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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:
HeartCurrent · 23/02/2018 10:37

The main reason I came off Facebook 7 years ago is because of this. It's extremely important not let strangers view your details I was stalked by someone who still to this day is anonymous who found my entire family's addresses including my nan and created a fake profile of me and was talking to my entire family as me. Freaked me out so much I deleted every social media account I had. These IT sessions should be taught in school to teenagers some of them don't quite understand how intrusive social media is, it's really scary.

fairylightsdown · 23/02/2018 10:46

In a working environment, for an IT manager to do this without your permission or without grounds for an investigation ...when I assume your personal information / Facebook etc is not connected to your job..is highly unprofessional. He is showing off and trying to impress. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing and he clearly only has a little bit or he would know legally not to do this.

Riverside2 · 23/02/2018 11:05

@Scabbersley

I appreciate you'll know Julie's dob, address etc. But why would you know the rest of it?

Scabbersley · 23/02/2018 11:08

I appreciate you'll know Julie's dob, address etc. But why would you know the rest of it?

LOL have you ever worked in an office?! I've worked with Julie for nearly 12 years I know literally everything about her, her family, pets, kids, shitty MIL, where she goes on holiday, fave food, allergies, fave tv shows, exh name, family etc etc etc

spiney · 23/02/2018 11:25

I would have been very interested OP.

Personally I wouldn't have thought the guy was a dick or overstepping the mark. More like sharing information that was new to me. Like you.

Probably there were some at the meeting, like on here, that indignantly knew it all anyway or didn't care anyway but I wouldn't have minded. And it's always stupid to think everyone probably already knows. ( about anything)

It's not my bag and I think about other things most of the time so I am very interested when someone can bring me up to speed. I don't really buy the argument that you can find all that info anyway - it would be a much longer and more laborious process to do that. Just like a burglar can get into any house but he'll go next door if the windows are open. Much quicker to go thru someone's FB account. And the obvious starting point from overseas for example.

It doesn't matter if someone knows all that stuff about you until it actually does. Like accounts getting^^ hacked. But we all know it's on the rise.

Cyber security and the internet still feels a bit like the Wild West and it's a changing landscape. I would have been like you.

I

Riverside2 · 23/02/2018 11:27

@Scabbersley Ive done nearly 24 years office work but I don't share personal info.

Sorry, I thought you meant you'd know the other stuff for a reason, like working in an area where staff are highly checked or something.

PootlesLovelyHat · 23/02/2018 11:40

When I was an office junior and did the banking people gave me their bank cards plus PIN numbers to get cash out for them Shock

I know loads about my colleagues but then I have of those faces where people just tell me stuff!

Persistentdonor · 23/02/2018 12:15

Shock I'm flabbergasted!! I had my privacy settings all closed I thought, but this thread made me check and I found they had defaulted to public somehow.

I shall make a point of regular review from now on.
Many thanks original poster.

MrsHathaway · 23/02/2018 12:23

I had my privacy settings all closed I thought, but this thread made me check and I found they had defaulted to public somehow.

FB annoyingly defaults to whatever you did last.

Say you uploaded a photo as a quick way of transferring it from one device to another (eg from your phone to your laptop) so set it to "Me Only". All your subsequent shares and statuses will be "Me Only" until you notice, swear, and change from the drop-down.

But equally, if you made one Public or Friends of Friends post in order to share a petition you think very important or advertise your jumble sale, all your subsequent statuses and shares will be visible to all sorts of strangers until you notice.

Now, there is a button where you can retrospectively lock down ALL old posts to Friends Only wholesale, but it isn't exactly well advertised and may have been quietly done away with since I last wielded it.

MyFavouriteChameleon · 23/02/2018 13:03

for an IT manager to do this without your permission ... I assume your personal information / Facebook etc is not connected to your job..is highly unprofessional

He didn't hire a detective to follow her around! He collated freely available information! As has already been said, if YOU share information online, it is not inappropriate for him to point that out. If the OP was surprised at what she shared it shows a lack of awareness in need of training, to ensure she and others aren't also sharing company info without realising it.

