this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2024
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PSA to use fake info for just about every site you ever sign up for. Never offer PII unless you absolutely have to like with the bank or IRS.
I have about 5 or 6 aliases, full blown characters that live in my head, each with different names, addresses and backstories that I use. Even they lie about their personal circumstances sometimes. For example, on LinkedIn, John Longson works at Longson and Longson consulting, but he's the only employee, and he actually just works at a thrift store with a side hustle of selling second hand clothes on etsy under an alias.
What happened to the other Longson?
That's the alias he sells under on Etsy
If I need to fudge info, I tend to put it into a password database's "notes" field for easier note-keeping, FWIW.
Not a full-on identity, but bits of info like stated name, address, etc.
Lol wtf is the point of linkedin specifically if you don't join with your real info?
You just browsing people's profiles? Friend requesting your other aliases?
It's kinda like Facebook now, which is pretty strange.
Art Vandelay, Vandelay Industries, we import/export.
We also would have accepted Rusty Shackleford.
I heard he was thinking about quitting exporting to focus on the importing.
Where's rusty shackleford work?
Mine are usually just remixes of my ancestors, for example ill just combine two random ancestors names and where one of them was from. Why yes random website I am Shadrak McNulty born in Littlerock Arkansas.
Nice to meet you, Shadrak!
LinkedIn is one of the few sites where I use my real name. It is for connecting with past and future coworkers, so they get my real identity.
Oh I have a real linkedin, but I have several fake ones for lurking as well.
Why not present ones? And how do you know who you'll work with in the future?
Right, I forgot that LinkedIn calls contacts "connection", doesn't it? I meant it in the sense of messaging them.
I have it for talking to past coworkers (in case I need a reference or want to discuss equity or something) and for talking to recruiters when I am looking for a job. My past two jobs I heard about via LinkedIn messages.
I was being dumbly pendantic. Thank you for indulging me though!
This is good.
I like to use password managers to make up names.
If I am feeling spicy. It is me. Imene Shayma. (A joke. Follow the link.)
I guess that's one strategy but that's too much work for me. I just pay for unique email forwarding addresses to my main email and use fakenamegenerator.com for filling out fake PII. Also a password manager is key
Sound advice, but if this article is any indication, corporate web2 now anticipates garbage. The junk presumably gets backfilled with their best attempt at quality data where it can be found. It true, it invites potential contributors to think carefully about their opsec.