Foursquare stalking blogs and articles

[rbcp]

Here's a thread for all the sites that write about Foursquare stalking.  I keep seeing small blog entries that aren't worth dedicating an entire thread to, so I'm going to paste them in here.

Beware Foursquare and Internet Stalking – Prank Phone Calls
Not too long ago I wrote about a popular geo-location application that people are using more recently called FourSquare.  I was even using the app myself until a little more information recently came to light.  A website known as “Phone Losers of America” or PLA posted an article this Saturday detailing what information security professionals have been warning against for years…  The more social media applications you use, the easier it becomes for people to stalk you.

In the article, PLA decided to use Twitter to track down people “checking in” on Foursquare, calling the establishment, and asking to page the customer they were pranking.  Most people had no idea how someone could have known they were there and were thoroughly creeped out by the call.

[jackulator240]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/video/please-rob-me-web-site-9980133

[rbcp]

Private Eyes Are Watching You: Twitter Oversharing and Its Bizarre Real-World Consequences

Something peculiar happened yesterday.

I was sitting in a coffee shop near work as I often do between sessions when one of the baristas sheepishly approached me. I go in there all the time, so most of them know me by face, if not by name. She said, “Are you Jeff?” I answered in the affirmative and she goes, “There’s someone on the phone for you.”

My first thought was that it must be work calling to tell me that there’s been a schedule change. AT&T has spectacularly terrible coverage and this cafe could be a dead zone. One look at my phone confirmed that I was five-bars strong and I had no missed calls. She looked as quizzical as I felt. I took the cordless phone from her and the conversation went something like this....

Here is the rest of the article where the guy tells us all about a guy named Roy that called him.

It wasn't me.  Anyone here responsible for it?  I love how Foursquare users are all bloggers too.

[rbcp]

Four Square - not just a schoolyard game anymore

Today I was waiting for my dad and sister at an Italian restaurant. We were meeting for lunch before I drive back to DC (I have the day off). I was bored waiting, so I checked in at this Italian restaurant on FourSquare and allowed it to be published in my Twitter feed. No big deal. Not a lot of people in this area use Four Square and I added a line about how delicious the garlic knobs were at this place. My sister and dad finally showed up and we order. In the middle of ordering, another waitress comes up to our table and asks "Are you Meghan?".... I looked up and said "yes?" She said "you have a phone call..", and immediately I thought "Shit, this can't be a coincidence." If anyone needs to call me, they can call my cell phone. It's not exactly hard to get a hold of me either, you can tweet or email me at any time. I told the waitress that I'd rather not take the call - she didn't know who it was. She came back into the room and said "It's someone from the breast cancer cure - they want you to come to the phone." Wow. Talk about invasive AND persistent. The waitress saw the look of fear I apparently was wearing and said "I'll just hang up on them." My sister said it looked like I was about to cry.

This article mentions the breast cancer thing, which I remember seeing posted somewhere else.  Maybe as a comment on phonelosers.org.  She mentions PLA too.

[m0rdekai]

It wasn't me.  Anyone here responsible for it?  I love how Foursquare users are all bloggers too.

that was me, actually.  I was terribly misquoted though.

[rbcp]

that was me, actually.  I was terribly misquoted though.

These bloggers just aren't as dedicated to detail as real journalists.

[m0rdekai]

that was me, actually.  I was terribly misquoted though.

These bloggers just aren't as dedicated to detail as real journalists.

I know!  Like the whole "Roy" thing?  I said RAY.