Mimm Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Google + allows people to find you and add you to their "circles" without approval by you. They can message you through Hangout even if you haven't added them to your circles. Hangout messages can come straight to your phone. I got such a message from someone with my mother's last name recently. I asked him if I knew him and he said he was my stepfather's nephew. I had no interest in getting to know him but didn't want to be rude to someone connected to my family so I answered every so often over the course of a few weeks but didn't give out any information. I gave him very little encouragement but he kept trying to get me to talk to him. He tried to get me to give him my cell number and asked if I worked and so on, but he was definitely pinging my creep-o-meter and I finally got around to asking my mother about him. She didn't know him and had to ask my stepfather. Turns out the guy is the son of a brother of my stepfather's that my stepfather hasn't spoken to in a couple decades. The nephew just got out of prison and is a sexual offender for something involving a minor between the ages of 14 and 16. He lives only a few hours from me. I never mentioned my kids or told him what I did, if I worked or anything but he does know what city I live in. I blocked him right away after finding out about him. So yeah, yikes. I'm not thrilled with Google + and the ease with which this guy found me and was able to contact me. I'm planning to spend some time looking at settings and seeing if I can make myself harder to find and make sure my profile is set to be as private as possible. So just a PSA for the Hive. Even if someone is "family" it doesn't make them a safe person. :( 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Yikes. :eek: That's creepy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 I had to google it to see what it is. I agree-it's creepy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Yikes, that's very creepy! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 This may violate a court order or parole or probation. Did you call the police? Also, ack! Thanks for the heads up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Google + allows people to find you and add you to their "circles" without approval by you. They can message you through Hangout even if you haven't added them to your circles. Hangout messages can come straight to your phone. I got such a message from someone with my mother's last name recently. I asked him if I knew him and he said he was my stepfather's nephew. I had no interest in getting to know him but didn't want to be rude to someone connected to my family so I answered every so often over the course of a few weeks but didn't give out any information. I gave him very little encouragement but he kept trying to get me to talk to him. He tried to get me to give him my cell number and asked if I worked and so on, but he was definitely pinging my creep-o-meter and I finally got around to asking my mother about him. She didn't know him and had to ask my stepfather. Turns out the guy is the son of a brother of my stepfather's that my stepfather hasn't spoken to in a couple decades. The nephew just got out of prison and is a sexual offender for something involving a minor between the ages of 14 and 16. He lives only a few hours from me. I never mentioned my kids or told him what I did, if I worked or anything but he does know what city I live in. I blocked him right away after finding out about him. So yeah, yikes. I'm not thrilled with Google + and the ease with which this guy found me and was able to contact me. I'm planning to spend some time looking at settings and seeing if I can make myself harder to find and make sure my profile is set to be as private as possible. So just a PSA for the Hive. Even if someone is "family" it doesn't make them a safe person. :( You can lock it down. No one can add me without my permission. I would love to tell you how to do this but DH set everything up for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 This may violate a court order or parole or probation. Did you call the police? Also, ack! Thanks for the heads up. I didn't call them but I doubt it violated anything. He was speaking to an adult woman about absolutely nothing inappropriate. He didn't even suggest we meet or anything. He just kept trying to strike up conversations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasperstone Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 YIKES! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.