Identity Theft

The Helper

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Identity Theft

So I was on the Blizzard Tech Support Forums kicking Ass and taking names answering all the questions I could and validly contributing to the community. I was just as good as any other official tech support person and I worked 24 hours, or it seemed like it :). I did not even notice at first that there was a 2 POST LIMIT. Everyone else was limited to 2 posts but due to my circumstances I was just checking the forums during breaks in my work day so I would disconnect from my old style modem every time the break was over. Since I had my Netscape Browser Cache set to Read Only to Hide my tracks :) I was able to break the 2 post limit as long as I logged off my modem connection and logged back on to get the new Dynamic IP. The unwriteable cookies and the dynamic IP fooled the Blizzard forums 2 post check and this became a key thing in the MVP goal.

However, those cookies and IP checks were not helping protect identity theft. The government did not care and Blizzard could not do anything about it. Along comes a troll that was pissed I did not help him. I was helping thousands and some better than other. I used to link to my website in every post and had no idea I had a JavaScript that had Cartman from South Park yelling at them the whole time if they had sound.

Anyway, I was targetted and someone the equivelant of Anonymous today stole my identity. Since we did not have accounts on the old School Blizzard forums he just used my name. Started giving good advice mixed with bad. This guy was smart and knew Windows 95 so he could help. He did but put out stuff bad with my name on it.

I quite the forums because of this. But not really. I made a big old quit post because of the imposter on the Blizzard forums and just laid low and waited for him to get tired. He impersonated me for a couple days purposely then got burned out. I waited a few days and went in and took up where I left off. He came back and admitted he could not replace me and he would go his separate way. He did call me chickenshit for not taking the battle farther into the forums but that is where I learned early not to Feed the Trolls. Also, it was the birth of the MVP icon - because I never wanted to be impersonated again and the Blizzard forums at the time had no way of logging in. They tracked you by cookies.
 

iPeez

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those must have been strange times for a n00b like me. I just recently learned what cookies are and how they work!
 

The Helper

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The Blizzard forums at the time did not have user accounts. You just posted whatever username you wanted and put in your message. They Blizzard forum software logged your IP address and set a cookie. It then limited you to two posts every two hours I believe.

For people like me, with a dial up modem and a cookies file that was set to read only, alls I had to was reconnect to my ISP and restart my browser and I could break that limit easily. As a matter of fact, it was quite some time before I even knew there was a limit :)
 

iPeez

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The Blizzard forums at the time did not have user accounts. You just posted whatever username you wanted and put in your message. They Blizzard forum software logged your IP address and set a cookie. It then limited you to two posts every two hours I believe.

For people like me, with a dial up modem and a cookies file that was set to read only, alls I had to was reconnect to my ISP and restart my browser and I could break that limit easily. As a matter of fact, it was quite some time before I even knew there was a limit :)

Hahah. ummh so like. you broke the limit, Blizzard noticed? Just let it pass (not like it is a big crime) because of you being a great helper? :)
 

Slapshot136

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even if it was by IP address, they could probably tell which ones were you and which ones weren't by doing a geographical lockup.. chances are that you and your impersonator are in a different state
 

DM Cross

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That depends on how clever the impersonator was, honestly. I can spoof the guy next to me with the right tools. Better yet, I can move 10 states over and still spoof who was next to me when I was where I am.
 

The Helper

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He was only trying to impersonate me during the times that I was active, and that was on Blizzard's off hours. There was simply nobody around to do anything about it and also, there was no rule about what name you could use. There was no limit on it, you could put whatever you wanted in the name and they did not care.

Honestly, I think the only one that was worried about the guy using my name was me.
 

The Helper

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Really no wonder. But why he did such thing?


He was trolling me. This was back in the day when that was still possible. He trolled me good too. So much that I actually quit the Blizzard forums for a few days.
 
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