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Bringing this to a top-level comment: People wildly underestimate how dedicated and adept some people are at finding PII given even minute details [1]. The onl

Bringing this to a top-level comment: People wildly underestimate how dedicated and adept some people are at finding PII given even minute details [1]. The only real way to avoid sharing PII is to stay off the internet entirely. Even then, pandora's box has already been opened. Your PII is available even if you haven't explicitly chosen to share it [2]. Once it's out (and spoiler alert, it's out), "stepping away from the computer" is no longer an option. The article describes in detail how it transitions from online to real-life harassment: Swatting, stopping by your personal residence, calling your work, calling your friends and family, etc. Yes, it happens to people of moderate means and very minor celebrity. Yes, you can suffer physical harm or death as a result [3]. Yes, we should also try and solve the swatting problem from the police side as well. 1: https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/4chan-shia-labeouf-secret-location/ https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/4chan-shia-labeouf-secret-l... 2: Equifax 3: https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/us/kansas-swatting-death-affidavit/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/us/kansas-swatting-death-affi...

justicezyx 8y ago
Actually, if anyone pays any attention to Chines online space, "human flesh search" has been working for over a decade since the early dawn of the mass adoption of Internet in China. The moral of the story is that no matter how careful one protect their identity, they always leak more than they thought they are leaking.
reggieband 8y ago
Reminds me of a video [1] posted by Tom Scott from "Things you might not know" youbtube. He and a friend posted a photo of themselves watching the eclipse somewhere in the USA and it is scary how accurately their location was found by Internet sleuths. I feel bad for the new generation of Twitch/Youtube people who are exposing themselves to the Internet. There are some freaky good stalkers out there. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGqEBvlmFAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGqEBvlmFAQ
- girst 8y ago
  Also from Tom Scott: "I know what you did five minutes ago" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYVBshcN7wU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYVBshcN7wU
- justaguyhere 8y ago
  I feel bad for the new generation of Twitch/Youtube people who are exposing themselves to the Internet It starts even before they expose themselves in the form of parents who post everything about their kids on Facebook.
- Bograff 8y ago
  >There are some freaky good stalkers out there. That doesn't quite do the situation justice. The stalking gets crowdsourced; often to people who are well practiced at it.
- legostormtroopr 8y ago
  I mean if you want a great account of how little information can be used to find you, you have to include the greatest game of capture the flag: Shia LeBeouf's "He Will Not Divide Us" vs 4chan. > a flag emblazoned with the words "He Will Not Divide Us" would be flown for the duration of the presidency. The camera was pointed up at the flag, set against a backdrop of nothing but sky. > Within 38 hours of resuming transmission, the flag was located by a collaboration of 4chan users, who used airplane contrails, celestial navigation, and other techniques to determine that it was located in Greeneville, Tennessee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaBeouf,_R%C3%B6nkk%C3%B6_%26_Turner#HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US,_2017_%E2%80%93_ongoing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaBeouf,_R%C3%B6nkk%C3%B6_%26_...
  - neumann 8y ago
    it is the first link in the gp post.
- tomcam 8y ago
  I literally did not think that level of precision would be possible. There were people from Cardiff, England who located these two gentlemen at a tiny tiny airport in Missouri. Incredible and mildly frightening.
megaman8 8y ago
Swatting should be considered very risky now. One guy got like 15 years in jail for Swatting. I don't understand how anyone can take the risk to do it
- handedness 8y ago
  Never underestimate someone whose still-developing brain thinks they can't be tried as an adult. Or, for that matter, extradited.
e9 8y ago
I am off the grid (no social media, scrubbed basic internet mentions, etc) and with every breach there is more and more PII that I can find online about me which is insane...
- socialcaptain 8y ago
  https://socialcaptain.com https://socialcaptain.com
paxys 8y ago
> The only real way to avoid sharing PII is to stay off the internet entirely That doesn't always work either. A lot of PII shared completely offline finds its way to the internet, and third party hacks make it accessible.
erikpukinskis 8y ago
For anyone else who didn’t know what PII is: personally identifying information
simonebrunozzi 8y ago
I had to search, so sharing it here in case someone else is wondering: PII stands for Personally Identifiable Information.

justicezyx 8y ago

Actually, if anyone pays any attention to Chines online space, "human flesh search" has been working for over a decade since the early dawn of the mass adoption of Internet in China. The moral of the story is that no matter how careful one protect their identity, they always leak more than they thought they are leaking.

reggieband 8y ago

Reminds me of a video [1] posted by Tom Scott from "Things you might not know" youbtube. He and a friend posted a photo of themselves watching the eclipse somewhere in the USA and it is scary how accurately their location was found by Internet sleuths. I feel bad for the new generation of Twitch/Youtube people who are exposing themselves to the Internet. There are some freaky good stalkers out there. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGqEBvlmFAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGqEBvlmFAQ

girst 8y ago
Also from Tom Scott: "I know what you did five minutes ago" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYVBshcN7wU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYVBshcN7wU
justaguyhere 8y ago
I feel bad for the new generation of Twitch/Youtube people who are exposing themselves to the Internet It starts even before they expose themselves in the form of parents who post everything about their kids on Facebook.
Bograff 8y ago
>There are some freaky good stalkers out there. That doesn't quite do the situation justice. The stalking gets crowdsourced; often to people who are well practiced at it.
legostormtroopr 8y ago
I mean if you want a great account of how little information can be used to find you, you have to include the greatest game of capture the flag: Shia LeBeouf's "He Will Not Divide Us" vs 4chan. > a flag emblazoned with the words "He Will Not Divide Us" would be flown for the duration of the presidency. The camera was pointed up at the flag, set against a backdrop of nothing but sky. > Within 38 hours of resuming transmission, the flag was located by a collaboration of 4chan users, who used airplane contrails, celestial navigation, and other techniques to determine that it was located in Greeneville, Tennessee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaBeouf,_R%C3%B6nkk%C3%B6_%26_Turner#HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US,_2017_%E2%80%93_ongoing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaBeouf,_R%C3%B6nkk%C3%B6_%26_...
- neumann 8y ago
  it is the first link in the gp post.
tomcam 8y ago
I literally did not think that level of precision would be possible. There were people from Cardiff, England who located these two gentlemen at a tiny tiny airport in Missouri. Incredible and mildly frightening.

megaman8 8y ago

Swatting should be considered very risky now. One guy got like 15 years in jail for Swatting. I don't understand how anyone can take the risk to do it

handedness 8y ago
Never underestimate someone whose still-developing brain thinks they can't be tried as an adult. Or, for that matter, extradited.

e9 8y ago

I am off the grid (no social media, scrubbed basic internet mentions, etc) and with every breach there is more and more PII that I can find online about me which is insane...

socialcaptain 8y ago
https://socialcaptain.com https://socialcaptain.com

paxys 8y ago

> The only real way to avoid sharing PII is to stay off the internet entirely That doesn't always work either. A lot of PII shared completely offline finds its way to the internet, and third party hacks make it accessible.

erikpukinskis 8y ago

For anyone else who didn’t know what PII is: personally identifying information

simonebrunozzi 8y ago

I had to search, so sharing it here in case someone else is wondering: PII stands for Personally Identifiable Information.