Social Media and misuse (Pt. II)

[CharlieB]

There was a thread with this title in P & CA that I posted in last June. I was going to add to the debate with some newer information, but that thread is closed now.
Anyway, just wanting to add to this, bear with me - this is a long story, but I've a valid question at the end.
After a Facebook page was created (not by me) in my real name about 7 years ago and was in a great deal of likelihood linked to my identity theft at the time, I have always avoided FB.

I do fully understand the value of FB as a marketing and fundraising tool, particularly in the Charity world to which I belong.
One of the Charities I work for in a voluntary role has started to buy advertising on FB, and as Finance head of that Charity, I need to receive billing information from them.
Thus it was with great reluctance that I had to create a page about two months ago.
This I did using a completely false name and DoB, and with the official contact email address I have at the Charity.
I also resolved never to connect to FB using any device I owned, rather I would only ever use shared machines at the Charity's premises that have a generic User ID and password, when I needed to access.
My aim by doing this and using a false ID to create the page was that no connection could be made to the real me by IP address or email.
Lo and behold - after four weeks, whatever algorithms exist in the back end of FB discovered my true identity.
This I know because suddenly adverts that are targeted marketing I see in my personal email inbox on a daily basis, e.g. cycling and music sites etc. started to appear on my false ID's FB page.
Additionally, and more tellingly, emails from FB relating to the false me are now starting to appear in my personal email inbox from time to time.
Just out of interest, now for the first time I have a login, I had a look at the page created in my real name all those years ago to see what was there. Golly gosh, it's updated my employer name for me. How kind.
This is data harvesting on a grand scale, and I am quite angry and distressed that this can happen.

So my question is - how will the advent of GDPR in May affect this data harvesting? Will it stop?

 

[classic33]

Doubt it'll stop anyone opening an "account" in your name. They can't be bothered with minor details like that.

Out of interest, how did you log onto the fake account?

 

[Tangoup51]

Your frustrations are heard and are not uncommon. Many people suffer with people abusing sensitive information online, Much worse than marketed advertising.
I am hyper-aware and very sensitive about my online data, as such despite being 20 I have never and will never use my last name online nor will I partake in social-media themed websites, such as Facebook. Even my Amazon packages arrive with a false last name.

The way Facebook and other websites collect your data is not unknown or undocumented, after all such 'algorithms' have been used in countless other programs for considerably more Sinister reasons.

From what you've described above, you've taken great care to ensure that you've used created an email address that has no relation to your real email address.

you've taken great care to ensure you have never accessed your sensitive (real) email with the same IP / Mac (device) address as the you have ever used to access the fake one,

But did you take great care to ensure you did NOT create your new 'fake' Facebook account with one of your IP / Mac (device) Addresses that you have used or use to access your Real Email or any Prior Facebook accounts?

- Also as to your question, I would say it will be mixed. - Such information gathering methods and marketing tactics can not be killed at the source, since they are bred out of ways that are inherently 'underground' but you can stop websites like facebook from enabling them to be used in certain ways.
But not everyone.

 

[CharlieB]

Out of interest, how did you log onto the fake account?

I created the fake account. I thought I said that.

But did you take great care to ensure you did NOT create your new 'fake' Facebook account with one of your IP / Mac (device) Addresses that you have used or use to access your Real Email or any Prior Facebook accounts?

Absolutely. Used one of the shared PCs at the workplace with generic ID and pw. In any case, I never had access to the old account with my real name on it.

 

[classic33]

There was a thread with this title in P & CA that I posted in last June. I was going to add to the debate with some newer information, but that thread is closed now.
Anyway, just wanting to add to this, bear with me - this is a long story, but I've a valid question at the end.
After a Facebook page was created (not by me) in my real name about 7 years ago and was in a great deal of likelihood linked to my identity theft at the time, I have always avoided FB.

I do fully understand the value of FB as a marketing and fundraising tool, particularly in the Charity world to which I belong.
One of the Charities I work for in a voluntary role has started to buy advertising on FB, and as Finance head of that Charity, I need to receive billing information from them.
Thus it was with great reluctance that I had to create a page about two months ago.
This I did using a completely false name and DoB, and with the official contact email address I have at the Charity.
I also resolved never to connect to FB using any device I owned, rather I would only ever use shared machines at the Charity's premises that have a generic User ID and password, when I needed to access.
My aim by doing this and using a false ID to create the page was that no connection could be made to the real me by IP address or email.
Lo and behold - after four weeks, whatever algorithms exist in the back end of FB discovered my true identity.
This I know because suddenly adverts that are targeted marketing I see in my personal email inbox on a daily basis, e.g. cycling and music sites etc. started to appear on my false ID's FB page.
Additionally, and more tellingly, emails from FB relating to the false me are now starting to appear in my personal email inbox from time to time.
Just out of interest, now for the first time I have a login, I had a look at the page created in my real name all those years ago to see what was there. Golly gosh, it's updated my employer name for me. How kind.
This is data harvesting on a grand scale, and I am quite angry and distressed that this can happen.

So my question is - how will the advent of GDPR in May affect this data harvesting? Will it stop?

The one in bold, created by someone else.

 

[CharlieB]

The one in bold, created by someone else.

Ah. My apologies.
I didn't log into it - I never had a log in. I just had a look by searching my name.

 

[classic33]

Ah. My apologies.
I didn't log into it - I never had a log in. I just had a look by searching my name.

I've one, I believe I know who created it, but can't prove it. They did have access to all the relevant information. But didn't use my e-mail address.

 

[mjr]

GDPR won't stop it unless there's a few high profile fines that stick and I can't see ICO looking for test cases.