The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

I have noticed that a lot of profiles have peoples full names on them. I have seen some people share phone numbers in the vamp box. I searched the vr manual and I did not find anything covering this. so I thought it might be a good idea to discuss personal safety on VR. Putting your full name where anyone can see it on a web site can be very dangerous as it can easily be traced on the web and someone cane use it to steal your identity or worse do you physical harm. The same thing is true of putting your phone number in plain view it is very easy to do a reverse look up to get your address. I would like to see others talk about unsafe practices that they notice on here especially since there are a lot of young people that may not realise the danger.

Most people enter directories like Myspace, Hi5, Orkut, etc... at their own risk. Some profiles even show school, anual income, address and phone number, etc...

I havent seen any disclaimer regarding this but well... in my own personal opinion there should be one.

.......and the name of the school attended in some cases.

Some people just don't have any common sense about things like that.

That always makes me shake my head and say: What were they thinking?! They put up a picture that is them, say they are 15 and give the name of there school. It makes me what to call that school and inform the staff they need to give classes in Computer Online safety 101. But I live in Sweden and that would be one large phone bill for me. I think best idea is when seeing one like I stated is perhaps message them and offer some advise. Other then that, not much you can do to police the internet. Just my .2.

The risk is not soo bad with me being in the U.K & not the states but even so i've put my first name and country in my pro and that's it, a few close friends know my full name and my facebook page but that's it.

You've just gotta use your common sense & don't be stupid or ur gonna be burned.

better to be safe then sorry. See I have location is south of hell and that is all you frind out unless you are in the coven I am in or one of the people i am always talking to here on vr. I dont even feel safe with my pics. but what can they do with picks. chock the chicken with them. as long as i dont find out they can kill them sleves doing it.

glad you brought it up wolvie. some ppl just don't see that the net can be a dangerous place. also there alot alot of kids on here. im saying kids bc i'm sure there are a few ppl lying about there age. and there are 12 and 13 year olds. wchich are kids. who will give out thre number gladly to any one who asks.
It's a good topic :)

Its not safe.
even if you think you know the person u really don't.
I mean im not saying that everyone can't be trusted.
but most of the time there are signs that ppl should be able to read

All good points. But people need to remember that what is posted here, is here for anyone to read. We saw that a couple months ago when an online journal cut and pasted snips of postings to humiliate and mock people on VR. Most people on VR share things with others that they would never dream of sharing with co-workers, friends, or family. These things, in the wrong hands, could devastate lives..... I know I have been there. I have found it is best to be as annonymous as possible...... less chance of being hurt.

I think it all depends on how old you are. I would also hope that parents would monitor their children but I'm also aware that it isn't going to happen all the time that's why some children are able to meet 30 year old men from the internet.

I never give out any personal information on sites such as this. I haven't even got my email addy on my profile.

You can't be too careful...the internet is a wonderful invention, yet at the same time so open to abuse, which is a shame

I found this one hard to comprehend.. but I saw a SChool name..place of work AND street address from a 17 year old girl on here.... I HAD to message her and tell her to screen her identity..
It was basically saying " Come get me"

EVERYONE.. THINK before you PRINT!

Got me very worried...

I agree Minx....

Too many people on here, especially the younger ones are too willing and eager to give out personal info.

I am so glad someone brought this up FINALLY! I'm terrified of these people giving out too much info and getting hurt. I know my friends sister gave some guy her phone number and a few days later there was an older guy lurking around outside their house. She hadn't told the guy how big her dad was or how protective. He went out to talk to the guy, who was obviously not the young h.s. boy he had claimed to be, and the guy refused to leave until he talked to the girl. Of course her dad refused and called the cops. Scary. The guy was totally unstable.

I would never share my real name with any one that I didn't trust and I have only given my cell phone number to one person. Most of my friends on here know my first name, but that is about it, lol, it isn't that I don't trust them it is just that I think it is safer that people not know your real name and if you don want a friend to know your real name then only give them your first name. As for cell phone number, I would never give my home phone number out on the web, I suppose that giving out your cell number is just as dangerous, but I trusted the person and I care about that person alot, I am sure that person would never do any thing to harm me. But I would never share my name or my phone numbers with any one that I didn't know/trust.

