Reply To: Be aware of stalkers/info stealers

Haleivi, welcome back. Long time no see.

No comment on anything that did or did not happen. Seyag lechachma shtika.

But why is email worse than a telephone? threatening phone calls=harassment. Email is the same felony.

I pick things up because I work in IT security. I read articles on phishing and social engineering, and are therefore attuned to security-related things that others might miss. It’s the same way that a linguist might notice accents others might miss, and an economist might notice how economics plays into things we never would have guessed. Example of good social engineering- someone grabs a purse from a woman. He now has her wallet, phone, and her bank card. he sees a contact labeled “hubby”. He texts the victim’s husband: what’s the pin for the bank? He texts it back. Before anyone realizes, the bank account has been cleared out. yes, it actually happened.

Also, many people use things like birthdays, children, etc as passwords. If you find out enough info, you can connect the dots and do serious damage.

This social engineering trick happened in Brooklyn recently- may be on ywn from a while back- a guy goes around and says he’s from Con Ed. people open the door for him, he checks the meter and disappears a few other items before anyone realizes. 2 guys scammed much of Brooklyn this way.

So if I see criminal-looking activity, I point it out. I am doing a chessed for the rabbim and get attacked for it, sometimes from well-meaning people, sometimes from SN’s of one of the infostealers. Al menas kein. The CR deserves no less. I assume this will get better after the indictment.