Brixton news, rumours and general chat: Autumn - Winter 2018-19

[Mr Retro]

There is a shocking level of naivety here.

It’s not a wonder there are so many online scammers.

 

[editor]

There is a shocking level of naivety here.

It’s not a wonder there are so many online scammers.

Please enlighten us, oh master, perhaps illustrating your vast knowledge of the topic with detailed case studies of anonymous urban posters (who have elected to not post up identifying info) who have fallen victim to online scammers? And what are the nature of these scams? And exactly why are we all so 'naive'?

Thanks.

 

[Pickman's model]

Please enlighten us, oh master, perhaps illustrating your vast knowledge of the topic with detailed case studies of anonymous urban posters (who have elected to not post up identifying info) who have fallen victim to online scammers? And what are the nature of these scams? And exactly why are we all so 'naive'?

Thanks.

i suppose if you buy his book / give him money you'll find out

 

[Mr Retro]

Please enlighten us, oh master, perhaps illustrating your vast knowledge of the topic with detailed case studies of anonymous urban posters (who have elected to not post up identifying info) who have fallen victim to online scammers? And what are the nature of these scams? And exactly why are we all so 'naive'?

Thanks.

What a bizarre post. Asking me to back up claims I haven’t made to a narrow set of guidelines you made up

 

[Pickman's model]

What a bizarre post. Asking me to back up claims I haven’t made to a narrow set of guidelines you made up

are you saying someone got into your account and made this post without you knowing?

There is a shocking level of naivety here.

 

[editor]

What a bizarre post. Asking me to back up claims I haven’t made to a narrow set of guidelines you made up

Here's your own words which you bizarrely seem to have forgotten.

"Not giving up a postcode that can save you a lot of money when you come on here and divulge loads of personal information is illogical."
"But an outside source could simply Register and by checking users posts there is a pile of personal information available here from users if somebody wanted to find it and use it. "
"There is a shocking level of naivety here...It’s not a wonder there are so many online scammers."

If you can't back up your own claims, just say so.

 

[Mr Retro]

Here's your own words which you bizarrely seem to have forgotten.

"Not giving up a postcode that can save you a lot of money when you come on here and divulge loads of personal information is illogical."
"But an outside source could simply Register and by checking users posts there is a pile of personal information available here from users if somebody wanted to find it and use it. "

And where in that have I said I have "detailed case studies of anonymous urban posters (who have elected to not post up identifying info) who have fallen victim to online scammers". Where have I said "I know the nature of these scams?". I didn't say any of it at all. You made that up. It's one of your debating tactics discobastard has been pulling you on recently

I am making a point there is a pile or personal information posted here (and on other sites, as said I used urban as an example. It could be a facebook group/twitter/local community site -anything) You have taken it personally for some reason.

To use Gramsci again (sorry): He doesn't want to put his postcode on uswitch. I know where he lives and shops from info posted here. I know where he pays his bills and how he does it. He sometimes tells us exactly where he will be at a given time. I bet I could get his postcode with just a small bit more digging. I know yours without doing any digging at all.

Now as far as I am aware gramsci has not posted up "identifying info". But still I could find his postcode if I wanted to. The postcode he doesn't want to give to uswitch. And thats the point I have been making. People need to look at their data on line holistically. If it's out there in one format it is out there in all formats.

And if you don't see or believe that you are naive.

 

[editor]

And where in that have I said I have "detailed case studies of anonymous urban posters (who have elected to not post up identifying info) who have fallen victim to online scammers". Where have I said "I know the nature of these scams?". I didn't say any of it at all. You made that up. It's one of your debating tactics discobastard has been pulling you on recently

I am making a point there is a pile or personal information posted here (and on other sites, as said I used urban as an example. It could be a facebook group/twitter/local community site -anything) You have taken it personally for some reason.

To use Gramsci again (sorry): He doesn't want to put his postcode on uswitch. I know where he lives and shops from info posted here. I know where he pays his bills and how he does it. He sometimes tells us exactly where he will be at a given time. I bet I could get his postcode with just a small bit more digging. I know yours without doing any digging at all.

Now as far as I am aware gramsci has not posted up "identifying info". But still I could find his postcode if I wanted to. The postcode he doesn't want to give to uswitch. And thats the point I have been making. People need to look at their data on line holistically. If it's out there in one format it is out there in all formats.

And if you don't see or believe that you are naive.

Except you specifically mentioned the data on this site and described its users as possessing a "shocking level of naivety."

Could you back that up now please?

 

[Mr Retro]

 

[editor]

I'm banning you from this thread for a week. You've contributed nothing useful and only seem interested in being pointlessly disruptive and slagging off contributors.

 

[Gramsci]

I'm banning you from this thread for a week. You've contributed nothing useful and only seem interested in being pointlessly disruptive and slagging off contributors.