We all should remember, this is a public site and users are not screened before joining. So, actually putting your personal information on this site is at your own risk. It is not recommended.

I gotta agree with Xtremehate......any site or chatroom is open to abuse unfortunately.

Is there someone who monitor's this on VR to protect the younger kids? u know like an administrator

I agree with most of the posts here.

Xtreme...It's even worse than VR not doing screening. Profiles are viewable by anyone with an internet browser, you do not need to be a member.

Almost weekly I come across profiles with "too much information", mostly from the younger crowd (Which for me is almost everyone else on the Rave...lol), but also from people who should know better. When I see this I always message the person and point out the potential dangers of posting that type of information. For the most part, i get a thankful response, only once was I told to "F - Off".

People, PLEASE protect your personal information. There are WAY too many creeps in the world. It seems each week another case of abuse where the initial contact was made on the internet is in the news.

One last note - I do not think it is any way the responsibility of VR to police this in any way. It is up to the individual and in the case of minors, their parents to make sure they condunct themselves in a safe manner while on-line in ANY forum.

Exactly KCRC....

That's why parental controls are available now. It's up to the parents to set these up so their kids cannot access certain sites.

And I'm sorry to harp on about this....but I still maintain that VR should at least be an over 16 site. I've seen too many profiles now where they are as young as 13 and giving out personal information such as phone numbers etc.

These kids should use sites such as Vampirefreaks, which is aimed more for the 'teen' market

KCRC has an excellent post. People really need to be on the defense more.

As a parent it worries me I can tell you. My youngest is only just using the PC and I have limited his access to the sites I want him to access, thing is his older brother does not understand why and keeps giving him access to other stuff! (moron).

It must however be stressed that while "bad things happen" they don't happen to everyone and a little commen sense goes a VERY long way.

As in everything it is upto the individual to protect themselves, it is not, and should not be the role of the state or the websites designer to build such protection in.

First, This site is not appropriate for 15 year olds. (My opinion, and I have one at home) Online pedophelia is running rampant WORLD WIDE. Yes, parental controls blablabla, but the issue is common sense. Survival of the fittest I suppose, not smart enough to protect yourself, pay the consquences.
I don't think this is the responsiblity of VR.

I think lots of people want to be wanted enough to be stalked. they simply enjoy the victim role

in regards to what the girl from sweden said farther up ...i too live in sweden but im from the usa and it just so happens that while on myspace i saw a girl who not only said she was 35 and she was 13 but also listed her full name address and phone # on her profile along with the school that she went to ...now i did know her mother as she is a cousin of mine i called her and the school and my old computer course teacher and im happy to say that in my home town in texas they have now put in place a online safety class for both parents and children

i think everyone should take safety into consideration when posting information be it on their profile or other ways,there are always those who want information in negative aspects such as phishing your account etc..

My friend recommended that I not display my e-mail address on here. I don't know why, but I removed it all the same.

i agree
i think people should take better safety for them selfs, no there are a lot of good people on here, but with the good there is the bad, it would be a shame if soem dumb person gave information on here and was hurt , no what i mean?

I don't know if this has already been addressed, but I'm going to regardless...

TwistedWhispers stated:
The risk is not soo bad with me being in the U.K & not the states

I ask:
Are you claiming there are absolutely NO pedophiles, kidnappers, rapists, or murderers in the UK? The risk for you is JUST as high as it is for someone in the US - or for anyone in any other country, for that matter. Why would you say something like that?

While I doubt the above is what you meant, this is what it comes off as, so I wanted to address it.

Although this is true... the REAL world is scarier. People can see where you work and actually follow you home. The face to face world has far more risks in my opinion. Even being a female in the Marines Corps was scarier than the internet- a female surrounded by men, many who were far from upstanding citizens. And I had to live in the same building with them- I won't get into how many incidents there were.

