Online friendships – ya never know who’ll come knockin’

applecruncher

applecruncher

SF VIP
Location
Ohio USA
In another thread there was some discussion about revealing personal information in a profile. Of course, I hope we all know there are limits and common sense should apply to profiles, forums, etc. But I thought about a couple stories I heard about (been trying to find them) several years ago.

A woman and man enjoyed the same AOL chat room, then started emailing and sharing personal information. The woman was married with a family, but she saw no harm in corresponding and flirting with a man who lived over 1,000 miles away in another state. Soon she got bored and busier, and tried to fade away. Her online friend didn’t like that……he kept emailing and told her he’d developed feelings for her. He found out where she worked and called her. She told him to leave her alone, blocked him from email, and ignored his voice mail messages and requests to meet in person.

A few months passed. One day the receptionist called and told her a Mr. XXX (used a false name) was waiting in the lobby….said he was a client and had an appointment. (um hmmm…you know where this is going)
She went to the lobby and it was her former chat room “friend” -begging to have a “talk" (YIKES!) :wtf: She had to get security to remove him from the premises.

Scarey.

Have you heard any bizarre stories about online acquaintances getting out of hand?
 

Not a online friend, but nonetheless very frightening. When I used to talk to my grandchildren on Skype I got a message from someone I did not know. He started writing all kinds of profanities, calling me everything but my name and telling me he knew where I lived and was going to come and kill me...trying to tell me just how he was going to do it. I was in shock and so frightened, Was having a hard time trying to figure out how to get rid of him. Never thinking to get his user name. Finally just turned my pc off. Had nightmares for a long time. And was afraid to go on Skype, for a very long time. He had to have been a very sick man.
 
I had a forum member that I had talked to for some time and trusted get on my FB page and create problems with family members..
 

ndynt said:
Not a online friend, but nonetheless very frightening. When I used to talk to my grandchildren on Skype I got a message from someone I did not know. He started writing all kinds of profanities, calling me everything but my name and telling me he knew where I lived and was going to come and kill me...trying to tell me just how he was going to do it. I was in shock and so frightened, Was having a hard time trying to figure out how to get rid of him. Never thinking to get his user name. Finally just turned my pc off. Had nightmares for a long time. And was afraid to go on Skype, for a very long time. He had to have been a very sick man.
Click to expand...

Wow, sorry that happened.

Just FYI ….. You should have notified police. Law enforcement takes a death threat seriously. With a user name they probably could have gotten a court order and arrested the person.

There was a local case where a woman logged onto a computer at the library and sent threatening emails to the President. (A felony, bigtime) She spent over a year in prison.
 
ndynt said:
Not a online friend, but nonetheless very frightening. When I used to talk to my grandchildren on Skype I got a message from someone I did not know. He started writing all kinds of profanities, calling me everything but my name and telling me he knew where I lived and was going to come and kill me...trying to tell me just how he was going to do it. I was in shock and so frightened, Was having a hard time trying to figure out how to get rid of him. Never thinking to get his user name. Finally just turned my pc off. Had nightmares for a long time. And was afraid to go on Skype, for a very long time. He had to have been a very sick man.
Click to expand...

He got what he wanted. His satisfaction came in your terror. If anything like that occurs again, just either ignore it and go offline or tell him he is welcome to come and introduce himself to your .44 Glock.
 
AZ Jim said:
He got what he wanted. His satisfaction came in your terror. If anything like that occurs again, just either ignore it and go offline or tell him he is welcome to come and introduce himself to your .44 Glock.
Click to expand...
I would no longer panic like I did then. Would have the presence of mind to get his user name and then go offline. Like the Glock line, Jim.
 
I was trying to find another story I heard/read. But the site no longer exists. Anyway:

A lawyer liked to go to chat rooms and develop friendships with women (he was married). He was loose about telling his real name and where he worked and lived, things about his family, etc. Apparently he was “romancing” several different women online. One of them took him too seriously and printed out some of their explicit chats and emails. She made copies and mailed them to his son at college, his wife, and his law firm partner.
 
If a person ever feels that they are being "stalked" online, there is a way to find the offending person. Every computer has a unique IP address assigned to it when it is attached to the Internet. This IP address is contained in every message sent from that computer. If you receive an "offensive" message, and have the necessary programming skills, you can "right click" on the message, then select "inspect element", and find the IP address of the person who sent the message. This IP address can then be traced to the person who owns the computer. Tracing the IP address will require contacting the police, who can then work with your Internet service provider to locate the guilty party.

This is basically how the government is keeping track of people like these Islamic extremists who are posting their garbage on the Internet.
 
Don M. said:
If a person ever feels that they are being "stalked" online, there is a way to find the offending person. Every computer has a unique IP address assigned to it when it is attached to the Internet. This IP address is contained in every message sent from that computer. If you receive an "offensive" message, and have the necessary programming skills, you can "right click" on the message, then select "inspect element", and find the IP address of the person who sent the message. This IP address can then be traced to the person who owns the computer. Tracing the IP address will require contacting the police, who can then work with your Internet service provider to locate the guilty party.

This is basically how the government is keeping track of people like these Islamic extremists who are posting their garbage on the Internet.
Click to expand...

An IP address can be changed and reset relatively easily. And, while an IP address might sometimes identify a computer, that in itself doesn’t identify the sender…..especially where there have been multiple users of a computer.

But in the examples I gave the issue wasn’t cyberstalking. The victims had freely given out personal information and had some type of relationship with the people who eventually caused problems for them.
 
applecruncher said:
An IP address can be changed and reset relatively easily. And, while an IP address might sometimes identify a computer, that in itself doesn’t identify the sender…..especially where there have been multiple users of a computer.

But in the examples I gave the issue wasn’t cyberstalking. The victims had freely given out personal information and had some type of relationship with the people who eventually caused problems for them.
Click to expand...

IP addresses are not set in stone. They change.

People who give out personal info online, or put their phone numbers and addresses on FB are idiots.
 
ndynt - Agree with AZ Jim the desired effect was accomplished. Yes the IP address is not an iron clad tracking method. As for me I put bogus information on my FB page, in particular I listed my birthday as Feb 29, 1956 (thought it would give me 4 years of privacy) was called on it by a few relatives who knew better, thanks. I got many birthday wishes on Feb 28th. Too much information can haunt you.
 
Another forum I frequent had an interesting situation earlier this afternoon. Some guy (relatively new to the forum) posted asking for advice about his cheating (ex) fiancee, who had recently downgraded him to boyfriend. I had the idea he was in his 30s. He said he was studying to take the bar, but….ya never know. Maybe, maybe not.

Anyway, his gf was spending a lot of time with her boss – a lot. Lonf lunches, a 5 hour dinner (hmmm). Upshot is he daughter them at a restaurant – kissing/cuddling. Cozy.

So the guy puts his gf’s real name, her boss’s real name, and the name of company they worked for, and their office phone numbers on the site and encouraged other member to cybermob/harass them. It happened while I was out on an errand, but another member sent me a PM. Moderator removed the post and banned him.

Well, cheater or not, I say the woman dodged a bullet. Throw a net over that one.
:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Is it still true that people that use AOL as a server have rolling IPs and cannot be traced? I know it used to be that way.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top