5 Questions

[wvjules]

1. What is your mother's maiden name
2. What street did you grow up on
3. Your DOB
4. First pet's name
5. Name of elementary school


Just kidding. DON'T DO THAT. And don't answer those security type questions from an anonymous person on the internet!

 

[LuvOrlando]

I tend to lie on the security questions, like, why would I tell anyone or anything?

 

[Dan Murphy]

1. What is your mother's maiden name
2. What street did you grow up on
3. Your DOB
4. First pet's name
5. Name of elementary school


Just kidding. DON'T DO THAT. And don't answer those security type questions from an anonymous person on the internet!

Is it okay to answer similar questions on the dis community board? We're are not all anonymous here, are we? That's maybe a different spin on it.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

1. What is your mother's maiden name: What makes you think I had a mother?
2. What street did you grow up on: I didn't grow up on a street. I grew up in a house.
3. Your DOB: My Department of Buildings? I don't think I have one.
4. First pet's name: How would I know? I wasn't alive whenever the first pet was named.
5. Name of elementary school: Walt Disney Elementary. I never attended one, but there are several around the country.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is it okay to answer similar questions on the dis community board?

Not in my opinion. Some people spend their time compiling information on people for nefarious reasons.

 

[Genie+]

I always pick the weird things for security questions. Like if Great Grandma had 3 middle names she’s getting used for the Grandma’s middle name question. And my first car? Goodluck with anybody figuring that one out lol.

 

[Sacahara]

4. First pet's name: How would I know? I wasn't alive whenever the first pet was named.

That's so clever! I didn't even read the question like that, my brain immediately supplied 'your' in front.

 

[Imzadi]

And my first car? Goodluck with anybody figuring that one out lol.

OMG, my uncle was a used car salesman. So we got used cars the way some people buy new fashions every season. They were clunkers and broke down by the end of a season, so we'd need a new one as car parts wore out. And we are talking this is over a couple decades.

Well, one time I was on the phone getting a store credit card and the customer service rep for the card company asked me which car did I have? He listed about 4 different cars. Well, pretty much ALL of them sounded like a car I could have had. And I'm a FEMALE. Like I'm supposed to remember the YEAR of a car I had?

 

[Imzadi]

Don't forget the question: When did you open your bank account?

I don't remember. I'm an American with first world problems. The day I open any particular bank account isn't as monumental for me as it would be for a third world person finally having enough money to open their first ever account, and who'd have that date seared into their memory.

 

[Genie+]

OMG, my uncle was a used car salesman. So we got used cars the way some people buy new fashions every season. They were clunkers and broke down by the end of a season, so we'd need a new one as car parts wore out. And we are talking this is over a couple decades.

Well, one time I was on the phone getting a store credit card and the customer service rep for the card company asked me which car did I have? He listed about 4 different cars. Well, pretty much ALL of them sounded like a car I could have had. And I'm a FEMALE. Like I'm supposed to remember the YEAR of a car I had?

In the 1980s it seemed half of new drivers had an Olds Cutlass at some point

 

[princesscinderella]

I always pick the weird things for security questions. Like if Great Grandma had 3 middle names she’s getting used for the Grandma’s middle name question. And my first car? Goodluck with anybody figuring that one out lol.

I just know it was a Delorean

 

[Living42Day]

I love these!

Christensen
Zuma Mesa Dr
02/29/1992
Munchkins
Malibu Elementary

 

[tvguy]

I attended an FBI seminar last month on protecting yourself online.
While discouraging people from posting the answers to those questions, they made it clear not to be fooled into thinking you have ANY privacy in regards to your personal information. For most of us, ALL that information is probably out there somewhere and someone willing to spent the time......or having software capable of harvesting it.....can find it.
My issue with security questions recently has been the questions do not apply to me. Or the protocols are just plain strange. Like opening a Social Security Account online. Their password protocol requires you include a symbol, yet they exclude half the symbols on a computer keyboard. Seems counter productive to me.

Here are two good resources from the FBI on protecting yourself.

fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/
IC3.GOV

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Like @tvguy says, nothing is completely safe. I just make stuff up for security questions anyway. I have it all written down in a notebook in case something happens to me, though.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Not in my opinion. Some people spend their time compiling information on people for nefarious reasons.

I suppose I should have added the (winking) smilie to my post. I do have the heavy duty questioners who ask many personal questions on ignore, so not exposed to those for quite some time.

And yes, I agree with you fully.

 

[leebee]

I don't answer these but I am under no illusions: Someone with terrific tech skills could get the answers to these kinds of questions in about 27 seconds. Even if you think you are being "safe" it's really not possible. We are all too much "out there' and everything is too interlinked to think there is even a modicum of privacy available if you do any of your business, social interactions, etc., online.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Like @tvguy says, nothing is completely safe. I just make stuff up for security questions anyway. I have it all written down in a notebook in case something happens to me, though.

Very true. All we can do is freeze our credit to prevent someone opening new accounts in our name, keep an eye out for large breaches, and use two factor authentication on every account you have. If you have any older family members, make sure you do all of this for them too.

 

[Babs Johnson]

I tend to lie on the security questions, like, why would I tell anyone or anything?

In the early days of the internet, I used to make up answers to the security questions. I’d write them down on scraps of paper but would often lose or misplace them. Then I couldn’t remember even with the hints they gave me.

So I answer honestly now.

 

[LuvOrlando]

In the early days of the internet, I used to make up answers to the security questions. I’d write them down on scraps of paper but would often lose or misplace them. Then I couldn’t remember even with the hints they gave me.

So I answer honestly now.

I have standard fakes, like the fake phone number and fake DOB I gave out in the 80s & what is now a junk drawer email account for unwanted email contacts - GenX, we all got this we were trained early.

I have filled out name and address stuff with fake info or misspellings when I am pestered for a long time, it has been amusing to see just how far and wide misinformation can spread and how many years it can persist. I filled out a form over a decade ago with a singular particular wrongness and still see it popping up in email and mail.

 

[wvjules]

Y'all are missing the point. If someone on an anonymous message board asks you these questions, don't answer.