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I keep a Facebook account for the sole reason that I don't want some derplgänger with the same name causing me employment trouble in the future. It may sound l

I keep a Facebook account for the sole reason that I don't want some derplgänger with the same name causing me employment trouble in the future. It may sound like a dumb reason, but I have seen the pattern of some eponymous innocent suffering because lazy HR didn't verify waaaaaaay too many times to not take the threat seriously.

ipaddr 5y ago
You realize by making an account and adding a picture you greatly increase the chance someone will clone your profile vs someone creating a profile with photos they have sourced from somewhere else. If the latter happens it is probably from your friend group.
- chaostheory 5y ago
  Just keep the profile private and limit friends on FB. I try to keep the number of FB friends at Dunbars number.
- Baeocystin 5y ago
  Who said I had a picture of myself? I can post something proving it's me as necessary, which is what I use it for. Zero personal pictures, though.
dvtrn 5y ago
I go through this frequently and it's not even due to Facebook, it's just due to having a stupidly common western name. To the point of I have folders, digital and physical full of sworn statements I've had to make, and official court documents from six different states attesting "no the John Doe before you applying for this job is not the one who came up in your background check database for grand larceny, no he's not the one who came up for involuntary manslaughter either." and I'm always ready for that conversation later in the interview when I get an email from the recruiter/HR "hey, we have a question about something that came up in your background check"
- paulryanrogers 5y ago
  This can cause a problem when dating as background checks become involved. Thankfully my SO realized it was a different person with the same name. Even at a small town library there was another patron with my name.
cmeacham98 5y ago
I keep a (deactivated) Facebook account just to prevent Facebook leaking my acquaintances to any random with my name and email. That's right - in 2021, Facebook doesn't make you immediately verify your email when you sign up! They eventually close the account if you don't verify but by that point whoever signed up with your name and email already has access to parts of your shadow profile Facebook leaks (ex through 'suggested friends').
- jondwillis 5y ago
  cool. i have some experimenting to do in my name now.
itronitron 5y ago
You would need to have a very unique name for that to be necessary and you are also putting a lot of confidence in HR's ability to disambiguate the profiles if you indeed have a doppelganger.
- Baeocystin 5y ago
  On the contrary, I have an exceedingly common name, which is why I need to have my own account to point to, as compared to the other several dozen same-name folks who have the potential to cause me trouble. There's no trusting HR here, it's a matter of being ready up front.
  - itronitron 5y ago
    Why not just tell HR that you don't have an account because you don't want people confusing you with another person?
    - Baeocystin 5y ago
      Perfectly reasonable question. The answer is that it has been my experience (across multiple companies, over significant time) that they tend to think you're making excuses for not showing your real profile unless you have an actual profile to show them.

ipaddr 5y ago

You realize by making an account and adding a picture you greatly increase the chance someone will clone your profile vs someone creating a profile with photos they have sourced from somewhere else. If the latter happens it is probably from your friend group.

chaostheory 5y ago
Just keep the profile private and limit friends on FB. I try to keep the number of FB friends at Dunbars number.
Baeocystin 5y ago
Who said I had a picture of myself? I can post something proving it's me as necessary, which is what I use it for. Zero personal pictures, though.

dvtrn 5y ago

I go through this frequently and it's not even due to Facebook, it's just due to having a stupidly common western name. To the point of I have folders, digital and physical full of sworn statements I've had to make, and official court documents from six different states attesting "no the John Doe before you applying for this job is not the one who came up in your background check database for grand larceny, no he's not the one who came up for involuntary manslaughter either." and I'm always ready for that conversation later in the interview when I get an email from the recruiter/HR "hey, we have a question about something that came up in your background check"

paulryanrogers 5y ago
This can cause a problem when dating as background checks become involved. Thankfully my SO realized it was a different person with the same name. Even at a small town library there was another patron with my name.

cmeacham98 5y ago

I keep a (deactivated) Facebook account just to prevent Facebook leaking my acquaintances to any random with my name and email. That's right - in 2021, Facebook doesn't make you immediately verify your email when you sign up! They eventually close the account if you don't verify but by that point whoever signed up with your name and email already has access to parts of your shadow profile Facebook leaks (ex through 'suggested friends').

jondwillis 5y ago
cool. i have some experimenting to do in my name now.

itronitron 5y ago

You would need to have a very unique name for that to be necessary and you are also putting a lot of confidence in HR's ability to disambiguate the profiles if you indeed have a doppelganger.

Baeocystin 5y ago
On the contrary, I have an exceedingly common name, which is why I need to have my own account to point to, as compared to the other several dozen same-name folks who have the potential to cause me trouble. There's no trusting HR here, it's a matter of being ready up front.
- itronitron 5y ago
  Why not just tell HR that you don't have an account because you don't want people confusing you with another person?
  - Baeocystin 5y ago
    Perfectly reasonable question. The answer is that it has been my experience (across multiple companies, over significant time) that they tend to think you're making excuses for not showing your real profile unless you have an actual profile to show them.