Ive made a series of posts on topic of energy and private utilities. Such as arguing for return to publicly owned energy company.

The wider political points I make arent taken much notice of.

But make a comment on entering data into a price comparison website and Im fair game for being portrayed as illogical etc.

 

[T & P]

Ive made a series of posts on topic of energy and private utilities. Such as arguing for return to publicly owned energy company.

The wider political points I make arent taken much notice of.

But make a comment on entering data into a price comparison website and Im fair game for being portrayed as illogical etc.

Regardless of whether one thinks your stance is illogical or not, only in the Brixton forum could such a non-controversial topic, and such a mild and clearly not malicious remark lead to an argument between posters (not you) and worse still, bannings.

Far too much beef in here, far too much stubbornness and unwillingness to let any issue go however trivial, far too much obsession with having the last word at all costs, or refusal to concede one might have been wrong about anything, ever.

Every post is potentially loaded around here, any comment or issue discussed a potential bunfight in the making however trivial.

Things like this are not just petty, completely unnecessary and distracting, but also the chief reason why the Brixton forum has seen an activity decline of probably 65-75% in the last few years. A great many people who used to post here regularly simply can’t be arsed any more. It’s a real shame.

 

[alcopop]

What a bizarre post. Asking me to back up claims I haven’t made to a narrow set of guidelines you made up

That’s ludicrous, but par for the course...

 

[editor]

Things like this are not just petty, completely unnecessary and distracting, but also the chief reason why the Brixton forum has seen an activity decline probably 65-75% in the last few years. A great many people who used to post here regularly simply can’t be arsed any more. It’s a real shame.

Mr Retro's endless posts had absolutely nothing to do with Brixton, yet he persisted in going on and on, manufacturing non-existing privacy threats regarding this site - something I take very seriously - and then insulting posters by accusing them of possessing a "shocking level of naivety" despite refusing to back up his claim. He doesn't even live here and rarely adds anything that's on-topic.

And as Gramsci has correctly called out time and time again, the same faces will regularly round on anything - no matter how innocent - because they're more interested in pursing dull bunfights than contributing anything useful or relevant to the forum.

And I'm fed up hearing from local people in the real world who don't want to post here because of all the personal stuff that keeps getting dredged up, usually aimed against me.

It's interesting to note that when I make the same comments on Brixton FB groups, I don't get any of this shit.

 

[Gramsci]

Regardless of whether one thinks your stance is illogical or not, only in the Brixton forum could such a non-controversial topic, and such a mild and clearly not malicious remark lead to an argument between posters (not you) and worse still, bannings.

Far too much beef in here, far too much stubbornness and unwillingness to let any issue go however trivial, far too much obsession with having the last word at all costs, or refusal to concede one might have been wrong about anything, ever.

Every post is potentially loaded around here, any comment or issue discussed a potential bunfight in the making however trivial.

Things like this are not just petty, completely unnecessary and distracting, but also the chief reason why the Brixton forum has seen an activity decline of probably 65-75% in the last few years. A great many people who used to post here regularly simply can’t be arsed any more. It’s a real shame.

Retro wont engage with me directly. Yet I come home to find posts referring to me as illogical.

Its aggravating to say the least. And not mild remark.

I agree with how posts are taken here. I now tread very carefully. In case one remark I make becomes a target.

I disagree with reason for people not posting here. Several posters on politics boards I know have this forum on ignore as cant stand the posts here anymore.

 

[discobastard]

It was claimed Visa could accurately predict divorce based on changes to spending habits (although Visa denied the claims). Unless you live in a cave, you are spilling personal data left, right and centre. Imagine what your ISP or mobile phone company could say about you. Your postcode is probably the least concerning bit of data to give out, its not normally specific to an address, let alone an individual.

Yep. Facebook can predict mental issues through use of language. Add voice assistants to that and it all start to get a bit unpleasant (as if it wasn’t enough already). Theres an app that describes your emotional states just by analysing your voice. Moodies or Moodles I think it’s called. Quite unnerving.

 

[discobastard]

There is absolute logic if the 'data' they are putting up remains totally anonymous with absolutely no means of connecting any of it to their real life identity.

*If* they do that. I’ve posted the street I live on here and also evens I go to. Wouldn’t be hard to find me on Facebook, get my real name and then look me up in companies house, electoral register etc.

Not criticising urban, just saying the trail is a lot easier to follow than you think. And many don’t realise that trail is being laid or can be easily followed.

 

[David Clapson]

My landlady lost 25 grand to scammers doing Authorised Push Payment fraud. They got into her email, which they had probably bought on the dark web after a membership database was hacked, and sent her a dummy invoice pretending to be the builder who had just repointed the block I live in.