Take precautions anywhere. Here, I don't give away any more info than I do on the other side of my monitor. I am just as safe. I've been trained to kill with my bare hands so all is groovy :P

People know this stuff, guys. It is all over the news and Sat cartoon about online safety. People are attention whores who place this stuff online and just want someone to talk to them...IMO

I was a internet hacker for sometime, I also am trained in private investigations and I will tell you this, anyone can get a PI Program and with just a lil' information they can see your addresses for the past 10 years, your current address, you credit history, criminal background, all kinds of goodies and thats why I conceal my identity so well until I have know a person for a while. with a persons personal information a determoned hacker can access your online accounts and like wolvie said a smart person out to do harm to another can just set and watch and gather the information he needs until the time is right. Good thread wolvie.

wraith

Of course that`s true, this personal info should not be given to the 'public' (only to the friends you`ve accepted and trust-at least). but if someone is childish enough to share the info i dunno if this can be stopped. there should be a warning on this (on registration or something).

A very interesting thread..I agree with a lot of people above....I have seen a lot of kids giving out unnecessary information about themselves.....

It's kind of scary how much information people are willing to give out about themselves online. Browsing through profiles on here, for example, I've seen some pages with at least three other ways to contact the person in question, MySpace pages being a popular addition. Which is fine and dandy.....unless someone with psychotic motivations and computer skill decides to do some sort of 'triangulation' using the varied info sources. I myself feel that less ways to contact me is better. Now, if I got to know someone, groovy, I'd give more info, but on a profile anyone can read? No, no, and no.

I worry about my little sister all the time. As she has a lot of information about herself and pictures which can all lead to her possibly getting hurt.

As you probably notice most of these people who have all this personal information are kids under the age of 18 who don't really know better although they should...

Parents don't really worry about things like internet and schools don't teach you anything about online safety.

Ya a lot of people dont relize what they are doing...they dont really relize the seriousness of the situation they are putting themselves in...either that or they just dont care they want attention and such. I think its ridiculus that people blame the sites and not the kids...they look at the kids as a victium.....as i saw earier sumone said ppl enter at there own risk its not the people who made the sites deal...its the persons...and lack of brain thinking....people have been warned several times so what they choose to do after the warnings or common sense is there deal

Which is why I, personally, agree with parents monitoring what their kids do online. There are tons of predators out there. In the breakroom at work, a co-worker was telling us about this Dateline NBC special, about these people that tried to meet up with kids online. And the ease that these people got information was frightening. Personally, if I ever have children, I'm going to make it crystal clear they aren't to post ANYTHING online without clearing it by either me or thier mother first. It's a shame you have to do that, but even more of a shame that there are monsters out there that would mess up a kid's life.

iv also noticed not just kids, but adults who do it as well, thats what i dont get

It's more than likely the attention factor. Also, I think that a lot of people have the 'it can't happen to me mentality'.

I think a VR safety manula would be a good diea, but it si not a perfect sheild agaisnt stupidity, using your head and brain is , also one thing is that some write things they dont really want, or that are lies, to get attention, I am talking here about fake teenagers that are in real adult seeking perverted taughs.

It si a quesiton of common sens, at 13 you are intellegent enougjht to use it, the thing it do you?

Every parent should be wiser...you are right they should be supervised and after all the TV shows they watch you'd think they would learn better...You see things like predators and girls being abducted and some link to internet you think they would get the hint...it isn't the website they are old enough to know better though it would be best to teach them at a young age about it.

I am definetly supervising my daughter.