Many companies also have clauses in their contracts with employees about not bringing the company into disrepute. They would therefore be reasonable in checking what sort of thing you are sharing with the world. In this way, your social media postings cannot be seen as nothing to do with your job as you suggest.

If you are sharing who you work for (or it could be easily deduced from your contacts), and views or behaviour which aren't in keeping with their image, you could be fired.

Its a bit naïve to suggest that a) the IT manager breached the OPs privacy by accessing public information, and b) your social media profile is never any business of your employer.

Btw, I'm in no way suggesting that the OP was doing anything untoward, just answering the post quoted!

SpringHen · 23/02/2018 14:07

You dont need peemission to do an internet search!!

doesthislookoddtoyou · 23/02/2018 14:09

Thats the whole point, its so wide open that you don't need permission to find out any of it.

From the companys pov it makes you look highly unprofessional and a bit of a dope to have such a poor attitude to social media and internet use.

Booboo66 · 23/02/2018 15:18

Facebook regularly sends privacy reminders and talks you through it all if needed, the privacy status of each post is clearly indicated beside it when you post in the form of a symbol. Only takes a few minutes to lock it all down and it’s worth checking from time to time in case of changes during updates. I didn’t realise people still had open profiles these days as it’s widely known you actively have to do it

Cel982 · 23/02/2018 16:21

No it really wasn't. If you put a load of information about yourself on public social media you really cannot complain if people read it.

If he had wanted to harass rather than educate he would have found more embarrassing items and made a public announcement of them.

It is rude and invasive from a colleague with whom the OP would have had an expectation of a professional relationship. Of course it’s not illegal, nobody said that. But presenting her with information that has nothing to do with work and shows he’s been ferreting around in her personal life, just to make a condescending point... in that situation I would feel violated. If he had said “Can I sit down with you for ten minutes and show you how easy it is to get personal info from your FB profile?” it would have been completely different.

lljkk · 23/02/2018 17:46

Basically, seems likely my prabook profile is a blend of ...
...public records (my parents' names)
...my FB, and
...either Linkedin or a copy of my cv (would have been uploaded to Indeed or other recruitment site).

doesthislookoddtoyou · 23/02/2018 17:47

It's not invasive when you have put it out there. You can't complain about being violated when you have waved a flag online saying come and get it!

CantGetDecentNickname · 23/02/2018 18:22

From her post I don’t think OP was offended by it, just shocked. Would have been nicer if he had just given examples of how easy it is to obtain personal information from FB such as zooming in on photos to read car reg no / house no. even credit card details if in a photo and how it is easy to take out loans etc in someone else’s name rather than selecting individuals. He could have then just asked them all to check their accounts.

We all have to complete an online training session on security at work and it has video clips with actors showing how easy it is to steal information- even just listening in on a conversation. This is so we are careful with company and client information but is useful for everyday life. Perhaps OP could suggest to new IT manager that they provide training to all?

lljkk · 23/02/2018 19:27

Isn't the classic trojan horse maneuver to leave some USB sticks in an office. With who knows what on them. Just wait for someone to plug them into any ol' poota, start clicking, to see what's on them.

I managed to get Safefinder installed on my macbook the other day (trojan'ed inside an apparent ADobe upgrade). I need to put my paranoid hat on more often.

TheClitterati · 23/02/2018 20:20

Your maiden name is your children's mother's maiden name!

littlevoiceofsanity · 23/02/2018 23:01

Thank you I have completely gone through my account and changed all my details, deleted photos and got rid of anyone I have not interacted with recently.

LeighaJ · 23/02/2018 23:16

This is why I took the (annoyingly lengthy) time to lock down my fb profile as much as possible with custom settings on whether friends only or friends of friends could see different things too. Cuz we all have that friend that will literally add Anyone as a friend.

I'm still careful with information I put on there though even for friends only.

Addresses, phone numbers, etc can be easily found through other means without the aid of Facebook. 😒

Riverside2 · 23/02/2018 23:35

Leigha "Addresses, phone numbers, etc can be easily found through other means without the aid of Facebook"

I'm not on 192 or the online electoral register. Are there are any other things I need to check out in order to keep my address private please?

Nothing at Companies House either.

HunkyDory69 · 21/03/2018 10:08

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