If you want to check how many times your email address has been in a hacked database, go here www.haveibeenpwned.com. This is a free service provided by a kindly security expert. You can trust it.

 

[discobastard]

Except you specifically mentioned the data on this site and described its users as possessing a "shocking level of naivety."

Could you back that up now please?

Mr Retro’s post is perfectly reasonable and you are trying to defend against something that isn’t an attack. It’s a set of basic facts.

See my post above. People may be posting anonymously but by talking about what they do and the rough places they live, looking at different threads you can easily track where people live and what they do for a living etc. Some maybe more than others. But it’s facts.

Banning him on that basis is mental and totally unreasonable.

 

[editor]

Mr Retro’s post is perfectly reasonable and you are trying to defend against something that isn’t an attack. It’s a set of basic facts.

Seeing as you think it's 'perfectly reasonable' perhaps you might explain why - and where - so many posters on this site have shown "a shocking level of naivety"? You can start with the Brixton forum seeing as that's where the discussion was taking place.

Thanks.

 

[editor]

People may be posting anonymously but by talking about what they do and the rough places they live, looking at different threads you can easily track where people live and what they do for a living etc. Some maybe more than others. But it’s facts.

This is absolute nonsense. He was taking about online scammers. Are you really suggesting that they'd go to the lengths of looking up all the posts by an anonymous poster across multiple threads here, carefully make notes of any place they've mentioned in passing and then start hanging around in those pubs/cafes/workplaces in the vague hope that they might be able to put a face to Mr Wibblehead? And then what would they do? Try to sell them a pyramid scheme?

It's an utterly ridiculous proposition. Farcical.

 

[discobastard]

This is absolute nonsense. He was taking about online scammers. Are you really suggesting that they'd go to the lengths of looking up all the posts by an anonymous poster across multiple threads here, carefully make notes of any place they've mentioned in passing and then start hanging around in those pubs/cafes/workplaces in the vague hope that they might be able to put a face to Mr Wibblehead? And then what would they do? Try to sell them a pyramid scheme?

It's an utterly ridiculous proposition. Farcical.

Once people know your name and where you live and what you do you are much more open to any kind of scam. Is there any doubt about that?

It is far from farcical. Would you feel comfortable if a stranger that is criminally minded deliberately obtained your full name, address, work etc? Maybe you might not get scammed because you're smart but it's still not nice being stalked is it?

I'm not sure why these points raise such an outraged defence, rather than attempting to have a sensible dialogue about possible dangers and pretending they don't exist. Gramsci certainly feels uncomfortable with that stuff being out there - and I am fairly certain I could find out a lot of his details relatively easily simply by working through his posts - much more worrying than putting your postcode into a price comparison site.

Perhaps you are zeroing in on the phrase 'shocking level of naivety' - and perhaps that is taken as a personal attack on the good people of this site - but then again, perhaps the ends justify the means of getting people to think about what they post up here. It's colossally disproportionate to suggest that in making those posts he is being disruptive and I would ask you to respectfully reconsider that ban. There's no attack or aggression towards Urban or its users, just somebody arguing reasonably factual points that you have taken against. If it makes somebody consider the type of things that one posts that might identify you then maybe that's a good thing. Focus on the wider message rather than individual phrases that could be blown out of proportion.

A couple of years ago I managed to track down and nail next door's absent landlord simply through online posts/Facebook after Companies House had only an old registered address. He owed money for work both flats owed on jointly. I ended up doorstepping him at work with the intention of a small claims court thing. He paid up in the end but was rather surprised that I had found him.

It's really not that hard (though admittedly not for everybody). Cant we just discuss the possible issues rather than getting really defensive? It's in the public good.

 

[discobastard]

This is absolute nonsense. He was taking about online scammers. Are you really suggesting that they'd go to the lengths of looking up all the posts by an anonymous poster across multiple threads here, carefully make notes of any place they've mentioned in passing and then start hanging around in those pubs/cafes/workplaces in the vague hope that they might be able to put a face to Mr Wibblehead? And then what would they do? Try to sell them a pyramid scheme?

It's an utterly ridiculous proposition. Farcical.

Btw - if you think it is all about hanging around in pubs and trying to sell people pyramid schemes then you are still living in the 90s. That kind of talk is really detracting from very real issues. Ever been impersonated or had your identity stolen? You're making light of that kind of stuff by batting back decoy arguments. Disingenous.

ETA - I'll go further than that - this is really dangerous thinking. Yes, some people *will* trawl back through thread to identify somebody. There are people who post in the tech forum (and no disrespect) saying they are really hopeless with technology - all of that stuff is ammo for scams and social engineering.

Thankfully it doesn't happen that often but it does happen. And the consequences can be devastating.