I agree, with the mixed up society that has been happining that people should protect themselves or their children from the harm out their, and as adults with the idenity thefts reported we should take the same stance

By the time most of these kids are old enough to be on this site they should have been told about the creepy people out there and should be well aware of what could happen to them. For them to come to a site and post their info like it is nothing to them, should prove that they just don't care enough about their well being. If you are 15-16 years old, you are most likely in high school and have been told numerous times to be careful about these things. Unless they are completely stupid and have no common sense whatsoever, then we shouldn't have to worry about monitoring these people. Yes some of the 13-14 year olds are different, and they are most likely being watched over by parents. The other ones are just being stupid.

it's not as bad as myspace..*rolls eyes*

Myspace has been labled this bad site for carelessness...but they ARE NOT to blame..myspace everytime u do anything it says warning myspace is viewd by thousands of users a day, dont post personal info that u wouldnt want others to see..period right there it warns ppl...and parents who complain about it really need to look at the site better because then they will relize its there kids who need to be carefull and the parents need to make sure they r monitoring ther kids on there...im not saying that the kids bring it on to themselves 100% of the time because sum have bad judgement and they see sumones picture and think well they look young where it could really b an 80 year old guy or sumthing.....there just arnt carefull enough..and i think if ppl are not mature enough to understand or handle that then they need to get off the internet until they can because one day sumthing is gunna seriously bad happen even tho things already have and sumone is gunna sites like Myspace and such band from the internet..and watch sumone is gunna pull it off. I dont really like myspace but only to keep in touch with my friends and family i cant see or talk to a lot.

yeah it seems people are intellent enough these days to protect themselves..

This is why I won't let my kids anywhere near the internet...children these days have no sense of self preservation. The town next to us has had 3 teenage girls raped and beaten due to online love. I can't and won't take a risk with my kids..so if you know more about me than my screen name..you have made a very small and very trusted group.

i have seen a lot of stupidity online too. youngsters who give away their address and school and such, and think they are safe because "my dad would kill anyone who laid a hand on me". as if their parents would know who to blame when their kid daughter suddenly disappears one night.

and the UK is just as dangerous as any other country.

and kidnapping, slavery, rape and murder are only the tip of the iceberg. give away too many personal details and a good hacker can steal your identity, drain your bank account, and commit a series of crimes in your name.

maybe we should create a VR safety handbook - that is a very good idea.

A VR SAFETY HANDBOOK IS A GREAT IDEA!!!! Keep our kids safe.

common sense in short ration it seems

well I feel that anyone who uses a computer is at risk for anything. I say this because someone actuall tapped/hacked into my daughters computer and stole her Identity .... So it can happen anywhere all I can say is people need to be smart on the internet period... and hopefully they will not fall victim to anyone or anything.

I guess it's true....some people actually do think bad things will never happen to them.

I don't even display my email anymore bc a good hacker can trace it to the original server.

A hacker needs a bit of info to be able ot steal your id, like your real name, an email tha ti slink to your eal name, not one you use like hotmail or yahoo, but one to a business or a school site, a phone number, then only these and you are screwed so unless you put your phone number and complet name on your pro, or say it in the vmapbox, that is publci, you can read the history and not be logg in, so unless you do that hackers are having a hard time, unless they speak to oyu for a little.

well my uncle works for the government and anyone who has a certain device can hack into your firewall and take everything, I say this from first hand experience with my daughter, she has to carry a paper wither at all times so that she can prove she is actually herself to an jobs, any lawinforcements etc... she found out that it happen when she went to get a job at the hospital and all this info came up on her that was actually NOT Her... it is easier then people think I am sorry not being rude yet , it can happen if they Know what they are doing believe me .
Yet it is better to not give up any info on yourself so that is harder for it to happen, yet it can. I have learned not to underestimate the power of thecnology LOL!

i think it's very important what is mentioned here... most people out there, people we don't know, can use the information we give ... and we don't know how...
now, it's true that we have to use common sense, but that can be for us, who are not so young... i mean from 20's and up... but here there are a lot of girls and boys that maybe see no harm in sharing information with others, that's because they don't imagine that something bad can happen, but they don't deserve being called idiots... you know? all of us were that young one day and we also shared a lot of information with others, the thing is that now the other person is hidden behind a computer... and if that person is a pervert (as i met one here) nobody can know...
but thanks for this thread... this could be something we could share too in our covens...
thanks :)

I see giving all the information about ones self as well being very foolish. I am an extremely private person. I wont even put personal pictures of friends and family on my profile or my portfolio unless I am told I can. So the only person pic I have on my profile is my hubby Jack nothing else is truly of a personal nature I wont tell you my total life story much less give my number unless I know you already. Only very few here have my home number and it will stay that way until the end of time.

