabbersley · 21/02/2018 00:07

He sounds like a right dick

^ this

Tell him so what?

GreenTulips · 21/02/2018 00:07

DD is applying for jobs and I search her FB account etc .... and told her to clean it up

Bit of an issue with 'friends' tagging her in some posts which looks like she approves of these things

Quite sensible really

EBearhug · 21/02/2018 00:08

He sounds like a right dick.

No, he sounds like someone with a better understanding of online security than many of his staff.

Unlike my own manager in IT, whose FB permissions were wild open to the world. And he's meant to have a particular responsibility for security...

DreamyMcDreamy · 21/02/2018 00:10

No, he sounds like someone with a better understanding of online security than many of his staff.

That's what I was thinking when I read it was an IT role.Sounds like he's more internet savvy than half his staff.

Scabbersley · 21/02/2018 00:11

Does it really matter? I don't care if someone randomer knows my maiden name.

Scabbersley · 21/02/2018 00:13

And there's articles in our local paper that have this information in - kids names and the schools they attend. Honestly it's not that much of a big deal. It's hardly identity theft.

DreamyMcDreamy · 21/02/2018 00:14

Does it really matter? I don't care if someone randomer knows my maiden name.

Classic, well known security question for banks and great for scammers to know.

coconutlimesmoosh · 21/02/2018 00:14

Does it really matter? I don't care if someone randomer knows my maiden name

yes it does. With all the info he could get about OP so easily, how much more could an actual determined person get? Plenty enough to steal her identity I'm guessing, and get her passwords too.....

TillyMint81 · 21/02/2018 00:15

I'd be thankful to be honest. I'm on a fb page with other mums with similar interests and we often ask others on there to check our profile page. I had to have a talk with my dad when he was accepting anyone with the same surname, have everything as public and shared pics of my dcs.

Scabbersley · 21/02/2018 00:15

Classic, well known security question for banks and great for scammers to know

No, they want my mother's maiden name, not mine.

Original poster
RoloAddict · 21/02/2018 00:15

He wasn't a dick about it at all. I'm pleased he did it so I have the opportunity to change the settings before someone potentially used that information for more sinister things.

I'd just assumed that FB would be set up with settings to automatically hide stuff like life events (such as wedding day) and family photos. Now I know better and will tell the dc the same when they are old enough to want to use social media

OP posts:
Scabbersley · 21/02/2018 00:16

With all the info he could get about OP so easily, how much more could an actual determined person get? not much more!

Tara336 · 21/02/2018 00:18

After being fb stalked by ex’s new gf (use term girl loosely) and after a colleague advising they regularly fb stalk I have locked mine down, removed myself from Twitter, linked in and deleted any reviews I hav3 done. I was genuinely shocked how much information people can actually get from a simple search.

DreamyMcDreamy · 21/02/2018 00:18

No, they want my mother's maiden name, not mine.

So if I had a public profile and bandied around my maiden name - if my teen was looking for a job and took the same slack approach to security as I did, it'd be easy to find out the maiden name of his parent - bang.

Scabbersley · 21/02/2018 00:20

What happens if you win a competition and are in the local paper? This happened to me - names, kids names, school, place of work

I didn't panic and make them delete the article!

PancakeInMaBelly · 21/02/2018 00:21

but there doesn't seem to be any way of making profile pictures and cover photos private.
Your profile picture can be anything
You can chose to only upload identifying pics to the private albums
Profile pics arent compulsary Hmm

Scabbersley · 21/02/2018 00:21

So if I had a public profile and bandied around my maiden name - if my teen was looking for a job and took the same slack approach to security as I did, it'd be easy to find out the maiden name of his parent - bang.

Hopefully your teen will be properly tech savvy and use a made up mother's maiden name for this anyway!

DreamyMcDreamy · 21/02/2018 00:23

Your profile picture can be anything. You can chose to only upload identifying pics to the private albums.Profile pics arent compulsary

I know this. Which is why my profile picture is usually some random cartoon character and my cover photo a picture of my feet by the sea on holiday Grin
Anything more identifying is locked down into the albums you can close.

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