How to stalk people on the internet

[xAmber]

I'm fairly new and already had a scare with this, I had done a skype show for someone which was fine and dandy... Until the next time they came on and threatened to send video of me to my facebook friends if I did not do a free show for him. I'm fairly sure that he never found me. I blocked him and his 4 accounts he harassed me on. But it's still annoying and creepy. :crybaby:

Wow! Sorry that had to happen to you, super scary moment!
I had it myself sortof when I was still a young little internetslut slutting on the internet, when a guy found my personal facebook and sent me a pm with a picture of me attached and asking if its me..
NOPE

 

[CharmingLucy]

I have officially been freaked out. Kudos. I tried to stalk myself to no avail, but now I kind of want someone else to try and stalk me. :greetings-waveyellow:

 

[KayleePond]

I'm sharing these posts from another thread because I feel like they could be really helpful to others as far as being careful!

I think you guys are missing the point on Skype safety. It's not about some person finding your IP address and then sifting through every single person in your location to find you. IP alone isn't really enough to be incriminating; neither is a phone number area code or a fairly unique first name. But if you are able to stack evidence together it can make things shockingly easy.

For example, I tracked my own IP address from Skype to see how easy it was. You don't need internet savvy or extra programs and software, you need Google and a Skype username. With only those two things in mind I looked up my own IP address, and it pinpointed an area only blocks from my actual location. Well shit, that's terrifying! It doesn't really give anyone any extra information about me, though, does it? But now say someone looked that up already knowing some things about me. I talk about eating at In-n-Out a lot so that narrows it down to 5 states, possibly confirming (or at least adding weight to) my alleged location. I also sometimes drink out of a Whataburger cup, and the only two states that have a Whataburger (edit: as well as an In-n-Out) are Texas and Arizona. Now say someone has come into my room before and said, "Hey I recognize you-- you're Jessykah!" before I can ban them.

Any of these things on its own isn't particularly compromising, but when you add stuff together-- a 21-24 year old female named Jessykah from Arizona or Texas. Add the IP address and boom. Narrows down the search SIGNIFICANTLY. And if you think there aren't people who do this you're completely wrong. I've actually had people admit to me that they had tried their damnedest to look me up based on things they knew or surmised about me-- claiming they were "just curious". Awesome, dude, that's monstrously creepy! Even besides those people I've had some folks remember the most random things, stuff I forgot I had mentioned on cam-- the month of my brother's birthday, or the make and model of the first car I owned. You might not be one of those people but they do exist, even if they have no ill intent.

Although of course it would have to be the perfect storm-- someone who paid enough attention, model not using a VPN, a member who was intent on causing harm or distress to the model-- that doesn't mean one shouldn't take precautions. MOST people aren't crazy stalkers but you cannot tell which ones are. MOST people won't open my door and steal everything I own but I still lock my doors. MOST people don't want to mug me but I still carry pepper spray on my keychain.

It's the little things that can add up, i agree. But honestly the biggest mistake I see done quite often is photos. Either photos in the gallery, tweets or just screenshots from being on cam. If they are taken with a view of outside your house, maybe sitting by your pool in the backyard, showing the sunset out your front porch, the weird dog next door... That's by far the biggest security risk there is.

Combine that with the simple little things added up over time. Things like mentioning what state you live in, what city, having a general area for delivery on Amazon wishlists. Hell, even as little as you mentioning a big storm outside is enough to narrow it down if someone pulls up a nationwide weather map and limits it down to a few states or less. That major lightning storm? Yeah, you can pull up lightning maps even.

Combined with those little clues that photo can lead someone directly to your front door with less than an hours worth of work.

Don't do that. Consider pictures taken outdoors within a few miles from your house to be off limits and never to be transmitted in any form. Even if it's a really cute kitty pic and you just have to update your Tumblr. DON'T!

To me, the IP address is not even worth mentioning compared to how many times I see models camming outside their house or posting pics of it.

Oh, and Lily, I carry mace too, as well as other things. :mrgreen:

 

[All_Mina]

This thread is super freaky but in the 7+ years on and off I've been camming, no one has stalked me. Guess I'm not interesting enough to stalk :lol: I've heard the terror and trauma it can cause folks who have had to deal with this though....it must be awful! :angry4: :shock:

 

[HoneyLane_]

Gah, this thread gives me the shivers!

I made some tiny mistakes regarding my person info and I was lucky enough that it was regulars who spotted them and gave me a heads up so I could correct them. Phew.

 

[SaraXLive]

My real name is Sara, and I've used Sara X online & IRL since 2005, before I started doing cam stripping I was a real life stripper. I did have customers from the clubs where I work try to follow me or figure out where I lived. I'm a bit more concerned now having just touched on this thread & one other... Guess I should go back and read all of it to make sure I'm not going to end up with a crazy person on my lawn...