Mikhail

my thought is this having full names and phone numbers and even anything like addresses should if any caught with these on profile be suspended till it is removed

this isnt vampirefreaks where its a game
its ment to for the main part be taken seriously and for leasure
on top of that mature youths I think should be allowed here because look at us at their age and how we would have changed if given a place like this to grow in knowledge

This is ridiculous, everyone is responisble for their own behaviour. In retrospect, however, disclaimers do not protect any business but are only put their for the silly people who believe it.

we have a safety page on our coven , and it can be viewed public, I can put the link as everytime I do I screw up so if a dominar can help, I would be very greatfull thank you.

Here

If teh parents do not warn their children then i think when going on a site like this or myspace or aol, there should be a warning or disclaimer, (whatever its called) just so the kids do know it. then if they still do it, then its their problem. it is also common sense, but some pple dont have that.

you all already know my point of view on this topic, just look to my profile for proof.

Its not just the parents, I am a parent and sometimes the kids prefer to verify things on their own, so a guide like in my coven, for the link check the previous post, is a good idea, that way they can chekc but dont feel like someone is over their shoulder and trying to make them blow their noise in a kleenex like a 2 year old.

Scar.. I'd read the safety Manual if you wroe it! LMAO

Some people have to learn the hard way. I'm very guarded.

Anyone who does anything on the internet that involves the uploading any personal information should be cyber-wise (vs street-wise) enough to know how to protect themselves to some degree. If not they could get themselves or someone else into a world of trouble in more ways than one! With all the stories we hear about cyber stalkers, indentity theft, etc; you would think that people would be forewarned.

Scarlette I started a smaller version of the Safety manual, as a safety page online and vr safety, in my coven...the link is a couple of post above yours lol

i think people should be reminded that any1 can see what they post int here profile and or the vamp box, and should consider who's all out there waiting to prey on little kids and whatnot.

Immage I wanna do that!! I wanna catch baddies like that!! I can play innocent, I swear,...I would love to catch them and teahc them a lesson on twenty on not approch a teen or any underage ever for ever! With worst then cuffs with a chock and some stick that ...sorry got out fo hand but I hate that kind of ppl...wish I could teach them big time...permemently

I have seen this way too often and i even saw a person leave a phone number on a comment on another site on someones page for the world to see and she is only 14...this is crazy and scary at the same time. Even something a person thinks means nothing sometimes can be a way to track them down so I try to always be careful with what I say to certain people.

I think this is a great topic of discussion as I, for one, have seen too many young people give out their personal information to just anyone.

Too many people think "Oh, it'll never happen to me." These people just don't realize how many crazy idiots are out there that WILL come hunt you down or steal your identity for various reasons.

It's too easy these days to get someone's information off the internet. Most of the time all you need is a name and a birthdate to do it.

I agree with redone...It should be put on the VR Manual of this matter.

i also agree there are 2 many freaks that stalk kids. there was a case in the newspaper where i live just today. of a guy from kansas got picked up in my city for trying 2 meet a minor.

It's guys like that that give the rest of us a bad rep!

yeah I agree their should be a monitor like an administrator especially to help protect the younger ones on here

I agree with almost all of these responses... people need to be careful online, it should be common sence.

My personal opinion is never share any personal information ever to anyone you dont know because reguardless alot of people on here are wondeful you just dont know who they really are and that can be scary

I am 16 and been online since I was 10, and no way am I sharing my personal info to a nyone, or with anyone I dont already know in real life or my mom knows and agree.

I agree with the VR manula having some info and tips but I dont think and admiinistrator is needed, plus it wont probably make any difference. So its a waist of time, energy and ressousrces, but putting in the VR manual tips and info and advice yes I agree totally and it would help.

I see too many of the 13-14 year olds trusting older poeple with their AIM names or Yahoo names which also can be used to achieve their personal information. I can understand if someone has known them for a long time, but its not right for the new ones just wanting to meet others and then end up not getting whom they expected.

