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

[Another2Cats]

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?

Over the space of a couple of years you could find out all sorts about many thousands of people that way.

About time we started to throw some wild cards in there then! 😂

It looks like it's trying to get answers for password protection. Mother's maiden names, pet names etc. Combined with leaked emails, it could be used for nefarious purposes.

lol, blimey
the worst was the thread that heterosexually mothers actually cannot wait to see their kids backs in the schoolgate and pair and go to do horny lesbian sex - now what was that all about
this place is shameful

I do what i mostly do now on here, look role my eyes or shake my head, leave no comment and go to somthing else.
Most of the threads on MN now are just made up, or over the top reactions.

Im not on hear as much as i use to be its gone down hill tbh.

Unless I'm one of the first to respond, when I enter a thread I always check whether the OP is engaging. I tend not to bother with threads that are say 5 pages long and OP hasn't been back.

I was wondering who OP was referring to but those sort of threads I hide immediately as they are the ones ActionFraud say you mustn't respond to. FB used to be full of those "quizzes" twenty years ago. Are people still falling for them? 😮

I have seen a couple of the threads mentioned but I haven't even clicked on them so wouldn't have noticed it's the same username each time. The ones like "whats your middle name" etc just from the title alone I was a nope! I probably can be identified if you knew me and read all my threads but that just screamed to me "I'm trying to identify someone" so it staggers me that people actually opened the thread let alone engaged in it!

I agree with others though that I would report each thread, not sure if anything will be done about it but at least you can be at peace knowing you've tried to protect any vulnerable users from engaging in these identifying threads

^ Totally agree with this.

Even if not, it is bloody annoying when a poster starts a thread and then fucks off.

It would be interesting to find out if a private message follows engaging with the thread. It would be easy to strike up messaging, with the information gleaned…then use the built friendship for whatever…

Not so far........😂

Oh my... Like the Facebook posts that ask

'Your first pet, the street you first lived in, and your mother's maiden name is your country star name.'

So mine would be Jessy Wellings Jones ...

First dog Jessy, first street Wellings Avenue, mother's maiden name Jones.

I used to answer these things, but it was the early days of social media (pre 2010) and at the time I didn't realise my information was being harvested, and sometimes for nefarious purposes... Like the 3 questions I put are questions/answers you have answer to access your bank details and credit card account etc...

This is giving the same vibe.

I am never posting on one of this poster's threads again... I have only answered a couple, but I'm done now. I think this kind of thing has been around for some 2 decades, but people drop their guard when they're posting on a friendly message board, and it just seems like a bit of fun.

(nb; these are not real answers for me.)

Some of the posts do seem more like they are trying to identify someone they already have quite a lot of information about though, like about things about childhood and parents that go beyond maiden names into anecdotes. But then some seem very much to aim to identify where someone is living now. My guess is not random harvesting but a stalker of an ex who is a mumsnet user.

It’s pretty easy to figure out which poster you are talking about but I am curious as to what the point of ’harvesting replies’ would be?

The first thread was 'what's going on outside your house now?'

Their first (and only) post...

'Nothing.'

What was the point?

Also questions asking about peoples childhood homes, and surnames, and demographic of their villages/towns, and trying to find out what people have - and don't have - within 10 minutes walk of their house, their village or suburb crime rate, asking about peoples mums and dad's fashion (trying to gauge their ages,) what accent do people have (fishing for the areas people live in,) popular girls names when people were at school (fishing for posters ages...) And asking people if they like their mum's maiden name, (maybe in the hope someone may mention their mum's maiden name...) All rather odd.

Oh, and there are a few more random threads peppered here and there in the middle of them all....

So the fishing for info ones don't stand out too much!

.

Yeah they posted today asking do you like your mothers maiden name ?

I saw them post today and saw the user name and thought hmm really?

Sounds like a creep that’s trying to find an ex partner.

The next thread is going to be "do you like the three digit code on the back of your debit card?"

If someone sent you a letter what would they write on the envelope?

'Or what was the name of your first pet?'

Their first (and one and only) post ...

'Dappy.'

With the mother's maiden name one, a few posters were giving away quite a lot of clues and information about themselves. It's quite scary. 😬

😆

Of course it has to be a complete coincidence, of course it does, but I've just checked my emails. Someone has tried to hack my X account this evening, only a few minutes after I posted on one of these spurious threads.

I haven't used the X formerly known as twitter for ages.

Oh.
Just come across this poster.
Stranger and stranger.
Wonder what they are playing at.

EDIT: I have just read the most recent posts and now understand! I can't delete this piat annoyingly

_

Can someone explain to me what the reasoning behind those posts is? Is it just to generate traffic on MN?

I am completely unaware about issues around social media so would appreciate being enlightened :)