Is this threat real?

[frogtooth]

Yesterday evening I received this IM on Facebook:

"Hey buddy , I have a friend searching for your IP address and any other fake profiles you have


I will make sure to post it on WKBN


Troll"


WKBN refers to a news site where I was involved in a discussion. My own Facebook account is pretty anonymous with no personal info on it so its unlikely they could find me except we do have other family Facebook accounts at our home using the same IP that do include personal info. Is there anyway that they could find these other accounts using my IP? Thank you.


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[Spud1200]

I guess its possible to be honest. If they are specifically wanting to target you then blackmail mite be an option for them but to protect your self, you need a VPN.

Look at PIA or TORGuard.net

 

[Spud1200]

Also something I do not understand is, if they do have access to your FB profile in regards to viewing publicly whats available why would they say troll.

If they have IT or computer literacy skills then surly they could do this them selves in regards to the basic research.

I said blackmail could be an option because if they are wanting you specifically then the other members of your house hold mite be a target but about the other comment I made about the use of a VPN.

Look in too it. This is will encrypt your data online between your computer and the web but it will give you an I.P Address change what is essentially your public address online for your house hold .

My concern would be unsuspecting members of your family who mite unwittingly give up information so I recommend you talk to the other people in your house and advise them of what the situation is.

If this situation does get taken further in regards to contact on their behalf towards you post back on these forums and I'll try my best to advise but also their are a lot of knowledgeable people on hear with more experience then me so will point you in the right direction.

 

[frogtooth]

Thank you very much for your help. They called me troll bc I have disagreed w their opinions on the news site. My other family members are aware but what should they do or not do? I reported the IM to Facebook but not sure they will do anything about it bc there was no physical threat, and the person could still have their friend do his dirty work. This person has blocked me on Facebook but is still visible there to our other accounts. I can report them again to FB using one of those but I'm not sure I want to stir the hornets nest before we are protected. Can you tell me briefly how they could get my ip and use it to uncover my family's identity? Would options such as the free VPN on Opera browser, the TOR browser, or free plugins for Firefox or any other browser be of value? Thanks again.

 

[PP Mguire]

Typical social media BS, just ignore it.

 

[U.F.O.]

Don't combine tor and vpn and don't use tor for social. Maybe take a big step back from it all.

 

[born-confused]

Omg, is this really happening?
frogtooth can you tell me what happened? Did you find a solution?
Btw, does anyone know if a free VPN can really protect us in some way?
Thanks!

 

[U.F.O.]

Lol of course not and I sort of necroposted which made this active. Op probably long gone.

Vpn is a scam. Lol we absolutely don't log, hold I've got a call on the other line, yes hey fed, you're welcome for the logs, I got him distracted on hold go ahead and smash your way in.

The whole idea that moving your privacy upstream to a "secure" connection, is by its very nature not private, and imo depending on adversary, not secure either.

Dns leak is a thing on both ends. Even if vpn cares about configuring without leaks, mistakes are made, new exploits come out, I would save your money and the free ones, you are making them money as they mine and sell your traffic and Metadata.