 

[eclipse76]

As an art model, make sure your photographers/magazines/MUAH/whatever do not out your real name "by mistake". And if you have a personal Facebook account, do not friend/like/like a photo related to your modeling with your personal. Even model friends.

 

[misscamgirlanon]

So I've read through almost 10 pages of this particular board and I finally decided to make an account to ask my question since I haven't found an answer yet. Anyone know of the safest way to make a video with out it having that EXIF info I keep hearing about? I was going to use my mac's "photo booth" app but I can imagine that it would be imbedded with my computer's info. I don't have a cam because I use my mac's built in icamera. Any advice?

 

[drtreat]

Birthdays

Even figuring out what year a girl was born in can be very useful. With that in hand, you can usually narrow down her high school graduating class to one or two years.

I am *so* glad I've been 25 the whole time I've been camming, despite two birthdays having happened

 

[bawksy]

So I've read through almost 10 pages of this particular board and I finally decided to make an account to ask my question since I haven't found an answer yet. Anyone know of the safest way to make a video with out it having that EXIF info I keep hearing about? I was going to use my mac's "photo booth" app but I can imagine that it would be imbedded with my computer's info. I don't have a cam because I use my mac's built in icamera. Any advice?

EXIF data is for still images (specifically JPEG and TIFF), not videos.

There are as many video formats as there are grains of sand in Hillary Clinton's vagina, so it's hard to generalize, but only some formats allow for storing location metadata. The Quicktime format used by Apple devices (among others) allows storing of it, but I'm not sure how many devices actually do store the information nowadays.

If you're on a mac, this looks like a good tool for examining all different types of file formats for metadata:
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

 

[KylieJacobs]

I'm not sure if any of you have seen this yet. You're able to blur out things on Google Street Maps like your house, face, or other objects.

So if you don't want you house to be visible for privacy reasons, you can request to have it blurred.

Here's a screen cap below, or you can go to the webpage for details here: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/how-to-erase ... 02294.html

Go to Google maps, type in your address, pick street view. Then click in the bottom right hand corner where it says "report a problem." You are then able to blur out your house or whatever else you feel necessary. Highlight the area that you want to blur with the red box that it gives you.

 

[yossarian]

That's good information for anyone, but if a stalker has your address, Google is the least of your worries.

 

[KylieJacobs]

That's good information for anyone, but if a stalker has your address, Google is the least of your worries.

True, but it's one of the many steps that a person can use to help protect their privacy (hopefully BEFORE someone has your home address).

 

[goldenaye666]

If your IP address locates you to your neighborhood, you may want to contact your Internet Service provider and see if there are any options to change that first. If you're on a static IP, maybe being switched to a dynamic IP can help. If not, then use a VPN.

My IP address rarely even locates me into the correct state. Let alone anywhere near where I live. I'm in Washington but I get either a Oregon or Colorado location from my IP address most of the time. Benefit of DSL with a dynamic IP.

 

[LilPixy]

Not about stalking but girls (and guys!) - be careful of what you post on facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. (Doesn't matter if it's private or not!) One of the most stupid things you can do is to post such info like one in the attachment.

No IDs, no passport, no driving license - even if you look lovely on the photo or you are proud that you've passed the driving exam! And no credit/debit cards photos!

I don't feel comfortable even if it comes to hand over my debit card to the seller in the shop , not talking about showing off with my personalized photo on card in the Internet. The card looks lovely but SAFETY FIRST

 

[jeff98902]

It :shock: me that some people can be that naive or lack any common sense about posting personal information like this!

Not about stalking but girls (and guys!) - be careful of what you post on facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. (Doesn't matter if it's private or not!) One of the most stupid things you can do is to post such info like one in the attachment.

No IDs, no passport, no driving license - even if you look lovely on the photo or you are proud that you've passed the driving exam! And no credit/debit cards photos!

I don't feel comfortable even if it comes to hand over my debit card to the seller in the shop , not talking about showing off with my personalized photo on card in the Internet. The card looks lovely but SAFETY FIRST

 

[LilPixy]

There was a research based only on Instagram about what personal info people from my country post there. Tons of IDs, passports and debit/credit cards were found!

With one's ID you can get loan in my country and it's been issue for years. Nowadays you cannot get it so easy in bank but there are even more companies such as one who advertise itself with "fast little loans" and gives you money without visit in the agency.

Tons of articles about old people scammed and nothing learned :angry4:

Another thing is posting your private number on the Internet. There's the open group on Facebook with hundreds of numbers of girls who want to take up job as hostess. It almost screams "stalk me!".

I don't have my number or email listed on my profile. Some friends act like I'm trying to make it harder for them to contact me but hell, I've not changed my private number since 12 years so they should have it if they didn't flash their phones in the toilet or deleted me because they thought they no longer need it!

 

[JuliaJay]

I just got a wishlist item in and it shows the guys full name. I already know his state. Maybe I'll stalk him I kid, I kid :lol:

 

[BillyRay]

I’ll admit that I have only read a few pages of this thread but I am curious as to why cam performers are so concerned about anonymity. Is it a fear of being “outed” to family and friends or concerns about personal safety? Or both?

