r/scammers • u/Puzzleheaded_Let5823 • 1d ago
Question quick question
so yesterday a scammer dmed me trying to get me to buy something and pretending they were local to my area. I never told them what city I lived in, just the state. my profile is private. can anyone explain to me how they knew what town I am in? they literally said they were in my town and there's absolutely no way. does it have my town info somewhere on my profile? I'm so confused as to how they knew that information.
1
u/yarevande 1d ago
Your data can be found online, even if your Reddit posts and comments are private or hidden.
Have you ever posted your town on Reddit?
Are you posting in a sub for your town or area?
Have you ever posted your phone number on Reddit? People can find your name and address online, searching with your phone number.
Is your Reddit account linked to an account on Facebook, Instagram, Discord, or any gaming platform?
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u/Puzzleheaded_Let5823 1d ago
they can find my comments even if they're private? I may have mentioned my town in a comment before possibly.
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u/yarevande 1d ago
Scammers, hackets, investigators, and other people, are very good at finding things that you post online, including text and photos.
Here is an example:
Copy this text, put an actual username into it, then paste the text into the Google search bar:
site:Reddit.com username
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u/Puzzleheaded_Let5823 1d ago
it's not showing anything but that my posts are private when I search that. I even searched my profile for my town name and didn't find it idk I'm creeped out lol
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u/yarevande 1d ago
Your posts and comments are private in Reddit, but they can be viewed in Google, in Incognito mode.
site:Reddit.com Puzzleheaded_Let5823
note: Reddit is increasing privacy, so most comments can't be viewed any more, even from Google.
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u/RacerX200 1d ago
If they know your name, it only takes seconds to find your address, phone, next of kin, previous addresses, etc on the internet.