My opinion is that if you dont know them then dont do stupid shit like that!

I just don't understand why people give out that kind of information freely. My own sister has a tendency of throwing out her phone number through the internet, and it worries me. Where is the common sense?

wow! such a response, I've seen adults on here that have there kids on here as well, but I'm sure they have sense enough to prevent personal info on the profiles, which I'm sure is a good thing. Although I feel this site should be for adults, and make a vr jr for the younger crowd with limitations set up for helping to protect them. Seems adults should help the younger ones, no matter if they are your own or not...

maybe we could start a volunteer community watch group and whenever we see something unsafe we bring it to the persons attention. granted we can't make them change it but maybe they might take the friendly advice. it would be good if young people that are aware of the danger helped in this as people tend to listen more to thier peers. I can tell just by the sugestive pics on some of the younger members pages that thier parents don't know what they are doing online. some teenagers may be somewhat aware of the danger but figure it won't happen to me and a lot of teenagers tend to feel like they are young and will live forever. a friend of mine lives in kansas city and not all that long ago out there they found an adult woman in her 30's dead after she met a guy from the internet. three women later they caught him he was a serial killer using the internet to meet his victims. They caught him because he was using thier credit cards after they were dead. there have even been men that have fallen victim although it is not nearly as common, but it can happen. as images pointed out real life can be just as scary I'm a truckdriver and a couple years ago they put out an alert about 2 different women that were hitching rides with truckers and shooting them in the back of the head after they went to sleep. it doesn't matter how tough you are the right weapon at the right time can tilt the odd in a bad way fast. I never did hear if they caught those women by the way and they were working independent of each other. my intention isn't to try to scare people but just to let them know they need to be on thier guard at all times.

Another thing alot of people do is post pics of themselves. Sometimes at their school/work where people can find you everyday.

I agree with this fully!
Especially with so many online predators. Sad, really.
But the web comes with a price, you cant post anything/everything.

Might be hypocritical since I have my email on my page, but that is only to further my own work.
But my email is fully protected, I have Anti-virus and Spywear there up the...well you know.

This was a great idea as a forum, people need to get their heads out of the clouds and get a little more noticed to these things.

I saw a 14 year old girls full name and where she lived on a profile...parents need to be very aware of all the sicko's on line!

sometimes parents get bitch at for trying to prevent that, they get yelled and even some get hurt because their teenagers want to act as fi they know everything, no offence here, but lets be realistic, dont put the blam all on the parents, some try but they are blocked by their children, adn today try to stop a 13 year old ....you kind fo cant unless the child already is aware and realise its for their good and stop acting like they are all mighty in knowledge but actually listen.

Thats why an online vr saftey online manual would be nice.

Got one in the Coven.

Many kids already have been horded about the dangers of the internet...but do they listen these days? I used to have a lot of pics of my daughter on myspace, but i set them to be private and only my friends could view them. And I knew all of my friends and knew pretty much all but 2 in real life.
I don't know what people can do to make things safer for themselves or their children online. Most kids like to break rules and perverts and theives always have something up their sleeves to bypass things. Even if you take every precaution there still is a way they can get you. Appalling really, but what more can you do?

I am amazed with the safetly concern of each others safetly. I would of never believed it. I strongly agree with everyone. We must be able to protect everyone from getting unnesasary harm.

I had brought this up in my Rave House, and family had said virtually the same thing, I am quite surprised at how many of us actually care and respond with opinions on the matter. It makes me feel safe in the house. Now if I felt safer within the Rave itself, then there would be nothing to worry about. It is not a fear for myself mind you, it is more like a worry. Even though I am 30 years old, I too have worries. But hey, I am no paranoid individual mind you.

Our internet safety online and safety VR page is alreay up and running since yesterday, if anyone think we should add more let us know, also if anyone wishes to have a copy of it we will be glad to elt you use it in your own coven or house, with a smile and a hand shale.



VR safety / Online Safety

I simply reposted the link as it weas way up in the thread lol

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