 

[editor]

Btw - if you think it is all about hanging around in pubs and trying to sell people pyramid schemes then you are still living in the 90s. That kidn fo talk is really detracting from very real issues. Ever been impersonated or had your identity stolen? You're making light of that kind of stuff by batting back decoy arguments. Disingenous.

How many posters here have been victim to online scammers who spent weeks - probably months, even years - following their every post across multiple forums in a dastardly attempt to link a totally anonymous made-up username with a real life identity - and then went on to scam them? (and how, exactly)?

We're all apparently shockingly naive when it comes to personal security here, so I'm sure you can put some equally shocking numbers to this. And remember: we're talking about THIS SITE only.

 

[Gramsci]

This did start out with how crap the energy market is.

My view is that publicly owned democratically controled energy company should have been put in place in London as Sadiq promised.

Its being done in other parts of the country.

Whether I want to put my postcode into a price comparison website or not isnt the issue. I dont want to have any part of this energy market. For reasons Ive already posted up.

 

[discobastard]

How many posters here have been victim to online scammers who spent weeks - probably months, even years - following their every post across multiple forums in a dastardly attempt to link a totally anonymous made-up username with a real life identity - and then went on to scam them? (and how, exactly)?

We'e all apparently shockingly naive when it comes to personal security here, so I'm sure you can put some equally shocking numbers to this.

As you like to often say....

'Way to miss the point '.

You are looking at things in black and white. What we're actually talking about is levels of risk based on what can be given away.

AND, it doesn't just have to be about scamming, it can be about stalking or harassment.

'Because it hasn't happened here, it never will, so don't worry'. THAT is naive. It's a positive message that, to me, seems like you want people to ignore. And I really can't understand why you would want to do that. But you have moved the conversation on from the risks, which would be quite interesting to discuss (see my above posts, you don't seem to want to intelligently debate the risks and trails that people can leave here), and continued with the aggressive defence. And Mr Retro, who initially raised the risks (whether slightly too aggressively or not) has been banned (which is clearly totally disproportionate).

What one might reasonably take from this is that you either can't see or don't care about the fact that some people on here disclose enough about themselves for 'bad people' to be able to identify who they are, where they live and what they do. And that stuff is gold dust for some very clever scammers. Whether 1 or 30 or 2,654 people on this site have been scammed is irrelevant. The point is about that fact that securing those details for some of the posters on this site is a LOT easier than you might think. That is not an attack on Urban, that is a fact. You are apparently focusing on this as an attack on you rather than a reasonable point that does not in any way attack you r any members of this site. And if anybody takes the 'shocking naivety' thing as a personal affront, then, well, not sure what to say.

Could you please explain why you think that somebody harvesting your personal details in any way is not a problem?

But you seem to be torpedoing that idea.

 

[T & P]

I disagree with reason for people not posting here. Several posters on politics boards I know have this forum on ignore as cant stand the posts here anymore.

I’m sure there are a range of different reasons. But I myself know of a number of them who don’t post here for the reasons I city. Genuine debate is being stifled regularly in here if the subject in question is contentious, even when the debate itself was perfectly civilised. Ultimately life’s too short to get regularly bogged down on arguments over such things as the relative price of ice cream.

 

[editor]

Could you please explain why you think that somebody harvesting your personal details in any way is not a problem?

Oh FFS. That is the king of fallacious arguments. I've never said such a thing so stop being such a deviously twisting and dishonest bullshitter.

Not breathe deeply and read carefully.

Of course online scamming/data harvesting is a fucking problem but unless you - or anyone else - can provide proof of it happening here regularly, then it is totally irrelevant, particularly to the Brixton forum.

Mr Retro - who you're so keen to defend - specifically framed the argument in the context of it happening on these boards, lambasting users for being 'shockingly naive' for posting up information which he asserted could be used to (a) work out someone's real life identity and then (b) scam the fuck out of them.

But it hasn't happened. Online scammers do not have the time to spend months trying to work out the identities of random people posting on bulletin boards when there's far softer targets out there. He was talking bollocks and now you're trying to defend it.

 

[Gramsci]

I’m sure there are a range of different reasons. But I myself know of a number of them who don’t post here for the reasons I city. Genuine debate is being stifled regularly in here if the subject in question is contentious, even when the debate itself was perfectly civilised. Ultimately life’s too short to get regularly bogged down on arguments over such things as the relative price of ice cream.

Well we are going to have to disagree.

 

[editor]

I’m sure there are a range of different reasons. But I myself know of a number of them who don’t post here for the reasons I city. Genuine debate is being stifled regularly in here if the subject in question is contentious, even when the debate itself was perfectly civilised. Ultimately life’s too short to get regularly bogged down on arguments over such things as the relative price of ice cream.

But its always the same faces steaming in together to make it personal and they're rarely interested in talking about Brixton. Just look at this thread.