Internet Stalking

I find it rather amazing how easy it is to find specific details about a person on the internet. It doesn't take much. I came to this realization when I tracked down someone's address. I had no real reason to do so, except for this... I Googled her name and found something she reviewed and asked her about it. She asked how I did that, so I told her. She came back a short while later with my address. I made it the day's mission to figure out how she did it and return the favor.

There were two very important tidbits of information I gave out that made her job very easy. It was the town I live in and my screen name on a forum I participate in. Anyone could have found that information without ever having talked to me.

Tracking her information down was not so easy, but it was far from being difficult. If I had intended from the start, it would have taken a couple of weeks or more to get to know this person to get some information that wasn't easily accessible. There are people who have the skills in social engineering they need to get any information they need from people. The following is a list of information I was able to get from her both directly and indirectly:

• Landmark viewable from a satellite map on Google.
• Family members names.
  
• State she lives in.
• Place of employment to help narrow down whereabouts more.
• Internet screen name that lead me to her MySpace page.
• Links to family members MySpace pages.

A lot of the information I gathered was indirectly via things people posted on MySpace. I found out the city she lives in based on her kid's MySpace profile. I found both her kid's and her husband's MySpace profile via links on hers. I found her husbands name from a "Happy Birthday" note in the comments section of his MySpace page. I knew it was her husband's page because his screen name on MySpace is the same as she uses to refer to him on forums.

I found the landmark in conversation with her. She told me about it in passing. I remember one question I asked specifically about it that helped somewhat, but I might have found what I was looking for without that specific detail.

Armed with some of the above information, I did a search on an internet phone book. I was able to narrow down the results to two. I went to Google Maps, entered the address information, looked at the satellite map and saw the landmark I was looking for. This left me about 90% positive I had the right stuff. This would have been enough if I had the wrong intentions and enough motivation. I don't have either.

The information I found wasn't all lumped together in one convenient place. It took time to get it and it took some searching. The pieces I found were small and by themselves, they wouldn't have been very useful, but combined, they were all I needed. Some of the information was found in comments sections of MySpace, user profile pages on forums and blogs and through friendly conversation.

The list of information above is only six items long and is far from being a definitive list of what is needed to find someone. I could have found what I was looking for without either her place of employment or the city she lives in. Knowing her place of employment made it easier to search in surrounding towns and cities within a reasonable driving distance. I probably would have been able to find what I was looking for without the landmark, but with it, I was more confident I had the address.

This blog entry isn't to brag about my accomplishments. I put it here to serve as a warning and a reminder to my friends and family who participate in online communities to be careful with what they share with people. There certainly aren't that many people out there who are out to harm you or your kids, but there are enough that you should be careful with what you give out, especially if you are one of the more active members of an online community.