The reason I ask is that it seems almost inevitable that a popular cam model, especially one from the US, will eventually be seen by someone she knows personally. Geo-blocking offers limited privacy protection at best and don’t sites like Streammate advertise recorded shows on some of the most popular tube sites?

It also seems inevitable that image search and facial recognition technology will evolve to a point where a single profile picture or screen capture can be used to find all photos and videos of that person that are available on internet.

As for personal safety and/or stalking, I can only estimate but it would seem that the possibility of being assaulted by a demented “cam fan” is infinitesimal compared to being assaulted by a boyfriend, husband, co-worker, friend, or some other acquaintance.

Porn star Christy Mack was recently the victim of a horrific assault at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. She may have had stalkers because of her porn celebrity but the greatest threat to her safety was from someone she had previously dated.

Anyways, I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in fear. And it seems like some cam models are doing just that, fear of being “found out” or of being stalked and sexually assaulted. That’s no way to live your life.

I hesitate to say this, but that way of thinking is very “vcitimy” and if you play the victim, that's exactly what ends up happening.

 

[AmberCutie]

I’ll admit that I have only read a few pages of this thread but I was curious as to why cam performers are so concerned about anonymity. Is it a fear of being “outed” to family and friends or concerns about personal safety? Or both?

Both, and aside from those, separation of work life and personal life.

 

[Ivankaa]

Once, I was found by one guy in my social network and skype - my mistake was - put in MFC profile pics of me from photoshoot for strip club where I worked, there was not any watermarks or any other notification of where is it, but seems the pic was recognizable from the site of that club, where was pics with my real name..
So me was worried a little, he was insisting on skype show for him, I simply ignored him, after he was not talking to me any more.

 

[weirdbr]

Once, I was found by one guy in my social network and skype - my mistake was - put in MFC profile pics of me from photoshoot for strip club where I worked, there was not any watermarks or any other notification of where is it, but seems the pic was recognizable from the site of that club, where was pics with my real name..
So me was worried a little, he was insisting on skype show for him, I simply ignored him, after he was not talking to me any more.

The picture doesn't need to be recognizable - all it takes is that the same picture (even with small changes like watermarks being present or not) exists somewhere else on the internet with your real name attached to it. Then all an stalker has to do is do a reverse image search (either using a dedicated site or just google) and suddenly they know who you are.

 

[Ivankaa]

The picture doesn't need to be recognizable - all it takes is that the same picture (even with small changes like watermarks being present or not) exists somewhere else on the internet with your real name attached to it. Then all an stalker has to do is do a reverse image search (either using a dedicated site or just google) and suddenly they know who you are.

Thank you, have not even known about such tool!
But seems that was recognizible, I decide so, because in chat he promptly talked about - wow you are from that strip, and not only he.. Me was very surprised that it can be so..
Just ve tried to make such research on TinEye, have not find matching images..

 

[JimsX]

Something that models should be aware of: If you are camming from some super-elaborate themed hotel room, it would take a member 30 seconds to figure out exactly where you are.

Please be careful ladies!


PS: After thinking about it for a while, I didn't contact that model to let her know. I have seen her come unglued before, so figured it would only freak her out more. Looking back, I am glad nobody seemed to stalk her.

 

[BellaoftheBall]

Wow, this tread is great so many useful tips to keeping safety from stalking. Thank you all!

 

[JessikaLynx]

Venturing out of MO for once to add something. I was stalked once (unrelated to camming btw), ancient history now but this is how they found me:

If you're in the UK and you're registered to vote, make sure you take yourself off the open electoral register. That's a copy of the electoral register which ANYBODY can buy. So if somebody has your real name, apparently they can search the electoral register for a mere £5. This is how the police said stalker people found me.

Also, other people are a pain in the arse. The first thing I knew about the stalker was when I walked in the door of my student hall and the receptionist came up to me and was like "Your mum called and wanted to know if you were okay, so I told her I saw you earlier and you are fine!" This was kind of surprising, considering she's dead. You can be smart and cover your tracks as much as you like, but other people might not think twice about confirming your address to some nutjobs. Think about this if you have housemates.

 

[Jessi]

Has anyone tried SafeShepherd? IS this legit?
Or know of similar services?

 

[BritneySiren]

Wow I've been camming for a few years (I'd say about 4 off and on) and I knew about a few of these things but wow, this is a ton to take in. Thank you all for sharing all this wonderful info

 

[eclipse76]

Someone I know from outside MFC started camming a week ago (I was looking at the homepage and I immediately recognized her face.)
She was using watermaked pictures in her profile, which could link directly to her real identity. Once again, never use the fancy pictures you've shot with photographers on MFC, it's too much of a risk.

 

[bud9752]

That's how I found out a popular Model's real name a couple years ago.